My Ginz Sissy Bar!

Well, the adventure of the Ginz Sissy Bar started in October.  Well, actually in August because that is when I saw them on the forum, and got interested in them.  however they were $$$... I knew i wanted a tall one.  a big reason for the bar was to be able to get the back pack off my back. two reasons for the backpack off my back was (1) for comfort, and (2) because I wear vests and jackets with artwork on them, and with the back pack, the artwork was not visible.  So.. the sissy bar hunt began, it had to have class.  Blue J is a classy lady.  We all have ideas of the looks we like.  I like the look of a tall sissy bar on my chopper.  the one I wanted wasn't cheap and i wanted their extra emblem of the Maltese cross, coz i like that theme on Blue J. Cha-Ching Cha-Ching on that! Then the luggage rack.  Decided to go for the matching, welded on one.  Got it ordered in October and waited - okay not so patiently - to receive it mid November. It got here Tuesday.  I was wrapped up in business til Friday, but started looking at it Friday night.

outta the box:

This photo no guy will recognize... it's INSTRUCTIONS!  LOL, i know the guys throw those out right off the bat. hahaha.

Instead of opening the bar up yet, i opened a bracket, boy is that baby a solid piece of metal. and the chroming is nice! The bracket feels like it weighs over a lb.

So, time to READ the instructions, coz that's how I roll... they shorted me 4 washers, but I've got those laying around the garage,  Reading through I see they call for a 21/64" drill bit.  Yes, for their 5/16" bolts.  I didn't have that bit, was wondering if i could use a 3/8", but unsure if it would be too big.  posted the question on the forum, got a suggestion to use the one they recommend (thanks LesterDiamond!) so ran out to Lowe's and grabbed one up.  Now I needed to see just what was I up against with this drilling??? so out to the garage to pop off the seat and fender...

To take off the seat/fender

These clips come off first - they are out now they are the holes by the foot pegs.  Those are clips where you push in the center and they release.

If you ride solo, don't' forget to pull out this screw... I did, and was wondering for 10 minutes why the fender wasn't popping off. LOL...  Doh!

So here we are with the fender off. Looks like I've got some room in there for a FATTER tire!  LOL... yes yes Mod-itis...  all things in their time...

So i took a peek and OMG I am practically stopped in my tracks!  Goodness gracious.  they call that thing the Strut, and goodness it is thick, two layers/hollow and looks so slippery!  plus it's a tiny little area. only 1 " from top to bottom.  Talk about nervous! I became terrified of trying to do this.  How in the world am I going to (1) drill through that metal, (2) drill the holes straight, (3) drill without slipping, (4) not pop a tire.  I'm petrified.  I'm glad I looked at this tonight.  I posted another topic on the forum to seek shared experiences.  I hope peeps respond tonight and the UK/Canada Folks in the wee hours of the US Morning.

Shoot.  Hmmmm... Gotta get me some courage.!

Here's what I'm talking about "thin"

This is the template for the drilling.  OMG.

Well, We'll sleep on this and get back to it in the morning...

Niters, 

JDol.

SATURDAY

Well, we wrote the forum and sought suggestions and support for taking on the adventure of the day I was getting psyched up to get going on the project.  SO we posted and waited, and got so many helpful suggestions/tips.  i decided to get a move on and bring the party out to the garage and set up.

So we need:

Laptop (Check tips)

MacX's Install notes on Forum

Directions

Locktite

Centerpunch

Duct tape

Masking Tape

Drill/Bits

Silicone

Diet Dew

&

Devil Dogs....

So here are a few tips.  Place a piece of duct tape on the strut so the drill bit doesn't wander/slip when you start it (Thanks Allan!).  Use a center punch to have a starting point for drilling (Thanks TheNewAftermath).  Drill pilot holes - Thanks (SinisterTurtle)...1/8"...  Use a corded drill (Thanks ExRed/KIOWA).  I only have a cordless, so it was suggested if the cordless didn't have enough to get the drill bit going, I could step it up to the right size by going up drill bit sizes in increments (Thanks RebelD!)....Slow drill speeds! & use cutting oil/lube. (Thanks SinisterTurtle)  I found a recipe for that which is for 2 parts water, 1 part olive oil and a dash of washing liquid.

So let's begin...

