Métis 2 Bobber Build

Noobie said:
Have you thought of mountain bike shocks? This is just an example and many can be had by uk bicycle shocks suppliers to the length and weight limit

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The problem with these & many like them, (from what I know) is that they are way too stiff for one human, unless you are a real fatty. Even though I'm not a light-weight I'm not a whale either, which you'd need to be to get these units to move & work. Units that are pre-charged with gas are even worse & harder to make work.
Many push bikes have linkages which work at set ratios without which just me sat on them, isn't enough weight/leverage to get them to work. Also, if you double up & have two units then that makes this problem even worse. Basically I'm trying to get something to do a job that it was never intended to do.
Also, many of the more expensive cycle shocks are too long for my application & just wouldn't "look" right, (in my opinion ;))
Because my builds are made to look old any seat suspension unit really needs to have a coil spring visible to "look" right :ROFLMAO:
Ideally the Maxton route would be the best route to go, providing I could come up with a mounting system that "looks" right & in keeping with the bike's style. At least the unit/units would be designed to work with my weight & set-up. We'll see when I get to that point, at the end of the day I'm not building a bike to tour on or get round the Isle of Man fast so it will be what it is & I'll just have to accept that & live with it.
 
Your skills as a builder chap are far more than I could even think about and it's a joy to watch things coming together.

You probably have researched this so I hope I'm not trying to take coals to Newcastle. Have you ever looked at steam punk motorcycles? It's a generic term for the days of hg wells and the original time machine film where they revelled in the new industrial age. they have some marvellous ideas and work arounds. Just a quick example google page

 
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Yes, seen those steam punk things. Some just look horrible & others do look nice, in a steam punk kind of way !! :LOL: Like any custom bike though, ones that look "right" usually hide the many hours taken to create them.
Like everything though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder & that genre of motorcycling is really not me.
I like modern sports bikes, well excecuted 70's - 80's naked specials & the 40's style of bobber I build. Having said all that I still love my '76 Z900 & '94 750SS, I'm not a lover of Harley's at all, the whole thing about them not just the bikes themselves, which is a bit of a contradiction considering my bobber & what it is based on !! :ROFLMAO: BM's are similar to Harleys on my "like" list, maybe that's because their riders are the ones most likely not to wave to me when I'm out & about :ROFLMAO: Rat bikes, too, are just hideous, can't see the attraction of them at all. But, beauty is in the ............... as the saying goes (y)
 
Took the front forks & rear wheel for a little road trip today to Wisbech & the frame builder. Hopefully the frame should be ready for collection mid September, fingers crossed.
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Joe did the first frame & I was happy with that. The new fame will be much the same as the first one, but with a few tweeks to suit the different forks & narrower rear wheel/tyre.
 
While I'm waiting for a few frame brackets to be welded I managed to make the number plate mount & rear brake torque arm. Also drawn a template for the number plate to frame mount too.
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I'll most likely change the two rod ends for stainless steel versions, I just used these two because I had them in my "bits box".
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Need to make a suitable bracket now to weld on the frame to fix the other end of the torque arm to.
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The three mounting screws need countersinking, but I'll leave that until I've marked the three positions on the frame mount part. It also needs another hole for the actual number plate itself.
 
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On the rear plate, I was reminded of when Ed china did a ford pop on wheeler dealers. Zoom to 8:20 to avoid the faff before

 
Got the rolling chassis up on my ramp this morning & made a cardboard template of the number plate frame mount. Also, opened out the pilot holes & threaded them for the number plate mount, paddock stand brackets & rear wheel axle nut retaining "E" clip.
 

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Had a bit of garage time today. Got the saddlebag mounts tacked on in to position & the front seat mount tacked on too. My welding isn't good enough yet to do the final welding, but at least I can tack things in place ready for my welder friend to work his magic ;)
Saddlebag mounts,
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And saddlebag mounted. This was the original saddlebag I'd had made for the first bike, but it dragged on the road going round righthand bends so I had another similar one made that lifted it up a bit higher. As this was surplus to requirements I used it for this latest bike, which has a bit more ground clearance & I made the mounts lift it a bit higher too. It will probably still ground out, but it's one of those "it is what it is" jobs ;)
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Front seat mount,
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And with the seat roughly mounted to check it looks right. Just need to sort out some better suspension now for the seat.
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Got the number plate mounting bracket almost finished today. Just need the use of a mate's milling machine now to cut out the 30mm lightening hole, (my pillar drill is not up to that job, was OK for the smaller 20mm hole).
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Need to get some black plastic number plate screws too & lengthen/replace the wires to the rear light.
 
I didn't open out a 20mm hole to 30mm, I drilled a 20mm hole, the upper one & I need to drill the lower 30mm hole. ;)
Because my end mills are not centre-cutting, they need a pilot hole.

I use the term "lightening" hole very loosely here. It's more about the bracket "looking" good rather than the finished bike benefiting from any weight saving modifications !!
The first bike I built has carbon fibre parts, but the frame & engine weight that much there's no real world benefit of using these modern light materials. It's just about "looks" or as some might say, bullshit ! :ROFLMAO:
Much the same as buying a Panigale & putting carbon parts on that, just visible bullshit, nice looking bullshit, but bullshit none the less. ;)
 
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Andyb said:
you won't want to catch your leg on that as you walk by....
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The first bike has the same set-up & I have walked by & caught my leg/shin & yes, it bloody hurts !!😂

I'm certain I'll end up doing the same thing with this one too, at least once or twice !:mad:
 
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