| Author | Message | ||
     Tom_s |
That 90 degree fitting for the line to the nitrogen reservoir. Right on the bottom, front. I have no idea why Penske mounts them like this for a tuber. For what they get for these things...? It just ain't right. Since I have a tendency to ride my 'ol '96 S1 into and through places that may not be friendly to the bottom of the bike, I decided that I should have some sort of guard for that fitting. Drafted up patterns on Autocad. Then print out & cut out them out of paper to see if I like them in place. Works good. I made this one out of very thin stainless, about 1/32". Looked good, but...  After going through all that cutting, sanding, & polishing... it was just not right either. Fits on the new shock, didn't fit between the shock eye & the bracket. I could have ground away a little more width in the bracket easily enough, but the guard would not have been strong enough as a jacking point. Duh. What was I thinking? Guess I wasn't. Next! Decided that having enough trouble bending that channel shape into the first one, it would be a lot harder to do with 1/16" stainless. So, three pieces it was.  Had some square stainless tube that was just the right width for the bottom/base. Wish it had been some deep channel.   The small holes at the bottom are there because I thought I might have to use small screws or bolts to hold it all together if I could not weld them without burning through using my old arc welder & too fat stainless rod. All I had. Got it done though. Needed a longer bolt for the front shock eye. Wanted stainless allen. Could not get a metric stainless allen that size. Used a 1/2" allen & rethreaded it with the proper metric threads. Came out just fine. On to the nitrogen reservoir mounting. Seems the only place it would work out was about the same as Djkaplan's. He has some pix in the links below. My mount was a a little easier/simpler I think. : ) Clamps right on the round part of that tie bar, good & solid.  Yeah, it'll fit/snuggle right in there.  Shortened the bolt on the large stock clamp for clearance on the inside. Rotated the small clamp 180 degrees from the above pic. The bolt head on the screw clamp was too close to the belt.   [IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/TomIII/Buell/Penskeshocknew.jpg[/IMG] The two holes above the mounting bolt can be used for a couple smaller bolts to make it even more solid. I just have to drill and tap the shock bracket. I do believe that if I were to start over on this I would just design & build a new front shock bracket. I think it would be just as easy to make a bracket that has enough space for the fitting to face upwards. As it is, just not enough depth there in the bracket itself. Oh, yes, I did jack up the front of the bike via the guard. Was on a rear stand & I held my fingers on the guard as I jacked it up. There was no flex or bending of the 1/16" thick guard. I still might add a little curved piece that will cover the somewhat open front of the guard. If I do hit something I want to slide over it. You can see that I have tilted it back for that reason. Now that guard is the lowest point under the bike. A bit less ground clearance. : ( Couple Penske threads I found here, with links to others. Got any more? Penske Question thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/292732.html Show Me Your Penske thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/251321.html?1174501613 (Message edited by Tom_S on May 18, 2008) (Message edited by Tom_S on May 18, 2008) | ||
| Jos51700 |
I didn't know they made S1X's.... That is excellent! | ||
| Werewulf |
outstanding!! | ||
| Langperf |
Another option would be to drill ant tap a new port for the remote reservoir fitting 90 deg from where its at. Of course you'd have to disassemble the shock and then bleed and refill it. But that would be less work than machining a new front mount from scratch. | ||
| Langperf |
Oh...good job mounting the reservoir. They look so tacky mounted to the frame on the opposite side of the bike | ||
| Tom_s |
"Another option would be to drill ant tap a new port for the remote reservoir fitting 90 deg from where its at. Of course you'd have to disassemble the shock and then bleed and refill it. But that would be less work than machining a new front mount from scratch. *********************************************** And that's exactly what I am going to do. Just as soon as I learn how to disassemble & reassemble the shock with the proper fluid, & add the pressurized nitrogen right here in my garage.  Naa, Langperf, not gonna happen. I could build a new, and lighter weight, mount bracket a lot easier than that. No real machining required either. Just some cuttin' grindin' & probably some weldin'. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I see you linked to an old thread I posted... it feels like I've been to a party I never attended. I think your shock guard is a good idea. It's a good idea even without a fragile fitting there. I can tell you're the kind of guy who sits there and stares at stuff... | ||
| Tom_s |
"I think your shock guard is a good idea." ******************************************** I know you do, Kaplan. You said as much in one of those threads I linked to. That braided line just would not let me put that reservoir anywhere else that seemed to work. Might have fit on the left side frame, but there is a damper there, & maybe later a frame brace. Too cluttered. I should have laid on the floor & stared at the mounting bracket a lot more before I started.  Can't recall if I'd even tried fitting the shock before I started on the guard. Maybe the Penske guys should have looked for a better place for that fitting too. I don't get it. | ||
| Jayvee |
Wow that is so cool. You know, the front shock bolt from the X1 is about 1/2 inch longer than the one from the M2. When I put the chin fairing on, I wound up changing to the longer front bolt too. Didn't seem to catch enough thread on that backing nut with the little bracket for the chin fairing. Now I am inspired to go move my res. bottle! I don't understand why they can't orient the reservoir line to come out straight to the left, instead of straight down. Is it anything that can be re-oriented while assembling the shock? Like during a re-build? |
