Bobber Build by a total Newb

[dilbone]

Thanks John.

Got the bottom of the battery box welded on and ground down...I think it just might work...now on to the TCI mount...slowly chipping away at the list...

 

[dilbone]

I laid out my TCI, made some marks, and cut another piece of 16g out. I cut some relief in the corners and bent the sides to make kind of an ash tray cover for the TCI. It will mount on the side of the battery box with 1/4" bolts most likely...

I still need to drill the mounting holes and will need to get some spacers for the bolts to keep the cover off of the face of the TCI to allow it some ventilation. I'll probably drill a couple of holes in the bottom(where the harness exits) of the TCI box so if moisture does get it it can have a place to get out since the current weep holes will now be on the side of the box.
Overall I don't think it's too bad, and is removable...I didn't want to weld a pouch on the battery box as a permanent fixture in the likelyhood of having to go away from the TCI at some point down the road with these being so prone to issues with age.

 

[emzdogz]

I hope you will keep posting pics. This is interesting.

 

[I am Carbon]

good fab work on the 2 boxes.
chip chip chip away!

 

[dilbone]

I hope you will keep posting pics. This is interesting.

Hopefully I can get the TCI mounted tonight. I really just wanted to put it in the fake oil tank, but there seemed to be mixed opinions on exactly how much ventilation this box would need since it was originally mounted under the bat box in open air. I hope this will work...not completely open and exposed but still plenty of air movement...I just hope the moisture won't be an issue since it will be turned on its side.

It will be on the chain side of the box too, so even more inconspicuous

good fab work on the 2 boxes.
chip chip chip away!

Thanks Carbon

 

[dilbone]

went to the hardware store tonight and got to work on my TCI mount...marked, center punched, and drilled some holes...

This is where it will be hanging out...I got some steel spacers to keep the cover off of the lid of the TCI box

Bolted down

I had to grind down the heads of the bolts inside the bat box and cut relief holes in the rubber sleave so the battery would still fit in there, I obviously still need to shorten the bolts, the TCI box is going to need a weep hole on the electrical lead end, but I think it will work out ok. I may still need to shorted the steel spacers a bit more and bring the cover down just a smidge.
I even picked up a rubber grommet for the wiring

I was initially thinking I would use stainless acorn nuts on these, but I think I'll just spray these with some black paint to make them unnoticeable on the back of the bat box. Now I suppose I need to weld in the mounting straps for the box...

 

[Johnt3]

Go Man Go!

 

[dilbone]

Got some work done today...mounting the battery box took a whole lot longer than I had hoped...

Between trying to keep the supports parallel and level with each other, making sure the box was clear of the brake linkage, and keeping it clear of the mounting bolts for the regulator it was an exercise in patience.

Supports cut and ready to tack

I ended up making the pair of bolts on the left side support the same spacing as the rec/reg so if I would decide to mount it under the box eventually I could

Looks ok I suppose

 

[Kinsygrl]

Looks good man, not to shabby for a time line. I hope mine goes as well. Hey did you ever sell the other frame+ motor. I'm interested if you still have it and if its titled! I'm in Erie PA so it shouldn't be too crazy to ship!

 

[Johnt3]

Looks good dilbone! Keep it up man!

 

[dilbone]

Looks good man, not to shabby for a time line. I hope mine goes as well. Hey did you ever sell the other frame+ motor. I'm interested if you still have it and if its titled! I'm in Erie PA so it shouldn't be too crazy to ship!

Thanks Kinsygrl, Yes I ended up selling the other frame and motor...I still have a spare motor too, but I'm keeping it around just in case.

Looks good dilbone! Keep it up man!

Thanks John. I actually stopped by TCBros yesterday...I only work about 15miles from their place. I needed to pickup end caps for the 4.5" pipe I got for the fake oil tank. They only had 1 left...issues with their supplier that changed the material thickness on the caps so they now have a smaller I.D. and won't fit the pipe. So I bought the good one and he gave me one of the ones that won't fit correctly. As I chatted for a while with him looking at a couple of the 650's they have in the showroom he convinced me that their wiring harness was a no brainer for this bike.

The connectors will all fit into the oil tank, but it keeps all of the factory connector ends on the devices so a change of reg/rec, coil, TCI etc. is just a quick snap of the connector instead of a mess of cutting and resoldering...sold me that for $30...so at least the ignition and charging wiring will be done easily and I'll only have to worry about the lighting/starter

 

[emzdogz]

As I chatted for a while with him looking at a couple of the 650's they have in the showroom he convinced me that their wiring harness was a no brainer for this bike.

