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New DIY Floorboards, Cheap TPMS, Daylight visible turn indicators +more (Many Pix)
I've had this bike for a few months now and I thought I would get around to posting some of my mods here.
Floorboards.
I've been looking to do some floorboards for quite a while, I finally got around to fabricating a pair made from 1/4" diamondplate aluminum. I got the aluminum when I had some chocks for the trailer made a couple of months ago at a local sheetmetal shop. I probably paid about 20-30 for the material, not quite sure since it was one price for everything. Add in about 20-30 for hardware and the rubber and its about 50-60 for the boards total.
Started out with making two templates out of plywood. Much easier to play with this then the metal itself.
I wanted the boards to be very stiff and stable. I had asked for them to be made in 1/4" diamond plate but they did them in 1/8" so I went with those. When you are working with a commercial shop, you dont want to be a pain in the butt, so I'm very flexible in turnaround time and such so they keep working with me.
I wanted these boards to span the front footpegs as well as have support all the way in the back. I was going to use an L brace to hold it to the slot for the rear foot rests but got an idea in the hardware store about using a large bolt and then some hard rubber to act as the mount and provide some more vibration isolation. I ended up ordering a 4" square of hard rubber off amazon as well as some 5" long 1/2" stainless carriage bolts. I bolted the carriage bolts in from the back and secured it with a stainless washer and nut.
I first drilled two 1/2" holes in the rubber block on the drill press and then cut the block on the bandsaw. I trimmed the length of the block a bit so I had enough screw thread left to put a lock nut on.
At this stage I had already cut the diamond plate and smoothed the edges from the bandsaw. I then drilled 4 holes in each rubber block as accurately as I could on the drill press so I could use the blocks as the template for marking the aluminum.
End part 1
Inspiration has been found!
This is totally awesome. I've been thinking about floorboards since I got my 2016 RT in Jan. Even thinking about turning out my own, but didn't know where to start. You fixed that problem for me with this post, so thank you for that alone.
But I also have a question as I'm very interested in the sun shade you made. Can you give any more detail on that plastic you used? I'm very handy with making things, but I've usually stuck with wood, so this plastic you speak of is totally alien to me. I'm willing to research how to work with it etc... I just need a starting point for my focus.
Thanks for this post and any help you can give me on that plastic.
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Finally added the backrest I got for Xmas
I got this backrest as a present last year and finally got around to putting it on the seat. Wasn't the easiest install I ever did, and I did look at videos online to see what was needed.
This is the backrest that is sold by big bike parts. It is not the quick remove version, although if the parts are cheap enough, I may get them and convert it. Most of the instructions are easy enough to follow, but where I had some problems was after I cut the top of the seat and put the connecting bar inside. I couldn't get it to go in far enough or get the holes close enough that I could screw the bolts in from the bottom. What I should have done is attach the top part of the mount to this bracket and that would have made it much longer and easier to maneuver. Like most projects, you eventually figure out how to make it work.
And when it was all put together, I tried to raise the seat up on the gas support only to find out I somehow got the bolts in the back tightened up without going through the hinges themselves. And that was after I got it put together without the bushings in the hinges. Live and learn.