Over the past few months we have gone over getting this 1968 Triumph back on the road. Next on the to do list was to finish up the fabrication work to the rear of the motorcycle. Installed on the original front frame section is a 4” over rigid hard tail. So that means we have to come up with new mounts for the rear fender and the seat. First we had to decide what kind of mounting style we wanted to use for the rear fender. We could go with the classic chopper sissy bar or the simpler struts. We opted to keep with the low stance and clean lines that the bike already had with the stock tank and drag bars and went for a short grab bar style sissy bar.
SC
01. We used 1/2 inch cold...
01. We used 1/2 inch cold rolled steel for the basis of our grab rail, and put a nice 6 inch diameter U shaped bend in it. We made the bungs we will be using to mount the grab rail to the fender and to the frame on the Lathe. But if you don’t have access to a lathe you can check out the great selection of pre-made bungs from Lowbrow Customs.
02. We started the mounting...
02. We started the mounting process by attaching the fender to the frame cross bar, using two 7/8-inch pieces of round stock with 3/8-16 threaded holes. The bungs were attached to the fender and then cut at the proper angle to weld them too cross member on the frame. All the while taking into consideration the proper gap between the inside of the fender and the tire.
03. Next we marked the rear...
03. Next we marked the rear axle plates where the bottom grab rail mounting bungs would go. The plates were carefully measured and were drilled 3/8-inch diameter to accept the 3/8-inch through bolt.
04. With the lower mounting...
04. With the lower mounting bungs bolted in place we moved onto marking the grab rail where we would make the bends . Making sure there is enough room for the rear chain and the brake rod to move freely
05. As we prepared to heat...
05. As we prepared to heat up the grab rail we ran out of oxygen for our torches. So to continue on with the job we turned to using Mapp gas. It doesn’t burn as hot as oxy acetylene torches but it will work if you don’t have access to a set of torches (we used two Mapp gas torches).
06. In order to keep both sides of the grab rail bent at the same angle we traced the first side onto our work table with a sharpie and then as we were bending the second side we able to use it as a diagram to match the bends.
07. The next step was to...
07. The next step was to bend the arms back down to meet up with the bungs mounted on the axle plates. It is very important to make sure that while you doing all this bending, that the grab rail is staying flat. If not then you wont be able to attach to your lower mounts with out the whole thing being crooked.
08. With all the bends done...
08. With all the bends done it was now time to cut the grab rail to height and then tack weld it to the axle plate bungs. Double or even triple check your work before you cut and once you do mark the bar left and right so it goes on the way you want.
09. Next we placed the upper...
09. Next we placed the upper bungs that would mount the fender to the grab rail. As you can see in the picture the bung was placed more towards the top of the fender rather then the sides. This was done so that we would have clearance between the tire and the bolt heads.
10. With the upper bungs...
10. With the upper bungs cut and placed everything was tack welded together. Make sure you get good tacks. You don’t want them to pull off while you take everything apart to do the finish welding.
11. The last part of our...
11. The last part of our project was to mount the Biltwell seat bracket. The weld on bracket provided by Biltwell was cut down to fit into the spot on the frame behind the stock Triumph tank mount.