[tooseevee]

    Here are a couple pictures As Of Right Now.

     It's all done but the TIG welding which happens Thursday morning. Probably take my old friend Paul 10 minutes then we'll drink coffee for an hour "catching up".

      One of the stubs is a hair high. I'll fix that tomorrow morning. The center of the tube sits right on the frame which is as low as you can get.

       Before someone points out the obvious to me: Yes We'll protect the wires and the clutch cable and everything else. Refrasil is your friend.

[axman88]

Nice!  Glad it worked out.  Now, everything makes sense.  Glad you took my advice. ( just kidding, ... calm down)

I want a TIG!  That's the ultimate in welding versatility right there.   Aluminum, stainless, it can handle it.  When I got my gas rig they were way too expensive, but nowadays those little inverter boxes can be had very reasonably.  Of course, the one I want is more like $4K.  What make/model unit does your friend have?

[tooseevee]

Nice!  Glad it worked out.  Now, everything makes sense.  Glad you took my advice. ( just kidding, ... calm down)

I want a TIG!  That's the ultimate in welding versatility right there.   Aluminum, stainless, it can handle it.  When I got my gas rig they were way too expensive, but nowadays those little inverter boxes can be had very reasonably.  Of course, the one I want is more like $4K.  What make/model unit does your friend have?

           Thanks. Those stubs left from the cut off "horseshoe" need some further "touching up", but I'll be honest, my hands (and the rest of what's left of me  ) hurt so bad I may just do the minimum necessary and just paint it all later with my Ford Black touch up lacquer. It dries nice and hard and tough super fast.

            I'll have to let you know Thursday what rig he brings with him. His operation (which his father started) is quite large. He employs 4 or 5 people (+ office staff) in two large buildings and they can handle anything from large truck and trailer work and fabbing (and lots of fishing boat work) to my little micro-job. They'll build any kind of trailer you want, for example. All the family houses are also on the same many acre "compound". It's a multi-million dollar operation. The largest metal fabbing operation in Southern Rhode Island.   

[tooseevee]

      I got hit Monday (blind-sided) by a "VERY Bad Thing" which required a LOT of immediate action in time, stress and running around getting advice and planning. That's why I didn't write Thursday. I can't seem to keep my mind off TBT + there's been a lot of just plan "other stuff" to do around here. TOO much. I should be sitting down WATCHING stuff get done at my age   

      Anyway. The welding went perfect Thursday AM. Like I said, it took 5 minutes. He built a nice "buttress" aft of the tube. It will never move. Paul sed "That's in case the "next" guy weighs 300#". (I weigh 125).

       It's perfect. It sits right on the frame as low as it  CAN be. It might look crooked in the pictures; it's not. It's the dead black paint & reflections. The seat is all the way back in the picture. It can go all the way closer to the tank because I've cut the slot longer in front + taken the center connector out so it's one long slot now. I do not know yet where it will end up fore & aftwise.

     I have a good idea for rear support which won't even require those rear spring bolts - I will cut them off.   

      Someone (is that 2 words?) asked about the TIG machine. Picture attached. Oooh!  Oooh! He drives a giant silver Ford Dually  Super Duty Platinum 4-door 4WD pickup with all the bells and whistles (in DD+DTS). Many amps. So learn how to weld, you "young folks"    He's a multi-millionaire and just a regular guy.

[Adrian II]

So learn how to weld, you "young folks"    He's a multi-millionaire and just a regular guy.

Maybe if a few of them take a good hard look at the cr*p which seems to be the stock aspirational fodder being promoted at the moment, you never know...

Hope your VERY Bad Thing is sorted, glad the seat is how you want it. 

A.

[tooseevee]

Maybe if a few of them take a good hard look at the cr*p which seems to be the stock aspirational fodder being promoted at the moment, you never know...

Hope your VERY Bad Thing is sorted, glad the seat is how you want it. 

A.

