# My sponsored 78 shovelhead build thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Builds\ **Created:** [December 28, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907 "2012-12-28T05:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/speedlife/original/2X/b/b7170c8eddc0b95ece6b88172b2f416a08489a45.png) [@system](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/141 "2013-01-16T12:15:50Z")
Sweeeet. What sort of people are you up against here? With all the unique custom fab going into this, and the quality of the work, I don’t see you losing this… but then again… idk. ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/142 "2013-01-16T12:20:13Z")
You can look at the thread on chop cult. It’s a really friendly competition, I’m not even sure how it all works… a lot of other guys seem to be doing pretty “standard” builds. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/speedlife/original/2X/b/b7170c8eddc0b95ece6b88172b2f416a08489a45.png) [@system](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/143 "2013-01-16T12:32:51Z")
Cool site. Yeah, seems like a lot of ‘cookie cutter’ builds, but still very cool. So, is there some money involved to offset the build cost for the winner, or do you not even know? ---
**Author:** ![focusinprogress](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/focusinprogress/32/7227_2.png) [@focusinprogress](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/focusinprogress)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/144 "2013-01-16T12:48:06Z")
maybe I should’ve tried to get in on the competition with my XS650 hardtail project lol…the guy doing an XS is using all off-the-shelf parts… ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/145 "2013-01-16T13:05:13Z")
There were SO many entries. I really don’t know much about the contest other than i recently got to pick out a bunch of shit for free from some of the sponsors so that’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![focusinprogress](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/focusinprogress/32/7227_2.png) [@focusinprogress](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/focusinprogress)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/146 "2013-01-16T13:12:05Z")
that’s awesome. Do you plan to keep the bike when it’s finished, or sell it? ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/147 "2013-01-16T13:17:51Z")
Depends how much I like it. No plan. Never really have much of a plan about anything. ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/148 "2013-01-19T19:40:11Z")
On friday I received my water jet cut triple trees back from a local company. They are a vendor that supplies my company with water jet parts so they did it for the cost of materials. I designed them completely. They are designed around stock GSXR offset numbers, adjusted a bit to get 4" of trail. Here are the parts after waterjet cutting from solid 1" and 2" 6065T6 plate: ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/6458C288-B121-4FE9-99FC-1747BC349A53-1211-000000BBB67893C3.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/6458C288-B121-4FE9-99FC-1747BC349A53-1211-000000BBB67893C3.jpg) Waterjet parts will always have a kerf angle to them, so you can’t just cut them to size and run them. (kerf angle is the taper of the cut, for reference the fork tube holes in the 2" part were .020 larger at the top). A lot of other adjustments and work was required as well: Pinch bolt, counterbores, recesses, embossing. Here’s a shot during the boring operation. The tolerances are pretty critical, I was able to bore to .001 over the fork tube diameter, resulting in a great fit. ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/CF7CB616-AF2F-4D0F-9D48-97A0E428A886-1211-000000BBC72136FB.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/CF7CB616-AF2F-4D0F-9D48-97A0E428A886-1211-000000BBC72136FB.jpg) Here’s a shot of a tapping operation. Apart from doing rolled threads on a cnc, the second best option is to use a centering pin on the tap hand and light pressure on the quill. Hand tapping with no guide works but I find that I frequently have my first couple threads a little loose. This way always works great. ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/216D742A-9195-41F7-9FCE-F16EC485B81F-1211-000000BBC06D790D.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/216D742A-9195-41F7-9FCE-F16EC485B81F-1211-000000BBC06D790D.jpg) Since everything I do is on manual milling machines (I am learning to CNC program though) I sometimes have to get creative. In order to simulate a circular milling operation, I turned down a short piece of 2" SCH160 to the same OD as a fork leg, then put it in the chuck on the rotary table. I then clamped my triple onto it using the pinch bolts. I thought it was a pretty slick workaround for not being able to circular mill anything (imagine trying to draw 20 concentric circles with an etch a sketch) ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/BCEA98E9-CFE5-460A-93AA-490CFFFE7580-1211-000000BBCD011785.