Boxerworks.com

vanzen@rockerboxer.com wrote:

dougie wrote:Think "preventive maintenance".

BINGO !

There are many motorcyclists who wish they could have prevented maintenance!
Damn that free and easy motorcyclist lifestyle.

ME 109 wrote:

vanzen@rockerboxer.com wrote:

dougie wrote:Think "preventive maintenance".

BINGO !

There are many motorcyclists who wish they could have prevented maintenance!
Damn that free and easy motorcyclist lifestyle.

And we are all big fans of your "I can get this thing home" maintenance.

When I make battery terminals to go with my Master Switches, I use heavy duty terminals and 60 volt, 6ga cable.

I cut the cable back until the copper core bottoms in the terminal, put some dialectic grease in the terminal end, insert the wire and secure the terminal with a double crimp, using a specialized crimping tool. The seam gets a light coat of grease and band of shrink wrap and then I add a second one. I don't want those connections collecting moisture and rotting from the inside and I want to avoid any corrosion that results from using rosen core solder.

My last soldered cables were good for ten years and I think that a terminal made up my way should last the life of the bike and I feel comfortable guaranteeing it!

dougie wrote:And we are all big fans of your "I can get this thing home" maintenance.

Thanks Doug!
I was thinking more............child maintenance.

KenHawk wrote:When I make battery terminals to go with my Master Switches, I use heavy duty terminals and 60 volt, 6ga cable.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "Master Switch". I've been noodling on a quick kill-switch for my negative battery cable and curious if this might be one of those

--e (72 bmw r75/5)

Back in the 80's I found an extremely high quality heavy duty switch that fit perfectly behind the battery box on my /6 and was heavy enough to handle the electrical loads with ease, so my friend Dell Ward made up some cables for me and we installed it between the negative terminal and the ground lug on my old R90.

Having a "Master Switch" means that I can turn off all of the electricity on the bike with the flick of a switch and that makes servicing a little safer and much more pleasant. It's a good feeling to know that when you think the powers off, it's off! An added advantage is that when I park the bike in public, I can completely disable the bike before I walk away.

I make up and sell the switch and harness set-ups and have shipped to buyers across the US, as well as to Europe and Australia. No returns, no requests for new cables and no complaints, despite my "lifetime no questions asked" guarantee. Amazingly enough, the first switch that I installed back in 1988 ( After 200,000+ miles of all weather riding.) still works perfectly.

My first cables we made up using off-the-shelf soldered terminals and they lasted (With significant damage and deterioration.) almost 20 years but mine, made up using the best parts available, should last the life of the bike.

Want photos? Use the link and page down: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... st15255436

Sweet machining on the frame brace Ken. Out of curiosity, why not weld the ends to the bar?

KenHawk wrote:Back in the 80's I found an extremely high quality heavy duty switch that fit perfectly behind the battery box on my /6 and was heavy enough to handle the electrical loads with ease, so my friend Dell Ward made up some cables for me and we installed it between the negative terminal and the ground lug on my old R90.

Having a "Master Switch" means that I can turn off all of the electricity on the bike with the flick of a switch and that makes servicing a little safer and much more pleasant. It's a good feeling to know that when you think the powers off, it's off! An added advantage is that when I park the bike in public, I can completely disable the bike before I walk away.

(snip)

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... st15255436

ah ha! I've been looking for that page for quite a while i recall seeing this earlier this year, thinking it was exactly what needed and then, alas, couldn't find it again

inspired by your page (and idea) i did something similar with an old Pollak switch on my 1972 BMW R75. i've been having a tough time getting my bike running right however (dancing between adjusting bad points, valve adjustments, carbs, etc.) ... a quick and elegant kill switch saved me a lot of hassle.

unfortunately, as i'm *still* having problems getting the bike running properly, i've since removed this switch to eliminate any issue with poor negative ground connection. i'm convinced however your idea is a good one and i plan to put this back in place after i get everything back in order.

a side effect of my tinkering... for others interested in putting in place such a 'Master Switch', you can't really do this for any cheaper than what KenHawk is selling these for.

--eric

Thanks Ermille,

Don't worry, you'll get that bike running right. These things old bikes are just adult puzzles!

You're also correct. The switches that I am using are expensive. In fact, they're so expensive that the cost to buy and stock the switches alone, wipes out the idea of making real $$ on the deal. (The switches retail for $35.00 (I get a small break by buying in bulk.), the brackets cost me $1 ea. and I make the cables up by hand.) but I do it anyway despite the fact that a few people complain about the cost and think that I'm gouging them. (And guys still wonder why all of the Airhead "Cottage Industry" guys disappeared? )

BMW riders really are the cheapest things on the bikes!

ME 109:

When I began the side brace odyssey, it was to have one set made for my hot rod /6, so when I visited Kosman's, I took with me and example of every set I could find that was marketed between the 80's and now. (That came to about five different sets.) ALL of them were either mild steel or Aluminum tubing welded to machined end fittings.

My idea was to reproduce the old CC Product's aluminum bars (Which sold for $200+SH in the 80's.) but the guys at Kosman's wanted to try to create something modern, "trick" and elegant. I think they succeeded admirably but the bars are another relatively low volume, low profit item. The reason for eliminating the welds is: 1) The welds create weak spots in the finished pieces. As a frame builder, Sandy wouldnt stand for that. And 2nd) Our design uses an internal clamp which allows the installer to determine the overall length of the bars before installation.

Interestingly enough, I met a vendor at the 2009 MOA Rally, who had 100 sets of the usual (heavy/crude) mild steel side bars stacked up in his booth and he was selling them for $99. Thats less than my wholesale cost! The thing that most guys fail to note, is that my bars only cost about $30 more than C.C. Prod. aluminum bars sold for in the late 80s and the added $30 is all shipping, insurance and handling. Figure in inflation and whatca got? Oh well.... I've sold out two production runs with nothing but happy customers and I suppose that that means something.

If anyone needs the story of the frame gusseting kits, thats a whole other story and right this minute I have a parrot cage to clean.

KenHawk
AH #85

KenHawk wrote:Thanks Ermille,

Don't worry, you'll get that bike running right. These things old bikes are just adult puzzles!

You're also correct. The switches that I am using are expensive. In fact, they're so expensive that the cost to buy and stock the switches alone, wipes out the idea of making real $$ on the deal. (The switches retail for $35.00 (I get a small break by buying in bulk.), the brackets cost me $1 ea. and I make the cables up by hand.) but I do it anyway despite the fact that a few people complain about the cost and think that I'm gouging them. (And guys still wonder why all of the Airhead "Cottage Industry" guys disappeared? )

Are you still producing those switches?