Got tired of hearing my original mechanical speedometer whirr … grind … whirr … clack … no beeping though so I replaced it with one of those new fangled GPS speedometers, complete with accessory antenna. The good, it works, it is backlit (changed it to green), and installed very easy. The bad, it restarts my odometer count as like any odometer net mileage can’t be changed to falsify mileage and it only shows total miles in whole numbers (at least by default).
Was at 19,884 miles when i started the conversion. Hit 4,000 miles on April 20, 2023.
Didn’t like the large mounting blocks so changed the mounts to some HVAC duct hanger that I covered with black heat shrink first.
So after losing my classic bronze Kawasaki sissybar insert I figured I’d go about making one. or two. or more. Haven’t decided where to stop yet but am thinking access to a plasma cutter would allow a bit more metal creativity. In the meantime I used a laser engraver/cutter (Atomstack P9-M40) to cut a basic design (a front and a back) from some basswood, placed a couple of pieces of translucent white abs and green acrylic in between, and then painted the wood with some Posca paint pens. Also gives me the idea to make some like this for a regular stand with some back lighting to make the acrylic shine.
Found a NOS sissybar rack on ebay. Looks good installed so I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. Everything I add at this point just adds more weight, which decreases mileage, so other than the aesthetics I’m not sure if it is really useful for riding.
So I went to do a routine check as i had not ridden due to weather and noticed my sissybar insert is missing the top part. How did this happen? Not really sure …. but I did lay the bike down to avoid a collision back in December but did not notice it after standing the bike back up (yes, it was dark at the time). Maybe it was weakened from the impact & fell off later while I was riding it …
Heard a thunk earlier this week just after crossing a speed hump on my way to work. couldn’t figure it out but realized i had a log of chain slack & thought that the front sprocket was pulling too much when i twisted the throtlte. Turned out i was wrong … rather wrong. The actual problem was that the two of the motor mount rods had broken & the thunk was probably the sound of either one or both of them breaking and the motor mounting plate being pulled into the swing arm.
After tightening the chain up at the office i figured it was time to order a new chain and get on with life but onthe weekend when i went to take the chain off (after buying a new chain breaker since i can’t find the one i have & a new chain) i realized the actual problem was the motor mounts. Fortunately i still had a few left overs from the build to replace them without having to go buy new ones so it is back up and running again. Replacing has given me a bit of pause in terms of install and nut locations as i installed the motor first and now have to to deal with wrenching limitations due to battery, wiring, and accessory placement. Note the motor mount rods are 5/16″ all thread.
Had an ongoing issue with the H4 bulb in the after market bucket (the original headlight for this bike is a sealed beam unit) where the bulb was always on high beam. Solution? trouble shoot or replace. I opted to replace with one of those cool looking, hopefully not blinding, after market LED headlights.
While losing space for the wiring harness within the bucket (it was a tight fit anyway) it was easy to install a wiring box from a Honda GL500 (thank you ebay) and put a temporary cover on it. well, it is supposed to be a temporary cover … though i did need a headlight extension cable & just bought one instead of making one.
Also lost the place my front blinky things were mounted so i’m awaiting a set of fork blinker mounts to arrive (also thank you Amazon) & will install those next weekend.
So it took a while. A lot of internet searches. A couple of wrong size mounting brackets (one came with the sissy bar) & a thought to make one myself. Then I found it. A NOS mounting bracket for the vintage Kawasaki sissy bars from 1980ish.
Still trying to decide which LED headlight bulb is best so took a few more night pictures with the accent lights on.
