Got the new oil tank, gas tanks, and pipes on

     Still waiting on the 12" apes to arrive.  The drag bars hit the tank when turned all the way right, well the throttle cable will anyways.  I sat on the bike with the new tanks mounted and I'm not positive I like them.  I do like the new oil tank alot and I can live with the pipes.  My walmart camera doesn't take very good pictures without natural sunlight.  I have the day off tomorrow and I'm going back out to the garage to see if I can make the spacer I need to fit between the frame tab and the flatside tank mounts for the lower front bolts.  Then I can drill the hole for the top front mount.

I had to rotate the shifter one spline forward to get it to clear the oil tank on the up shift without hitting.  I think it will work out well tho because now it sits a little lower under my leg and more forward so it is easier to find it.

I also found the two little screws and plastic hold down tab for the stator wires and installed them tonight.  Now that I found them I can install the rotor and the belt drive.  With the primary belt installed I can make the braces for the front portion of the transmission plate.

Dan R from The Horse tech board told me I better make a re-enforcement for the trans mounting plate where it is welded to the seat post if I am going to run without an inner primary or motor plate.  It'll break right away if I don't.

Exhausting

     I have had alot of difficulty getting a set of pipes on this bike.  I wanted originally to have a lakes pipe style with both cylinders going 2-1 down the side of the bike with the machine gun tip I made on the Smithy.  My pipe fitting / modifying skills are not as good as I would like them to be.  So far I have ruined every pipe I have tried to put on the bike.

     The pipe in this picture is from a 2010 Streetglide.  If fits nice under the kicker, but has a catalytic converter in it.  I cut the end of the pipe off to try and get the cat out.  I expected the insides to be kind of ceramic and easy to break out, not the case at all.  I didn't completely ruin this one, but I have abandoned using it for now.

     I have had the major pieces for this bike for several years now.  Last month marked the 9 year anniversary of when I bought the frame.  Thats a pretty pathetic build time.  I have wanted to build as many parts for the bike as possible.  As it turns out I'm just not as good at making parts as I want to be.  I ordered some parts today to give this project a little jump start, also changes the plan a little bit.

     I have a set of 1 3/4" shotgun drag pipes in the garage right now.  I also have on the way a round chrome oil tank, and a set of 3.5 gallon flatside split tanks.  Buying these parts instead of making them myself makes me feel a little bit like a sell out.  However I have justified it to myself that I can always make my own oil tank and put it in.  I just need to complete this project and get it on the road.  I can always add, or change it later.

The bigger tanks may cause problems with the low handlebars.  I haven't completely decided yet but if they don't fit I am probably going to swap on a set of Khromewerks 12 inch narrow bottom ape hangers.  They have been on my list of possible bars for quite a while.  I'll have the tanks mounted up by next Monday night and I'll make up my mind then.

Exhaust changes

I think I am going to change my mind on the exhaust pipe. We had a Basani 2-1 headpipe for a Dyna that had scratches in the black ceramic in the extra parts room at work. My boss Dan was kind enough to let me use it. It didn't fit right away, and it still doesn't fit perfect.

I cut the straight portion of the rear pipe to lower the collector down under the kick start assmebly. I went to a muffler shop close to my house and the owner made me a slug to slip inside the pipe to extend it. I plan on wrapping the slug with a piece of sheet metal to make the outside diameter the same as the rest of the pipe once I get everything to fit together. The rear pipe fits nicely now but the pipe to front cylinder fitment is a bit crooked and I think I am going to have to stretch the pipe in the upright dimension and cut a portion out in the going backwards dimension to get it all lined up. I don't want it to leak when I'm done. Right now I think I'm just going to stare at it a while and see if I like it. If I keep it the collector will be extended and run parallel to the rear frame rail going to the axle.

Also in this picture is the oil tank that I bought from Trevor on The Horse swap meet. I cleaned it out in the solvent tank at work. I got some round magnets with a hole in the middle of them from Radio Shack and fastened a zip tie through the middle so I could get the magnet back out. I kept flushing and cleaning it until the solvent was clean and the magnets didn't have any debris on them. I have to order a few more oil line fittings to get it all plumbed in.

Kick starter

First up is the old kick arm. I swapped this out because it is so wide when folded out. I think it would have been very easy to tip the bike over on the right side using this arm. The old kicker arm (Taiwan Tedd re-pop) didn't fit the shaft very well, had to stick a screw driver in the slot to get it on and off the bike. The new kick arm is a QUALITY made in USA straight kick arm made by Baker. It is a nice heavy duty part and I'm very happy with it. I don't know how Bert feels about me putting a Baker kick arm on a Primo kick starter but it's my bike .
You can also see whats left of the exhaust pipe in this picture. The straight piece of tubing fits nicely inside the kicker arm with plenty to spare. When my new oil tank gets here later this week and gets test fitted I can get back to making the pipe. I also bought a sanding drum wheel that fits in a cordless drill to smooth out the joint where the two pipes meet. I have a feeling I am going to have to extend the straight area of that pipe stub to get it lined up where I want it.

Handlebars and wiring

The wiring is all sorted out I think. I have a plan anyways. The handlebars are all buttoned up and wired. I may modify it a bit due to the brake light switch. I think I am going to run both brake calipers off the front master cylinder and place a proportioning valve inline to the rear brake. Doing it that way would eliminate one of the brake light switches from this diagram.

Exhaust

I'm working on the exhaust next. I have never built an exhaust pipe before and it is actually alot more difficult than I thought it would be. It seems so simple, but to get the pipe lined up down the side of the bike the way I want it to has been time consuming and has stalled me out for a few weeks.

I Want to keep the pipe in as close as possible to the bike. For narrow looks and to keep as much heat off the inside of my leg as possible. In these pictures the pipe is sitting a bit lower than I want it to.I was also trying to figure out the best way to keep the pipe in a perfect straight line going down the side of the bike, and join it as a 2-1 head pipe.

So I decided to cut the rear pipe off at the bend. I bought a straight piece of 2" exhaust tubing from Napa to join the front & rear head pipe bends into. I still have to take pictures of how it looks right now, so this post will be updated later. I also got a new oil tank coming, and ordered a Baker straight kick start arm. The late style FX kicker arm I bought from Carney folds in nice and tight but it is very wide when folded out to start the bike. I think I will have trouble kicking it with my center of gravity so far to the right, and don't want to flop the bike over on the right side when I kick it.