Now that I’ve got various preparations in place, I can finally get started. First, I’ll fabricate the sidestand from scratch.
I have a bender, so I can bend it with a quick “heave!” I generally don’t like heating and bending by hand.
The shape of the foot is still giving me trouble… This is how it looks for now.
The stand extension leg is also bent with a quick “snap!” from SUS stainless and installed.
I’m trying to make it easy to deploy and prevent it from rubbing… the challenges never end.
The swingarm is from an RGB500 factory replica with added stabilizer, so I had to puzzle over the layout, but I managed to make it work.
The heel is still lifting slightly… it’ll wear in over time. I’m stopping here for now since I’m going to change the return spring to a double. A double with a lower rate is better than a single with a high rate—it’s easier to deploy, and if one spring breaks, you can still manage. Safety and peace of mind come first.
I keep having to remake everything. I made the right cover with too sharp an angle, and it doesn’t look quite right.
Looking back at parts I made a while ago, I really cringe now.
Is it just me, or does the “superbike replica” look feel a bit painful now that I’m getting older?
Maybe I’ll go back to a plain spare cowl… I’ll take my time and work on it bit by bit.
