Almost up to date on the build now
I got some clipons and bar-ends from aliexpress and, as with the last set I bought out of asia, was really impressed with the build quality for the price! Had to bore out the bars a little in the lathe to get the mirrors to fit but apart from that these came together well.
Don't have a photo but the clutch and brake MCs fouled on the clipon mounts and caused me issues assembling everything. Basically I couldn't fit the levers far enough up the bars to give enough space for the controls and grips. To get around this I machined some crescent shaped spacers to space the levers/master cylinders out 5mm from the bars. Got some SS cap screws which were 5mm longer and put it all together and I think it is all sweet now.
Took it for a quick ride up and down the driveway with the new bars on and I was amazed at the difference they made! The original riding position on these monsters is awful imo. Being that much lower is probably not great for comfort but is definitely a big improvement in the feel of the bike.
The next big thing I am working on at the moment is repackaging the gauges. I would love to put on a new speedo and trash the existing ones but because the immobiliser is built into the gauges on this bike I think I have to stick with the originals. I want to slim them down as much as possible and simplify the look of them. I have decided to try a composite (basalt fiber) enclosure with an anodised aluminium face with laser engraved markings. (Laser engraving anodised aluminium is a great way to get a professional touch which is actually really cheap and easy to do).
First thing I did was strip down the gauges to figure out what approach to take on remaking this component and measure things up.
I gave it a scan on another 3D scanner:
And started CADing
Laser cut a mockup of the faceplate to check everything lined up (it didn't first time around..) and tested the position on the bike
I can't shrink down the gauges as much as I had hoped but I will simplify the enclosure and get rid of some of the unnecessary complex shapes. I'm also changing their position quite a lot, lowering them and flattening them. I want them to tuck in behind the triple clamp as much as possible and line up with the top line of the frame. I want to design this component in such a way that I could sell it as a kit in the future so I might take my time making sure it's designed well. But not sure if this will eventuate, just an idea at this stage
Pulling the needles / hands off the gauges was the scariest thing I've had to do on this bike so far. I think they must be glued on and you really have to put some serious force into it to get them off! They made a terrifying crack when they finally gave out too! but nothing broke so all good.