Finished frame modification

Bagged up all my stuff, rented a U-HAUL, and trucked everything down to my dad’s shop this weekend.  Since the only chance I’m giving myself to work on this is when I’m at his place, I thought it just made sense.

For the seat pan I want to use 21 or 22 gauge sheet metal so I checked out a local company called Boman Kemp.  Really friendly people, but the thinnest they go is 16 gauge and although that is hella tough it’s way more than I need.  I did find 22 gauge at another place, but they require a min purchase order of $200 or more.  They recommended a recycling service to check, so I went over and crawled around their lot for a bit but couldn’t find what I wanted.  So, I decided I’d hold off finishing the seat pan and work on closing off the frame.

I cut up some of the tubing we had left from the frame extensions I made previously and began hand forming the angle needed for them to match the curvature of the seat frame.

I used a piece of angle iron to help hold it in place and keep it level with the bottom of the frame.  I gave this one a couple tacks with the MIG, then did the same to the other side –

My dad then cut up the enclosing tube while I finished the welds, and then added it to the end –

I was able to line up the tubes with the way the seat sits on the frame –

I then ground down the welds and smoothed everything up a bit –

All in all it turned out pretty good I think.

Every time I work on this bike my respect for custom builders grows.  The above took me 6 hours of work.  Granted, this is my first rodeo and all, but still to custom make something   just how you want takes a lot of work.  I’m glad I’m still enjoying it!