Down under, an idiot and a 400F

[neevo]

360627833568

Wierd. Same seller, 2 very different prices!

Edit: turns out 1 buy it now, 1 normal auction.

 

[neevo]

Hmmmmmmmmm! I've come across a puzzler. Received the rest of my electrical bits in the mail today (parking light for front, led number plate button lights, couple of 3 way connectors and Nitto tape).

Put 40 mins in tonight and got all the RFID wired back up (diode seems to be working fine ) as well as the parking light.

All tested fine and thought I would put it back together with the seat and tank and have a play with the RFID, pretending I was outside a cafe with a latte in hand, posing to a crowd.

Well more fool me! Turns out the RFID won't pick up the key fob through 1.5mm metal!!! BALLSACK!!!

Tried steel, Alu and it seems to be a problem with metal as my hand/cardboard didn't stop it working.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Ideally I wanted to mount the antenna in the top of the seat hump, if its not going to work I may have to locate the antenna somewhere else.

 

[Brodie]

What about a plastic window? Or a small cut out at the front of the seat hump to allow the signal to pass, which could be hidden by the seat cover.

Or you could work out a way to amplify the signal or the sensitivity of the antenna

 

[neevo]

Yeah I was thinking about a Perspex window or relocating the antenna. As long as I can mount the window neatly and watertight it could be a viable option.

Hopefully the signal goes through Perspex and a bit of seat foam.

 

[neevo]

Stole a few moments this afternoon to pull the wiring harness and tidy it up. Essentially pull all the old cheap electrical tape and start to clean the runs and splits using the NITTO tape I bought a little while ago.

Seems to have worked out ok. Some of the runs into the relays are a little long but I will clip them before I finish up.

Before:

After:

I won't wrap it until I know its completely finished.

 

[ronnie]

You could put the transceiver under your seat cushion either in the bottom or the back part.

Another thing, experiment with the metal plates. Drill a small hole in the metal with transceiver under it. Drill more holes(think perforation or mesh) or bigger holes till it works. Then bondo over the holes to cover them up. If that still works after bondo then I believe you have a winner.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[neevo]

You've given me an idea ronnie! I might weld in a pocket behind the seat so that I can sit the receiver in it and not have to worry about water getting into the seat. Could even tidy it up with some mesh or Perspex to keep it neat and flush.

 

[neevo]

Took a couple of hours in the shed this afternoon as a mechanism to get over a mild hangover. Project for today: see if I could make a number plate bracket.

I have a bit of 3mm Alu here so thought I would use that to make a template. In the end it worked out quite well so I may keep it as it is and simply powdercoat or paint it like the frame.

I had an old subframe tray that I had already replaced, so I cut the back off it and used it as a mount.

Version 1 (test of concept and angles):

Test mount on the bike:

I checked the wheel clearance by removing the spring on the shock and checking the rear wheel travel. It's close, maybe a bit too close so I decided to have another go, sharpening the angle it came out the back and also put some flaps on the bracket so I could actually attach the number plate.

Version 2 (a bit more complicated), I cut them all out with the angle grinder and formed the shapes with a carbide bit in the Dremel, a file and a flap disc.:

In the end I made a mockup of a number plate to see what it would eventually look like. Not bad I think:

 

[Brodie]

Looks good Neevo. I am still struggling with ideas on how to mount mine. Most involve a new subframe.

How do you plan to mount the light? I have a bolt with an LED in the head for mine.

 

[neevo]

Exactly the same idea! Upper bolts will be LED's, lowers will be SS hex caps.

These are the white LED's I bought.

 

[Brodie]

They look a lot more fancy than mine. A bloody good idea I think.

 

[neevo]

Only cost me $16 odd and keeps the rear nice and tidy.

 

[andycafe]

Very nice mate Thats a sweet as mount me thinks How far off are you from having the shock mount welded onto the swingarm ?

 

[neevo]

Cheers Andy. Hope to have the swingarm brace done in the next week or so. Having the brace done properly by a local mob with a CNC tube bender. Tried to do it myself but wasn't happy with the radius I could achieve and didn't want to compromise the strength. That should be done in the next week I would imagine, then I just need to cut the uprights radius the ends and weld on the lower shock mount.

I was looking at the shock today and I think there is minimal to no room for the pods I'm putting on (K&N's), I think I can turn the shock upside down which should fix the problem but need to check with Tim or Beachcomber first.

 

[crazypj]

That's a real neat looking bracket

 

[spotty]

tis indeed beautiful work

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/150858422666?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

i know you've got your rear indicators mounted but i just saw theses on evilbay last night and wouldn't they look good filling the 2 top bolt holes on the number plate (with the LED bolts pictured above filling the bottom corners) they appear to be only 20mm across, waaaay tiny

totally illegal but way cool, as soon as mines registered again the mini indicators will be disappearing and being replaced with these mini mini ones

they also make stop/tali light ones in red, i see minimalism being the order of the day soon

 

[Brodie]

I saw those when I was looking for my number plate lights as well. I love the idea but I would rather people see where I am going than have hidden indicators.

 

[neevo]

It's been a little while but finally I've got a small update. Cash is exhausted for the moment and I'm still waiting on my swingarm brace to be bent so the major job of welding in the shock is on the back burner until that is ready.

I did however have the chance to fix something I wasn't happy with... the front fender.

The GSXR fender I bought was just too bubbly:

So my options were to trim it down, or look for an alternative. I went with the second, sold the GSXR fender for a small loss and found something more suitable.

Today it arrived:

Brushed Aluminium:

Of course I couldn't resist seeing what it looked like on the bike with my freshly painted tyre letters:

Some small alterations to make it fit perfectly but nothing some gentle bending wont fix. I took a gamble on the fender not knowing if it would fit given its for a Ducati Monster but all that's required is a new bolt hole for the upper fork leg mount and it should be good to go. Needless to say I'm quite pleased with the updated look.

 

[stroker crazy]

Big improvement on the GSXR unit!

Crazy

 

[eyhonda]

What a weird coincidence! I'm also on the Ducati forum (also have a Monster) and I saw that the aluminum front fender in the classifieds was sold. Then I get an email for this thread and now I see where it (might have) went! Possible? Anyway, sweet looking fender - Monster, 400f or otherwise! Nice match with spoked wheels! It's also used on the Ducati Sport Classic, a spoked wheel bike. Great find!