Not a thread jack at all msmith345...this is exactly what we are about here! Anything you fab or have questions about fabrication go here, so your right on track. I don't know much about that bender from HF, but I would guess if it truly does bend, it doesn't bend well or consistent. You are most welcome to prove me wrong. May I suggest that instead of buying the berg racks and HF bender, you buy this with a 3/4" die with a 3" radius: http://www.jd2.com/p-32-model-3-bender.aspx Use this to build your top and side racks all out of 3/4" DOM. The total cost will be within $75 of what you were already going to spend and you will have a lifetime tool with endless possibilities and professional results that can even make you money if need be someday. But I understand it also requires time you may not have and the pre made Berg racks are the fastest way to get you adventuring. You choose. Welders: if you buy a cheap welder, just make sure it has a cooling fan. Otherwise it is only going to give you about a few miniutes of weld time before it trips a breaker. If you want middle of the road but very good, try for a used Lincoln, Hobart, HTP, or Miller mig that will run on your 115v house current. I bought a Lincoln Weldpak 100 for $100 a few years ago. I would think used welders are all over in Kansas, but I don't know. Spend as much money as you can on the welder....do what you will with your bender, but don't skimp on the welder. Look for duty cycles in percentage. The higher the number, the better. 100% duty cycle is an industrial grade welder while 30% duty cycle is about what the average person welding at home needs. Anything less is still useful, but not recommended by me.. I don't think I would look at the Thermal Arc 95s only for reasons you already mention...the extras. You really have to fully commit to a tig welder, including practice time with a huge learning curve. I don't think I will ever perfect TIG welding to my satisfaction, but I was MIG welding at a near professional level in a very short time at a very young age. MIG is faster, easier, and cheaper. In a perfect world, the ultimate welder for you is a Snap-On 140a. It runs on 115v, has 100% duty cycle and come up used all the time for under a grand. Take this all lightly. Do what works for you and let us know the details and what you created. If it isn't Husky related, just make sure we can see a bike in the background.
Fab thanks for this info. I just spent 20 minutes looking at these two bars and I agree - I can't imagine they wouldn't fold or at least knock the crap out of the faring or radiator in a decent crash. Worst thing is a I also can't tell if they come forward far enough to weld in a crossbrace like you have. I don't know if the SW-Motech bars come up high enough to support the bike if it was laid down on its side, or if it would "teeter-totter" over them. I suppose they would have to by the very design of "crash bars"...
Your welcome Allen. I am excited to see the final Altrider product. It sounds like HuskyDude might be posting within a few days. I want to believe they added the support we both feel they need, but at the selling price, I don't think so. I believe Altrider knows way more than I do about building crash bars. I also believe most of the people that buy them will never have a serious lay down. Cost vs. warranty claims vs. customer satisfaction all come into play. Harder1 confirmed it was a solid product and I'm sure it is and will be for the person who rides the Terra the way it was intended. Those who push the Terra beyond what it was designed for might want to add some support if the final product is as we see it now. In a few days we will know a lot more. After a few lay downs we will know for sure.
I'm really liking where you're going with this RE. I'm patiently waiting to see the final product. I may hit you up for one if you make any extras.
X3 Plus a great job on the write up and pics on your boarderline adventure, inspirational stuff! Nice to see the thread resurrected, keep it coming!
I'll keep everyone posted with pics on the fabrication and testing. I notice you're in Woodland Park. I grew up in Crystal Hills, my backyard was what they call 'Red Rock Canyon' now... I guess they made it into some sort of park?
Familiar with Red Rock Canyon. Yeah it's a park with lots of hiking/jogging/bicycling trails. Beautiful area for sure. Crystal Hills as well. We looked at a couple places in that area before we settled in WP. Couldn't be happier. Sweet single track and two track just about everywhere you turn.
Any pics of the completed project? Are you happy with it or would you change anything? My stock rack is holding up good, but I only haul a soft bag back there. It seems like the issue with them comes when you mount something solid. I might follow your lead this winter and make something up. We already have had some snow on Pikes Peak!
No problem! I'll get everyone up to date on this thread too. Here is what I ended up making: I made this one as a template. The new design has a one piece main hoop for more strength: Here is what I got done today: Got these two bent and the mounts cut out, deburred, and bevelled. Maybe tomorrow I can notch these out and start welding the mounts on. I'm going to town Thursday to get a band saw I bought, some lumber and steel stock. Hopefully by next week I can have a few of these made. I'm keeping one for myself to torture test, and the others will be sent out to people who want to test them. I'm thinking $130 for the test models, including hardware (may be more if I have to ship it to a crazy location). Once these have been run through the ropes and beaten on, I will make some more if nothing has to be changed on the design and they will be closer to $200. I will guarantee the welds and material, but not the mounting hardware. I ordered a bunch of hardened bolts that should be stronger than the stock mounting bolts, but once again, I cannot guarantee they will hold up to the abuse. I'm looking for 1 more person to test these for me, let me know if you are interested.
I just found out that the new school I work at has a cnc machine, a 4'x4' plasma cutter, pipe benders, sheers, etc. This shop is top notch. I hope I can come up with some good designs for parts - my autocad skills are a little rusty.
If you're looking for a free CAD program to use, check out Google Sketchup. Its not quite the Pro-E I learned on in college years ago, but it damn well suits my needs for being free and is a great way to practice or learn. Sometimes, when I drink enough, I design turbines:
I have not any rely on stock rear rack. Somebody match my impressions??. I do not know what kind of materials are made of??. I broke one exterior arm just holding Terra to push it up from tarmac. So I think building panniers support from stock rear rack it could be risky.
