It’s 2011, almost 2012, and this old Sportster is still a work in progress. I was sure I would have been done last spring, but work and all the other projects got in the way, again. Winter is here and hopefully I’ll get some work done over the holidays and with any luck, it will be ready by spring 2012. It’s so close! All I need is a little time and money for the machine shop.
Finally, after a series of other distractions spanning nearly four years, the fabrication and building of the Sportster has resumed.
In the last four days I’ve managed to finish most of the frame modifications, fabricated a mount for the oil filter and began building the chain tensioner for the final drive chain. The rear fender had been all mounted and fitted before the frame updates, so that had to be refitted and a new mount fabricated for it as well, which I also finished in the last couple days.
More updates on progress to come shortly as I am spending the entire day fabricating the remaining pieces for Cindy’s chopper today.
This first project is two years old now, but I’ve had plenty of time to test my work with this one. It’s our mailbox, and it’s unique.
In the winter of 2008 some drunken teenage drivers slid around the corner by our house and ran down our old, traditional crappy tin mailbox on a wooden post. I always hated that box and like everything else surrounding me, I had plans to redesign. It’s one of those things that gets put past the back burner and off the stove entirely, since it was still working and not an urgent priority. That all changed one night that winter.
Forced to repair the damage in order to get our mail, I decided to go ahead with my own design rather than take the simple way out and put up another 4×4 post with a crappy box on top. I was reluctant because I knew how much work was ahead of me, not to mention the cost of materials. The plans were already in the works, so I picked up where I left off and finished the design. Then I went to Metal Mart.
My design had to incorporate all the US Postal Service requirements for mailboxes, plus I had to consider the consequences should some poor bastard decide it would be fun to run down my new unit. The box (steel tube) itself is made out of 10″ OD .25″ wall steel pipe/tube. It ways about 65 pounds by itself and is the perfect height for a car’s windshield. I wasn’t so concerned with vandals (they get what they deserve), but I was a little worried about some unfortunate driver who may veer off the road accidentally and end up with my metal box in their lap. There would be damage, and I don’t need a lawsuit. I build things to last, but I certainly don’t want to kill anyone!
Mailbox Sculpture: Rear Detail
I planned and sketched and figured and engineered all the possibilities until I finally had a good solution. The box hangs suspended from the support above by a horizontal pivoting connection. Should anyone hit it, it will swing, so it’s not a solidly mounted weight that could kill. Other safety features fail-safes are built into the base itself. The frame is made out of 3×1 steel tubing and is 4′ square rotated 45º so it could be mounted on a point. The bottom point mounts to the base assembly which is sitting on a 4′ x 6″OD steel tube sunk into the ground and set in concrete.
A lot of thought went into the base assembly. I didn’t want to cause injury to anyone, and I also didn’t want to rebuild this entire metal sculpture in the event some other jackass thinks it may be fun to run it down. On top of the tube planted firmly in the ground, I mounted a rear wheel hub from a small front wheel drive car. Since it’s mounted vertically, anything connected to it will rotate 360º. To connect the bottom of the mailbox frame to the base hub, I built in another little safety feature in the form of a second horizontal pivot held in place by a sheer pin that will break away if hit by a car or something. The entire mailbox would either spin around in a circle if it was just clipped by someone’s car mirror, but it would rotate and tip over on it’s side right at the base if a car ran right into it. If the perpetrator wasn’t putting serious effort into trying to destroy the unit, I would simply have to stand it back up and slip a new sheer pin into the base if it did get knocked down.
The large open space in the center of the frame is used for seasonal decorations. During the summer, we hook a basket filled with flowers and vines to dress up the space. At Christmas, we have an oversized Christmas Tree Ornament that hangs in the center and lights are strung around the frame.
At the base of the mailbox, Cindy planted a flower garden with Ivy and other similar plants in the center that climb the frame of the mailbox, while the outer part of the garden has bright flowers and colors to match the mailbox and the plants in the hanging planter.
We’ve been adding to the garden quite a bit since these photos were taken and will post updates this summer when things begin to bloom. Also, the one element I never finished is the house number. I will be fabricating that this summer as well. Photos to come!