The connectors will all fit into the oil tank, but it keeps all of the factory connector ends on the devices so a change of reg/rec, coil, TCI etc. is just a quick snap of the connector instead of a mess of cutting and resoldering...sold me that for $30...so at least the ignition and charging wiring will be done easily and I'll only have to worry about the lighting/starter

I wish I had never cut the ends off my charging system and ignition wires - I would be using these.

 

[dilbone]

I wish I had never cut the ends off my charging system and ignition wires - I would be using these.

It was a pretty slick set-up the way he had it.

After talking to him I was convinced I was either going to cannibalize the original harness to get the connectors I needed or go ahead pay him for his...if I had to pay full price shipping and tax I may have gone home and done it myself...but for $30 out the door he made the decision a little easier.

I've heard so many people say you should just do it yourself and save the money...well, I made my own seat pan, seat bungs, seat hinge, battery box, oil tank, soon to be making tank mounting bungs...half of those things get bought by most guys out there and yet somebody's probably gonna bust my chops for spending $30 on something I could have done for $5...

 

[dilbone]

It's been a while since I had any time for the bike. Even though I'm a teacher and have been done since June 3rd I've had zero time between helping family flipping a house, a 2 week class at BGSU, and building a deck here at our house...
Finally got a little bit of time today to work on the bike.

I worked a little more on the ends of the piece of pipe I had so the endcaps would fit a little better. The one cap is the small one that wouldn't fit at all, so I had to remove quite a bit of material for that one. The "good" endcap was still pretty tight and there's no way it would ever fit with paint on this thing so I took that end down some too. After all of that mess I made the mounting bungs for the fake oil tank out of a piece of 3/4" round bar I picked up specifically for bungs like this.

I made a mess of the welds, but it'll hold. A free piece of pipe, 1 free endcap, 1 $10 endcap, and a few cents worth of bungs and it looks like I've got myself a fake oil tank.

I still need to tack the extra tight fitting end cap on permanently, then I'll work on getting the other cap secured with set screws and open up an access hole for the wiring to fit through.

 

[Johnt3]

Yep, looks like a fake oil tank to me. I'm interested to see what your end cap with set screws will look like when it's done dilbone.
Mine in primer.

I'm a hack and wish I would have been a little neater with the lid and opening.

 

[dilbone]

John, your oil tank looks great and I thought about going that route with an access panel but I had been planning on a removable end cap up to this point...less work for me I think...or I hope(we'll see lol). I just hope it works out ok.

 

[dilbone]

Got some more work done today. I got the mounting strap cut, welded in, and mounting holes drilled. I slid the carbs in place and put on one of the UNI filters to make sure the tank was back far enough for clearance...I think it'll work.

Then I started working on the end cap screws. I drilled holes through the cap and tank itself then welded(sloppily) in a piece of 1/2" round bar over the hole on the inside of the tank, drilled a hole, and tapped the hole for my #10-24 screws.

Top screws are done...on to the bottom

I think it'll work

While I had the seat off for welding in the oil tank mount I had to take some more off of the inside curves...seemed like it would cut into the backs of my legs so narrowing it up a bit seemed to help.

It's looking more and more like a bike...

 

[dilbone]

I've been thinking a lot about the tank mounts and how to pull those off. I taped a couple of layers of black felt type carpet I've used to cover an amp/mixer case I built to the back bone to give me some clearance for the tank. I ended up finally getting a step drill and marked hole locations at the front of the tank on the gussets. I had picked up some grommets from the hardware store but I drilled the stinkin' holes too big and the grommets were way too loose. I welded up the edge to close up the hole a bit so I could re-drill with 7/16" holes that would fit with the grommets better.

Grommet

Much tighter fit with a lot less slop

Now on to the rear mounts. I need to mark those out, drill to 1/2", weld in some bungs I still need to make, and get a couple of rubber washers and short 1/4" bolts. Once that's done I really need to seal the tank with the red kote I had picked up, but I'm more than a little nervous to get it done right.

 

[dilbone]

Well I made a couple of 1/2" bungs and went to run the tap through them and realized I drilled 7/32 holes instead of 13/64...ugh...let's try that again.

welded in and ground down...not pretty but at least you won't see them

Looks like it'll work...I only need a couple of bolts, washers, rubber spacers/grommets and I'll be on to sealing this tank.

and it's coming along...

 

[Johnt3]

Your tanks look good dilbone. Nice job on your electrics tank man.