           Yes. It's worked well, but thankgod I'm a planner. Gotta shorten up the bracket bolts (welded to the seat pan) next. Hacksaw time again     

           Sort of half sorted (or 1/3). The first step worked. I wasn't optimistic. The next steps (especially #2) are a I have to wait and see thing.

[AzCal Retred]

Looking good! Nice touch with the chafing wrap (friction tape?) on the cable too. - ACR -

[heloego]

Glad things have mostly been sorted, mate!
That seat sure looks good on there! 

[tooseevee]

Looking good! Nice touch with the chafing wrap (friction tape?) on the cable too. - ACR -

           Thanks, Retread. Early on in the saga of this '08 when it was still "factory new", I unwrapped the whole main wire loom (miles of sticky, gooey, black plastic electrical tape) and refurbished and fixed the horrible job the factory was doing then wiring-wise on the AVLs. Also redid the headlight rat's nest and all new wire from under the seat to the rear lights (there wasn't even a grommet where it goes thru the fender).

           All but that one wire you can see is rewrapped with '50s style cloth harness tape. It adheres on one side, but it unwraps like magic (and rewraps) without the gooey friggin' mess. IIRC there are 39 wires in that loom or maybe it was 29. Whatever 

            The connections inside that loom were negligent and almost criminal. Just bare, exposed. twisted wire splices in many places; no actual "connectors". My only regret (now) is that I didn't run it UNDER that frame member. I will not do it now. The connections are many and many of the wires are spidery and delicate. It would take way too many hours (again) with hands that don't do what I need them to do.  I AM going to reroute that single relay-to-starter wire (that crappy relay has also been replaced) and get rid of that silly plastic coil that's on it now. I don't really like that stuff. It's too "easy way out" looking.     

[heloego]

I don't blame ya for not wanting to re-do the routing!Seems like every time I think I've finished I look at it again and slap my forehead. I guess anything worth doing is worth doing twice. 
I just finished going through the wiring mess on the ElectraX. 
Replaced ALL the "criminal" splices with heat shrinkable splices and emptied out a 5gal trash bin that was FULL of the crap electrical tape. While I didn't use cloth tape to re-cover, I did use this nice expandable wire loom:
https://www.amazon.com/Alex-Tech-25ft-Protector-Sleeving/dp/B07FW86XV6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1RU6W7341R62A&dchild=1&keywords=wire+loom&qid=1601215653&sprefix=wire+loom%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-3
Takes a little more attention to the ends by securing with black heat shrink tubing and maybe a couple zip ties where wires need to go out the side, but I like the look. IMHO it gives the chassis that "finished look" so needed.
This makes the third one I've done in the last year and I thought I had it down pat. But NO!
Had to re-route at least twice, discovered I hadn't re-pinned a couple of connectors, etc. 
I guess as time marches on the brain marches off.

[tooseevee]

Takes a little more attention to the ends by securing with black heat shrink tubing and maybe a couple zip ties where wires need to go out the side, but I like the look. IMHO it gives the chassis that "finished look" so needed.
This makes the third one I've done in the last year and I thought I had it down pat. But NO!
Had to re-route at least twice, discovered I hadn't re-pinned a couple of connectors, etc. 
I guess as time marches on the brain marches off.

           We grow too soon old and too late smart. Somebody said that. I'm getting tired of only spending 15 minutes a day on 18 different things and having to go sit for a while to get my mojo back and the pain to subside. I said that 

            Up at 4, admin stuff, feed the dog, eat something, arrive at Ace Hrdwr 9 sharp, back home, diddle with this, diddle with that, fix a light switch, played with the seat 1/2 hour, hot as a rain forest in an oven here today, and here it is 5PM. But I guess I'm used to it.

             I did not relocate the relay wire. More trouble than it's worth (unhook battery, disconnect from relay, etc..) and I'd still have to hide it and it looks better hidden where it is Zip-Tied behind the main loom & then Zip-Tie the main harness AND the loose wire as a unit in the little valley between the two frame tubes. You can't even see that wire any more  Simpler. Cleaner. 

