...but can't go further with it until I have the fender in place. Can't do the fender until the weather clears enough to paint and the forecast is for one winter storm after another until the Ides of March, so it will be awhile...
Ahh my situation summed up perfectly lol I
should be following yer excellent example and workin' ona dropstand... but the hang-up with that is it's mount. The Rollfast hasn't the "tabs" or holes for one and I'm reluctant to use the axle for a coupla reasons, not least of which it kinda defeats one of the major advantages of a dropstand - being able to work on/remove the rear wheel. The reason I've not made the weld-on mounts yet is simple - I need to get ofn my butt and go see if my buddy has a dropstand he's willing to part with. While I could make one, I'd rather not - but until I haz one in my grubby fists I'll not know what the mounts need ta be like.
As for the rest of the bike it's a bit of a catch 22, while most of what remains is simple and easy - until the tank is finished and fitted, there's little point in "completing" such things as wiring, routing cables and the fuel system as they're all dependent on the tank (wiring and cables under it). Even what I could do w/o the tank in place pointless as I'd just disassemble it for the final paint & detail work - of which I can't (well, "shouldn't" is prolly a better word) do until the tank itself is finished lol What fitting and fiddling I've already done has marred the basecoat a bit, the unfinished edges of that tank are
sharp heh
I wasn't gonna up these pics till the tank was done as it's not really "fair" - raw, uncleaned tack welds look pretty crappy, the quality hard to see until it's all finished and dressed. Still waitin' on the "after" for these "before" pics, I figure what the heck, ifn I don't show somethin' baridco is gonna freak out heh
Here's a shot I've noticed ya don't see too much with the DIY tanks, the inside - particularly the mounts... there was
much discussion and debate regarding those mounts, the backing plates and their size my idea - their thickness his, neither of us thought it a good idea to just weld nuts/studs to the tank itself as the stock tanks have, for obvious reasons. (click to view larger);
You'll note the perhaps overly thick backing plates for the mounts, the thickness just to help make the welding easier - they're also not welded completely around their edges. While this would ofc be desirable, it's not particularly needful as I won't be relying on them to seal - they'll have studs sealed on the outside w/a nut... the simplest solution for any number of associated problems as I see it. All the internal fasteners, fill cap, and backing plates were MIG welded to help "build up" the material. The tank will be lined ofc.
Before the bottom was tacked in place - the tank got a ride home again for one final test fit. Much as I tried, there was never a chance to get it all in one piece, accurately - with nothing but mere tape. To say I was happy to note a near perfect fit and uniform frame spacing would be an understatement heh
Back to work again, the bottom panel tacked in on a lunch break - it now sits on a shelf gettin' dusty as Murphy has his way with us, six day work weeks and
another flood (16hrs w/o power, heat, phone or water) on the freakin' day we picked to finish the tank not being the least of which... this winter has been a doozy meh;
