Seat upholstery 101

Chris finalizing some pan hammering that him and Phil did earlier in the week

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Scribe out a cut line

Trim to fit

Burnish the edges

Test fit the foam

3M Glue it in place then rough cut

Drink 3 beer and talk about how awesome it is going to look when complete

Massage the edges air sanding disc

Rough cut material

Light Coat of 3M on both peice and let dry from 10 minutes. This stuf only gives you one shot to get it straight.

Trim Excess

Stick your finger in it

Complete!

Chris's chop is off the rack!

A last minute trim of the clutch lever to clear the tank. 

Some little touches and tuning left. Upholster the seat pan, hook up the front brake and adjust the rear brake and this thing will be at the next bike night!

Busa brake caliper on a Virago

We created a template for the new adapter plate on the backside of a PBR carton of course.

We used one clamp to keep the wheel from spinning and another clamp that held the caliper exactly where we wanted it.

Chris cut off the bottom mounting hole and repositioned it in the new location against the caliper.

Chris made the adapter plate from 3/16 steel and we test fitted it.

Again we used some pieces of the PBR carton to space the pads out for mock up.  Is there anything you can't do with a PBR carton?!

Chris beveled all the edges and cleaned everything up in order to weld.

It took a couple tries to get the TIG to weld the cast aluminum correctly.  We preheated the part in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Once we preheated it the TIG could maintain a good puddle and the weld was successful.

Here is a picture of the inside pass,  we unbolted the adapter plate that was holding everything in place and welded up the other side and the ends.

Chris contoured the adapter to flow better with the caliper and we powder coated everything faux chrome.  It goes well with the polished aluminum lowers.  Now Chris has a 6 piston caliper on the front end of the Virago.  He also went from a dual disc setup to a single in order to open up the right side and not hide the wheel.

Great shop day, lots of visitors

We brought the bikes out into the sun and cleaned out the shop....

and seeing all the bikes outside brought a crowd. 

First Bible Dave and Gabby dropped by...

then a friend of Deuce's stopped by with his vintage Honda, Deuce tuned the carbs and had him on his way.

Our buddies from Woodbridge showed up on their older bikes and somehow a new bagger got dropped off for some work.

Chris continued work on his "artsy" tank

Phil adjusted the clutch on the bagger and got it home to its owner.

Back from powder coat

Chris sent out his wheels and bars to get powder coated.  He went with a white pearl base and a glow-in-the-dark powder all covered up with a clear.  They are sick and believe me they glow like a mother!

The bars in place.

Phil mounted the wheels and assembled the drive on the rear wheel.

New bearings and seals and the rear wheel is complete.

Here is Chris's idea for his front reservoir, it is a work in progress.

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