Dyna Rebuild 3

FABRICATION TIME

OK... the last couple weeks have been very busy with all kinds of things happening and bike shows and car shows to go and get ideas from. Went to the Easyrider Bikeshow in Sacramento and also the Sacramento Autorama that was just here. Lots of nice equipment out at both the shows. I talked with a few people in the business about painting, colors, pinstriping, graphics etc. I also met Paul Yaffe at the show and talked with him about bike building overall. They guy is really original! That's the way I want to keep my bike, "original" which in my book means not a bunch of HD bolt-on-chrome-crap. It means designing something different then all the rest and making your own. Now thats ORIGINAL.

Basically Im still on track with my "original idea" with some minor changes. Nothing life changing.

BRAKES:

I installed the rear brake bracket and caliper from Wilwood and made sure it was all going to work out OK with the new wheel and tire. This type of setup is a below the swingarm mount. Nice stuff!

SWINGARM:

Since the above picture was taken I have removed and relocated the brake stop and the shock mounting points. I purchased some steel stock and crafted my own shock mounts and brake stop brackets. Everything has been re-welded back into position where I wanted it to be located instead of the Harley factory. Makes for a much cleaner installation and the welds are all smooth, not a bead. I decided to keep the OEM belt guard as I couldn't find anything else that was 'custom' and would fit a Dyna... imagine that?

REAR FENDER:

After getting the swingarm back into working order, it was time to start the rear fender makeover. I purchased a Softail 9" wide fender that is used on the 2007 and newer models with the 200mm rear tires. I really like the style and the fatness... of it.

It obviously wasnt made for a Dyna so some serious fabrication had to be done to make it fit onto my bike. I also wanted to hide the struts so that the fender was all smooth and clean with nothing protruding from it. No Blinkers, No Brackets, No Bolts, No nothing.

Here are some shots of the rear; the Dyna struts had to be almost completely removed just after the upper shock mounting points. The new fender was tack welded into place and the struts that I fabricated were fitted. I used 3/16"x 1" strapping for the new struts and welded them from the inside. They protude from the fender at the shock mounting point and then fit in behind the existing Dyna strut ends that remain.

Then I took and welded up the sheetmetal cut-outs around the struts and continued with the fitment to the frame. This fender will be hard mounted and not remove-able. With a Bob-tail style fender and a swingarm it really doesnt have to be. Next will be fabricating a boxed in cover to complete the 'frenched' in look of the entire rear fender to the Dyna Frame rails. More on this to come also.

GAS TANK:

The tank was located and tacked into place. I fabricated hidden mounts for the front and rear of the tank so no hardware will show on the finished bike. This tank was actually for a Softail also. It took some coaxing but I got it to fit into place after some 'rework'. Basically had to cut out the entire back bone channel and replace it with a square one to get it to sit down low enough on the motor.

Next step will be finalizing the sheetmetals and getting the bike mocked up for final checkout.

In case you're wondering why I still have the engine and trans in the frame.... I didn't know this about Dyna Bikes but the rear swingarm actually mounts to the transmission case. It does not mount to the frame. So the engine, trans and rear swingarm are all one piece that moves together in the rubber mounted installations.

More to come...

Dyna Rebuild 2

This past week I have completed the tear down of the bike to the point of just the engine and transmission. The front end and rear wheel was removed after taking it down to the shop for some pipe work...

I am doing some changes to the rear swing arm which are mostly just visual more than functional, but they lend to how the eye meets the bikes design and blends the swing arm into the frame. With a Dyna Model, this is difficult. I hope it works with the under-swingarm rear brake system I have chosen from Wilwood.

I purchased a new pipe for the bike but I wasnt happy with it's fitment. The design is almost exactly what I wanted so I brought in a local exhaust shop guy that has done a few exhausts on some bikes. The Hooker Fourbidden header is a great looking design but it is made for a SOFTAIL... as usual.

He was interested in working on the project and I gave it to him to go forward. The bike came back with a totally custom exhaust system with heat shields and baffle. I think that I may do a black ceramic coating on the basic pipe and then have the shields chromed instead of chroming the entire pipe. This will match the black and chrome motor design to a "T". Thank You goes out to Specialized Exhaust in Elk Grove, CA.

Next I received some of the parts from the suppliers that I chose to deal with. I didnt received some from others... more on internet parts later. I got the new 18" 60 spoke rear wheel and the new 150 tire and had that mounted. I got the new front end and put that together and got it onto the bike and got a look at the new stretch and rake.

Next will be the braking system and the drive system to make sure everything fits before the final tear down.

Wilwood has always been connected with auto racing brake products and I have used their products on my race cars with great satisfaction in the past. I was extremely grateful to find out that they now offer motorcycle brake components. In fact I connected up with a good ole friend from my racing past to connect up with Wilwood again at Davis Motorsports. Rich Davis Sr. has been in the industry since it started many many decades ago. He got me all setup with new Wilwood products for the Dyna.

Next will be the fitment of the tins... the new gas tank, the new rear fender and front fender. I will have to find a way to blend the tank into the new solo seat and then into the fender. It shouldnt be too difficult.

Stay Tuned