We’re starting with the sidestand, which is the easier part to tackle.
This thing is really long! Part of the problem is that it’s bent at the base of the sidestand.
As we got into it, we discovered why:
• The muffler needs clearance.
• The bike’s lean angle needed to be gentler.
So it looks like the original design was a compromise solution.
Next, we bent an SUS304 pipe with a bender, held it up to the bike to check the fit, and—oh no—the bent pipe was going to hit the muffler hard. For a moment there, I thought, “This might be a problem!” and got a little worried.
But with a straight pipe, we could avoid the contact, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
Once we settled on the length and everything else, it was time to weld. We prepped the joint and did a full-circumference weld.
An experienced hand suggested we should add a rotation stop, so we machined in a pin and staked it.
These days, SUS304 isn’t too much trouble to cut and weld. But it used to be a real pain. Cutting it, machining it, welding it—nothing went smoothly, and I’d spend a lot of time troubleshooting.
I can totally understand why some bike shops hate working with it.
I aim for something that’s easy to deploy, looks good, and is as light as possible.
We put a cover over the sole.
I’m not a fan of single springs (safety considerations too), so we can’t just use this one. Off we went on another hunt for a replacement. (Still on hold.)
Honda makes some really good springs. Their spring feel is great, they come with covers, and they’re ahead of the curve.
Please bear with us as we keep plugging away at this.
(；∀；) Yikes!