              Cut up a lot of cardboard, too. Too much ordering. Too many boxes.

               That "wire armor" looks good. Like it 

[AzCal Retred]

The backbone tube has a nice 5/8" or so hole in it below the seat. If you made a slot, maybe 1/4" x 1" in the other end, on the bottom near the steering stem, you'd have a very nice, protected conduit for wiring. My Bullet will get this mod when the top end comes off this winter. There are gusset plates in this area, you wouldn't lose anything strength-wise. - ACR -

[tooseevee]

The backbone tube has a nice 5/8" or so hole in it below the seat. If you made a slot, maybe 1/4" x 1" in the other end, on the bottom near the steering stem, you'd have a very nice, protected conduit for wiring. My Bullet will get this mod when the top end comes off this winter. There are gusset plates in this area, you wouldn't lose anything strength-wise. - ACR -

            Yes, that all may be true, my friend, and I would love to hide ALL the wires inside the frame, but that would involve undoing all the connections from everything that is wired by the main loom AGAIN and I've done that already and know what a job it is with hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, back that fight me with pain ALL the time and don't follow my orders any more. It took me most of a year at a half hour here a half hour there to get the wiring to my satisfaction when I did it the first time. I can't even lift a coffee cup in the morning without a knife being stabbed into my wrist and just the weight of my arms now will dislocate one shoulder or the other if I'm not careful. My shoulders have dislocated hundreds of times over my life and it takes concentration all the time now to keep it from happening. There's nothing holding them together any more.

          And on the other end, standing on any hard surface (or leaning forward) brings on hip and lower back pain after a 1/2 hour that deMANDS another sit-down. I never get any one job carried through from start to finish. It's fits and restarts all the time and quitting when I don't really WANT to quit, but HAVE to. And the carpel tunnel numbness came back years ago also (left wrist surgery 1989, right wrist 1990). By the time I relented and had the surgery my hands and forearms were fucked.

         And that's my greatest fear; I am a total mess and I just plain may not be able to even get the bike out of the garage by the end of this next winter. THAT is my main reason for doing this seat mount work; to hopefully get more foot (both of them ) on the ground. I canNOT move the bike around any more on tippy-toes; it's just too scary. That, combined with my loss of upper body strength and pain, makes it very scary for me even moving the bike in and out of the garage without it running. I really don't want to drop her. She's still a virgin         

         PS: I've looked into the hole you mention at the rear end of the center tube under the seat. It's full of loose welding slag. I keep forgetting to clean it out with my pick-up magnet.

          Gotta go. Both my hands are completely numb and tingling just from typing. Gotta go feed and water the birds then feed my horse of a dog.

[tooseevee]

     You guys (any girls here?) must be so SICK of this F-ing seat saga. Oh, well and It's Done !!

       This AM I cut a 1/2 inch off the seat bolts so the ends don't stick down past the nut. Looks "unfinished" from the side. BTW don't buy Ace Hrdwr hacksaw blades. An old Stanley 24T worked better.

          Got 'er all rigged up & lined up & tightened up (I've GOT to get better, free-standing lighting!) & mounted & it looked damn fine from above AND the side.

            Next was rear support. I've had 3-2"x2"x3" blocks of very dense hard rubber hanging around for 30 tears (I'll need those some day ) So I cut a piece to just fit into the "slot" the bracket forms and I guessed at the height. Perfect! Comes right down & sits on the frame tube. My weight on it leaves it a finger from the rear fenderoffer. It hits on a bump? - I don't care; so did the Lycette mounted on springs.

      Then? I finally threw a leg over & SAT on it (you thought I'd never get there, right?  ) I am FLATfooted! On the Centerstand!!

     So. Left to do: Remove seat (too bad ). Remove bracket. Cut off that unneeded end of the bracket that sticks out & cut off the 2 rear spring bolts.

       Not today.


         

         

[Adrian II]

Neatly done. Isn't that also the first view of the new petcock?

A.