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/BCEA98E9-CFE5-460A-93AA-490CFFFE7580-1211-000000BBCD011785.jpg) I made a stem from a modified grade 8 1" bolt (mic’d out at .999") and a decorative top cap from brass. Then I test fit everything. Make a note the length of the black part of the fork tube: ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/90B86D03-0CDD-456C-8B82-B8CF02C5BB7B-1211-000000BBE5573450.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/90B86D03-0CDD-456C-8B82-B8CF02C5BB7B-1211-000000BBE5573450.jpg) Here’s a shot of the decorative top cap: ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/C4C5517F-1046-46E7-ACD0-6865AA48E1ED-1211-000000BBDF5EC037.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/C4C5517F-1046-46E7-ACD0-6865AA48E1ED-1211-000000BBDF5EC037.jpg) Based on the cad drawings I had done earlier, I knew that I needed to shorten the forks about 2". In order to do that you need pretty much disassemble them completely. This involved making a spring compressor. This is sort of a “before” picture. Note the length of the plastic spacer at the top. ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/FC25BBF5-3322-4B18-A961-94F3B509FADF-1211-000000BBF90EBF9D.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/FC25BBF5-3322-4B18-A961-94F3B509FADF-1211-000000BBF90EBF9D.jpg) This is an “after” picture. The spacer at the top has been shortened 2". This change is made up for by adding a 2" spacer on the bottom of the fork cartridge (visible to the left of the little spring). What this does is lowers the fork without affecting it’s spring rate or damping at all. ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/389F75B8-A156-4B5B-8DC0-EA88DA5108D1-1211-000000BBF2CF6095.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/389F75B8-A156-4B5B-8DC0-EA88DA5108D1-1211-000000BBF2CF6095.jpg) And now here’s a shot of them installed on the frame. You can see how much shorter the forks are. They will bottom out about .125" before the seal contacts the lower portion. The space between the fork legs allows for .25" on either side of the tire, nice and tight (18x4.00). Since I am not running front brakes, I will probably shave off all the mounting crap on the lowers. ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/EAA8F1C0-9D35-4B6A-9714-AD4077B4856F-1211-000000BBFF618FE6.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/EAA8F1C0-9D35-4B6A-9714-AD4077B4856F-1211-000000BBFF618FE6.jpg) ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/F4D4F63E-0AF4-4361-A2ED-0658DCF87874-1211-000000BC06211F14.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/F4D4F63E-0AF4-4361-A2ED-0658DCF87874-1211-000000BC06211F14.jpg) ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/5B8B871F-2965-4BD9-BBB7-A24B0AF49C45-1211-000000BC0C5F9AAB.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/5B8B871F-2965-4BD9-BBB7-A24B0AF49C45-1211-000000BC0C5F9AAB.jpg) I threw on my risers: ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/E0954545-FCDB-4BA4-9CA1-AAC75EDD6558-1211-000000BC12B9D88E.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/E0954545-FCDB-4BA4-9CA1-AAC75EDD6558-1211-000000BC12B9D88E.jpg) Then just for shits and giggles threw on the prototype plastic bars I made for my honda (which I later made from steel): ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/8D45350E-E045-4955-9032-E83B26C9BC50-1211-000000BC26A2D9E6.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/8D45350E-E045-4955-9032-E83B26C9BC50-1211-000000BC26A2D9E6.jpg) ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/E5B7FE63-8A08-409B-B2F7-4ABB6557A1EC-1211-000000BC2C5F1F7F.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/E5B7FE63-8A08-409B-B2F7-4ABB6557A1EC-1211-000000BC2C5F1F7F.jpg) I expect to have my bending dies this week, so expect some frame and handlebar action this coming week! ---
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/149 "2013-01-19T20:01:27Z")
Ugh, Imagine trying to make that pinch bolt slit by hand, especially on the bore side. Did you do any analysis (hand calcs or otherwise)? I had thought of making a set for my bike just to get some cnc time at work (new haas mm2) but I didn’t know what to use for load cases… ---
**Author:** ![JDMSIR](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jdmsir/32/7376_2.png) [@JDMSIR](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMSIR)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/150 "2013-01-19T20:02:34Z")
Awesome so far, not feeling the bars though. I know you threw them on there for shits but I think something flatter would look nice. ---
