Thanks Mr Mike.

I have a few more photos, some are repeats, at the build page on my Club web page.

http://www.freedspiritsmc.com/sticksbuild.html

Here's an earlier thread where I documented a bit of the build.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...l#post15834901

 

Stick that thing is fantastic. I am so envious - LOL. Thanks for posting the links. You are brilliant.

 

No, not brilliant, just cheap. Why buy something when I can build it cheaper and more to my liking. Besides, it isn't a custom chopper if it doesn't have at least one handmade part on it.

So, with that said, here's round 2 on my Ironhead.

Because an old Sportster is not really a big bike, and I'm not really a small guy, I decided that I needed forward controls or I would never be comfortable on my chopper. I looked around, but I could only find one set that would fit a '62, and they wanted $300 for them. Being the aforementioned Cheapskate that I am, I decided to build a set instead. I looked over the pictures of other forward controls and set out to design my own.

I didn't take a lot of pictures when I first built my forward controls, but I had them apart this last weekend to refresh them. The paint was a bit chipped from wear and tear. So I took pictures during reassembly. Some of the pictures will be out of order as far as construction went, but they will be easier to explain this way.

Here's a shot of them off the bike and laid out, ready for reassembly.




I started with a set of old front engine mounts and some 1" round stock. I drilled the existing hole out to 7/8" in both engine mounts, and turned down a short section on each piece of round stock so that it would fit into the hole, but only go in so far.that way I could pass it through the hole, but keep it square. Besides, then it could be welded on both the inside and outside surfaces.





If you look closely at the round stock, you'll see a couple of grooves cut in them. This is important, but I will explain later.

Since I was going to need a place to mount my voltage regulator and a main fuse, and I needed to put some spacers between the down tubes, I decided to do all of that in one part. Besides, that keeps the regulator near the generator and keeps the wiring shorter.

Here are a couple of older photos from the build.





As you can see in the above photos, I used more flat stock, bent it to the right angle, then drilled it for the main fuse holder, drilled and tapped it for the regulator mount bolts, and welded on the spacers I needed to go between the down tubes. A couple of other things going on in these pictures are the grooves I was talking about earlier, and the 3/8" metal fuel line that was bent to match the curve of the frame and welded on.

The grooves are used to hold the spring clips used to hold the controls in place. The bottom of the 2 photos shows how this works. I put the first spring clip in, then slide on the flat washer, then the control arm, the another flat washer, and finally another spring clip. There is a grease impregnated piece of leather that is wrapped around the round stock, filling the slight gap between the round stock and the tubing. This both cushions and lubricates the control hinge point.

The 3/8" fuel line is used to route the wiring throughout the motorcycle. I did this for two reasons. It keeps the wiring tidy, and it kept me from drilling holes in the frame. Once the frame was painted, you don't even notice the tubing, it just blends in.

I fashioned the actual controls from some round tube stock and some flat stock I had laying around. I measured how long the tubes needed to be then welded the arms onto them. Then I drilled the lower parts to receive the linkages and the upper arms were drilled and tapped to receive some Harley shift pegs.



Next, I needed to create some linkages and something to attach them to the shifter and the brake. The shifter was easy, I just used an old shifter I had laying around, cut it off and drilled a hole in it for the linkage pin. The brake was a little more involved, but not too much. Again, I used an old lever I had laying around, but I had to cut the entire lever part off and weld on a new piece of flat stock with a hole drilled in it.



The linkages are simply a couple pieces of round stock, cut to length, and 4 pieces of flat stock that was bent into a "U" shape and have a hole drilled into the bottom of the "U". To keep the physical appearance clean, the welds were placed inside the "U"s. I used a much heavier piece of round stock for the brake side since it will handle a lot more physical pressure than the shift linkage.



Here's what it looks like so far.





So now I have a set of controls, but nowhere to put my feet. Since I despise foot pegs, I opted for floorboards.

I took some 4" flat stock and cut it to length, then rounded to edges to create the shape I wanted. I used some large hex nuts to create the mount points. I drilled them out to 1" to remove the threads, then drilled and tapped 2 sides on each for set screws. I then welded these to the bottom of the floorboard. This provides an adjustable mount point that can be rotated to provide a comfortable angle.



On the top, I added grip tape so my feet would stop slipping off the floor boards.



Once assembled, they have provided a good place to put my feet that is far enough forward to be comfortable.





That first set I looked at was priced at $300. Using old parts, and a lot of scrap material, I wound up with $25 invested in mine. Granted, my labor was worth a lot more, but in the end, I have a custom part, built to fit my needs, and constructed in a manner that I know will not break.

 

I have a 1991 Sportster, no one makes a coil relocation kit to get it out from under the tank. So I made my own. Just a nice piece of steel, cut into a T shape then bent over at the T. The T bolts to the coil and the long leg I bolt up to the old horn bracket. Simple and effective.



Went with a mini 883 type horn and set it up on the front legs of the frame with a small piece of angle steel cut and drilled. Head light is stock from my Wide Glide, drilled a hole in the lower tree and mounted her up.



Also flipped my gauge bezel up side down to work better with the 8" risers. 883R bars (I think) cut about 1" off of each end to make the bars as narrow as possible. Recycled mirrors from my Road Glide, upside down as well.



Tank lift allowed me to take all the wiring from the headlight bucket and hide it under the gas tank. Generous use of black Plasti Dip in lots of places to hide old shot chrome and/or aluminum.



Basically spent no $$$$$ to freshen up a bike I have had since new.

 

Very nicely done Architect! Subtle, but adds a lot to the overall appearance of the bike.

 

Bobbed my factory fender and mounted it to the swingarm.




Fabricated a bracket to mount the tail lights.








Made a solo seat out of scrap and a leather remnant. I could have bought a $20 bracket, but where's the fun in that?








Got a start on my sissy bar. Still needs some work.


A work in progress but getting there.

 

Very Nice!

I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like when you're finished. (If that ever happens. We all know that they're never done)

 

Did this quicky dual coil mount for a buddies shovel.




Mine.

 

throw out bearing went out about 50 miles from home. i used some wire and a worm clamp to take up the excess slack in the clutch cable. used the clutch to start once and stop once in the 50 miles. no clutch shifting all the way home.