A huge milestone in the EXUP build was receiving the seat unit from Ragged Edge Racing (website below) the service was second to none and I could not recommend them more. My seat unit arrived with a small dent in it. After sending images to ragged edge I was given an immediate refund in full for substandard work. The dent is repairable with a bit of rubbing down and filler so it was a win win for me.
raggededgeracing.com
I need to fabricate a subframe to mount this seat unit, for the lines of the bike to flow into the seat unit I needed the top of the seat unit to run inline with the top of the tank. I also need to ensure the seat unit is far back enough so I fit on the bike im on the healthy side of 6"2.
I used an existing subframe as a base. I set about chopping the lower braces off and swapping them over so the left is now on the right and vice versa. This has narrowed the underside of the frame whilst still allowing just enough room to fit in the battery box. The packaging under this seat unit will be very tight but will dramatically improve the looks of the bike.
These braces were roughly marked out and cut off, I used a grinding wheel to cut the edges into a semi circle so they sit flush with the bar they will eventually be welded to.
I managed to rest the subframe in place, thankfully it seemed to fit well so I decided to go ahead with tacking it up before welding it completely.
I am using a gas-less MIG welder which is only good for tacking if in honest, my TIG welder is out of action so I had to complete the job by constantly cleaning off the slag and re tacking until there was effectively a seam of weld.
I know nothing to be proud of but it will suffice for the application.
I regularly offered up the seat unit to ensure the subframe gave me the desired angle, not too much but just enough to fit with the existing lines of the bike.
I really want the top of the seat unit and the top of the tank to flow smoothly, the overall look for this bike is effectively a retro track day/cafe racer which is a bit strange but I think it will make a refreshing change from the streetfighter treatment these bikes are far too often victim to.
A small amount of frame had to be ground off to make clearance for the lower subframe struts.
These lugs were initailly used as a seat support for the standard plastic seat unit, I decided to drill and tap them through so I could mount a bar across the bike to eventually mount the seat unit off. I decided to drill straight down this turned out to be a terrible idea, I should have kept all of the hole perpendicular to the surface.
And this is why. I offered up a piece of box section however the bolt head and mounting surface were at an angle and soI had to fabricate an angle in the box section to take up this mis alignment of the mounting surfaces.
I was pretty happy with this bar, I am yet to find a safe and robust way of mounting the seat unit, I know I will have to measure it up and drill the seat unit first. However I need a little more time to find a solution. Time is ticking as I will be back at university within a week.
Here are some images to give an overview of the desired look of the seat unit.
much cleaner lines compared to the standard seat unit which always made the bike look saggy and slow. This new clearance between the tyre and the seat really gives the bike a purposeful and aggressive stance.
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