My ongoing project, the “Weapon of Mass Destruction”. This bike has been built and rebuilt so many times I’ve lost track. I forgot what it looked like until I came across some photos of what it looked like the day I bought it.
Below is the current version of this bike.
Below is the whole gallery; just tap the thumbnails to get the big picture. Or read on… whatever.
Above is a shot from the left-rear in which you can see the “HogLeg”, a kickstand I designed, produced and patented a few years ago. It launched a whole line of other parts that I designed, most of which can be seen on this bike such as the handlebars and risers, the fender struts and tail light, forward controls, ignition/points cover and oil tank. Most parts on this bike were created as one-offs specifically for the bike. The seat, gas tank, exhaust, fender, swingarm and frame are a few. There are a number of other little hidden items too, but that’s not important right now.
Below is what this bike looked like when I purchased it. I began swapping parts in the shop where I bought it before it even left the lot.
This is a work in progress. I was just getting started, and it began with what I could do without my bike lift, air tools, welder and all the other totally necessary things you need to build a complete bike. I couldn’t just leave it alone though, so I had as many parts machined as I could for what’s here and started with that. The fender struts were the first custom machined parts on this part of the build.
The black version is the first rebuild. I was happy with it for nearly a summer. Just like all the other versions, I’m usually happy with the outcome for about a summer and then it’s time to redesign.
Above is my friend Dozer who helped make this bike what it is. I couldn’t have done all of this work without his help. Unfortunately, if I wasn’t walking behind him with a tazer, this is what most of the activity would have looked like in the shop every day.
Oil Tank version 1
A shot of the first version of the new oil tank (above). Another item fabricated by Dozer.
New Pipes
A shot of the new exhaust fabricated by Dozer. Most things regarding my bike I like to design myself, but Dozer has a way with exhaust that I’ve never seen from anyone else in the business. So when he asked me what I was thinking about doing with the exhaust, I told him. He said “naw, that’s just stupid. You’re an idiot and I have better ideas”, so I figured, what the hell. Let’s see what happens if I let him loose, and this is what happened. I’ve changed a whole bunch of things on this bike from build to build, but the exhaust is permanent. It’s cool, it’s one of a kind, and it makes the bike.
Above is the whole thing coming together. Working while I’m taking pictures is Dozer and Rich. None of this would have been possible without the help of my friends.
Spring '07 complete freshly built MC
Above is the completed build, version 2.0 I call it, just to keep track. Visually, not much has changed since this version except for minor stuff like some powdercoating over the last remaining chrome parts and some aluminum stuff that I got sick and tired of polishing.
WMD right - spring '07
And finally, this is the final build of the bike as it is now, new frame, new swingarm, new oil tank and other stuff.
That was in the spring of 2007. The shots at the top of this page are the newest, though not much has changed as far as the appearance goes. Last spring the connecting rod bearings nearly wore a groove halfway through the mainshaft. Of course, that happened early in the spring as usual, when I’m the only guy riding a bike in the cold around here. I had to tear it down and rebuild the motor from the mainshaft out. Everything was wasted. Some keyways from the main shaft had actually made their way through the oil journals and into the breather gear where they proceeded to rip the shit out of the gear and everything around it. It took close to a month of searching for the right parts, getting the flywheels in sync and balanced, and generally waiting for parts to arrive before I got it all back together and ready to roll. By then of course, it was warm and sunny, and all the weekend warriors had their shiny chrome covers and turn signals all polished up and were dressed from head to toe in their brand new leathers in 80 degree weather, riding up and down the street past my house as carefully as can be while I sat by my bench covered in assembly lube and fuming angrily as I put it all back together.
This year will be different. For the first year in a decade I didn’t strip it down and redesign the whole damn thing over the winter. With the economy in the crapper, I didn’t have much choice, so I haven’t turned a bolt all winter. I should be able to hit the road without a worry this spring, and when it’s time for that first ride, I may hit the road and never turn around.
The Weapon of Mass Destruction V2.1