Let get the center punch involved

Drilling I used 3 sizes.  The Ginz bar is SAE. I had to go out and purchase the 21/64" bit for the 5/16" bolts.  I had the other SAE bits already, but didn't realize until i had started that they were less than adequate, being somewhat dull.  I spent about 1 1/2 hours working on drilling the pilot holes on both sides, but i was only able to break through the front of the strut.  It is hollow inside and then I had to drill the back out. that was T-O-U-G-H!  So while I was almost through the back side on this one side, it wasn't going, and I had to take a break...My hand hurt, and I figured I best recharge not only the drill batteries, but JDol's batteries :)

Ate lunch, checked into the forum, and resumed. Then I was cooking with gas - re-energized.  Finished up the Right side rather quickly, moved over to the left, and then the bits i was using went D-U-L-L.... back to Lowe's  :)  I must say i learned a lot about the settings on my drill, those dials at the top labeled 1 through 19, and the high low settings...  Now that I am reflecting, I suppose a corded drill would have made a difference.  I think I will put that on the list of tools to get.

SO... we got all the holes drilled, and hoo-rah they all line up with the brackets.  How's about that? :)  So before we put them on, let's silicone the holes to prevent rusting. (Thanks Ken/MacX/Ginz)

We will also Lock-tite the threads for bolting. (Thanks Ken/Ginz)

So I got both brackets on each side, torqued to 175 in/lb.

Now time to get the baby on - As of yet I haven't even unwrapped it...

the fasteners for the bar, use a large hex, (SAE) so we dug this out of the 1960's bin... lol...

Anyway, we finished up the job and snapped a photo just to commemorate the achievement :)

Hopefully get more pics tomorrow or next week.

I'm exhausted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

JDol

Hip Hip for Mods!

Well today is a great day! You see I've been saving up for the sissy bar that I really want to get.  I want a Ginz Sissy Bar: Old School Extreme.  Actually this picture is the Hell Bent, although not the extreme which is 25" this gives you an idea:

I really like the look of the really tall sissy bar. Kind of fits the chopper look -- you see I'm trying to keep a unique look.  the shorter sissy bars just remind me too much of a regular cruiser.  My sissy bar is for function as well as looks, but actually both equally.  I want to be able to get my backpack off my back and onto a carrier support.  The luggage rack made for the fury: Fury Rack

is a formed rack and not IMHO really a luggage rack, but more of a rear fender bib.  I'm taking a lot of care on mounts, and looks of mounts, etc. I want Blue J to have a distinct look.  The Highway Hawk bars are too low for me here is a sample of the archer: HH Archer Bar . Some of my buddies on the Fury Forum have those and they look real nice, but I wanted a different look. Plus I'm not crazy of the mounts on that bar.  Invicta has one and it looks great:

Because he has a black bike and his mounts are black, so they don't stick out, but chrome on blue would not be a good look to me, if you see the mounting brackets on the Highway Hawk.

So anyway, this is the bar I want to get:

Mine is going to be chrome, Plus I'm not sure which luggage rack to go for either welded on or detachable.  This picture might even be the "extreme" size.  

ANYWAY... AGAIN...

So I'm saving up for this and haven't been buying anything and tossing around maybe I should just get the Highway Hawk cause it's like half the price... lol but I really don't want to sacrifice!  So, by maybe another 3-4 weeks from now I'll be able to get it, right? and guess what? DH comes home and drops a cool hundred on me and tells me to get my sissy bar! Tells me he's donating to my sissy bar fund!  Yippee for me!  Now I'm psyched! Tomorrow I'm ordering for sure!  

Will finish this post tomorrow after I order.

WEDNESDAY

Hoo-Ray!  I got my bar ordered!  The guy Gary at Ginz Choppers was nothing short of fabulous on the phone.  Answered all my questions, and gave me sound advice on what to choose for what I was going for.  I decided on the Hell Bent Extreme, with the Welded-on Hell Bent Luggage rack, plus the Maltese Cross insert (pictured above).  We had discussed whether to go Extreme or Monolith, which is 25" or 30", so he is going to make my 25" Extreme bar an extra 1" just to give a kick up, at no additional charge.  He also bumped my production time up to tomorrow!!!!!!! and send it for chroming Tuesday which takes about a week, and if things go well, he might be able to ship it the following week! He's on West Coast, I'm on East coast, so FedEx is about 4 days. I'm looking at a possible 2 1/2-3 week delivery time...how fabulous is that!!!!!!  I'm real excited. Blue J is going to look so kewl.  Not only i think the sissy bar height is going to be a great look, I'm real glad i added the Maltese Cross Emblem Insert.  That's going to look kewl, too. A nice touch.  It also matches my Tank Bib where i embroidered one on the bib.  I also think i made the right move to get the Hell Bent welded-on luggage rack.  Reasons we discussed, were that to have the luggage rack, if i was going to have it on a lot, it made a better look to have it match the bar; didn't look so "out of place".  The detachable s were good, too, so you could run with just the bar if you wanted to, however my decision rested on the fact that I would be using the rack often and wouldn't care to be taking it on and off, so since it would be on most of the time, I'd rather have the classy matching look, so we went with the welded-on route.

Okee Dokee... That's it for now, gonna go cruise the forum.

Cheers!

JDol