**Author:** ![dirtye30](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/dirtye30/32/7333_2.png) [@dirtye30](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/dirtye30)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/151 "2013-01-19T20:03:22Z")
Not too shabby chap! ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/152 "2013-01-19T20:14:06Z")
> [@JDMSIR](#): > > Awesome so far, not feeling the bars though. I know you threw them on there for shits but I think something flatter would look nice. Check the cad model a few pages back! ---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 PM ---------- > [@travisn](#): > > Ugh, Imagine trying to make that pinch bolt slit by hand, especially on the bore side. > > Did you do any analysis (hand calcs or otherwise)? I had thought of making a set for my bike just to get some cnc time at work (new haas mm2) but I didn’t know what to use for load cases… No calculations. Most of the load comes from braking, so no front brake means very low loads. But even if I was, they’re much more burly and made of a better aluminum than stock ones. ---
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/153 "2013-01-19T20:33:32Z")
Yea I guess that’s true providing you don’t bottom out the shocks. Those are definitely strong enough as is, it’s not like you are designing for weight anyways. 6061? ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/154 "2013-01-19T20:42:52Z")
> [@travisn](#): > > Yea I guess that’s true providing you don’t bottom out the shocks. Those are definitely strong enough as is, it’s not like you are designing for weight anyways. > > 6061? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Spam16v](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/spam16v/32/5287_2.png) [@Spam16v](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Spam16v)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 8:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/155 "2013-01-20T08:19:59Z")
That lower triple is a perfect canvas for something offensive. Plan to anno the triples? Or raw? ---
**Author:** ![GV1390](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/gv1390/32/5432_2.png) [@GV1390](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/GV1390)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/156 "2013-01-20T08:23:21Z")
Glad I could help, looking good. :tup: ---
**Author:** ![focusinprogress](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/focusinprogress/32/7227_2.png) [@focusinprogress](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/focusinprogress)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/157 "2013-01-20T08:54:25Z")
where do you get those knurled brass things? If I remember correctly, you threaded two of them for mounting the headlight bucket on the honda…I’d love one for my rear tank mount to replace the wing-nut I’m currently using… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 9:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/158 "2013-01-20T09:42:38Z")
> [@focusinprogress](#): > > where do you get those knurled brass things? If I remember correctly, you threaded two of them for mounting the headlight bucket on the honda…I’d love one for my rear tank mount to replace the wing-nut I’m currently using… 😉 They were a left over from a job. I have 2 more that I have a plan for, but I may not use them. I think you can get them from McMaster. I have a stainless one you can have. 🙂 ---------- Post added at 12:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 PM ---------- > [@Spam16v](#): > > That lower triple is a perfect canvas for something offensive. Plan to anno the triples? Or raw? Not sure yet. I’ll decide once more stuff is together. Something offensive. Lol. I have a plan to try and do some brass etching, that’d be a good spot to slap a badge. ---
**Author:** ![Mike93](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/mike93/32/7325_2.png) [@Mike93](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Mike93)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/159 "2013-01-20T09:58:01Z")
This is all incredibly impressive…I’m enjoying watching this build progress, great work Christian. ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907/160 "2013-01-20T10:20:21Z")
Thanks dude. It’s cool making something as simple as a motorcycle because you can spend a lot of time on stuff without the build stretching out forever. [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907.md?page=7) [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/my-sponsored-78-shovelhead-build-thread/227907.md?page=9)