So for my 1979 XS400 i decided i wanted to do a custom seat, the stock seat is just not my thing.
I am going for something like this
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s92RB60J6TI/Te9MMsmc1bI/AAAAAAAAF5o/Ob0U0iO8psI/s1600/YS2B4254%2Bcopy.jpg
For this i would need to bend some pipe for the curve. I took a template to all the metal shops and bending places around me and they all told me it was too small a job and not worth their time. So i just said, screw it ill do it myself.
So i started off by measuring out my frame (which had already been cut by the previous owner).
The pipe i needed would be 7/8ths of an inch outside diameter. So i measured from pipe to pipe on my frame, found a geometry kit and drew out a curve on some plywood and build a little rig. (I covered it in tinfoil to protect it from setting on fire but that turned out to just be completely useless.)
I then filled a bucket full of sand from my driveway, put it in the oven for about 45 minutes (stirring every 5 minutes so all the moisture would be let out)
I took one of the pipes and capped off one end and filled it with the sand (making sure to pack it down a lot.) once it was full i capped off the other end and drilled a very small hole in it, so any moisture left in the sand wont cause the pipe to explode
Then into the BBQ goes the pipe
Took a long time to get it up to heat and i flipped it every 20 minutes for about an hour.
Once it was fully heated up and ready to go i stuck it in the rig and began reefing on it.
After a lot of bending, reheating, bending, reheating, smacking with the hammer, and more bending i finally got it bent and i screwed down another 2x4 to hold it in place.
That is as far as I've gotten today, now i just need to wait for it to cool down, give it a trim and test it out. Then the tricky second bend. Then comes the welding.
I will update this as i go along but so far it looks really promising.
I am going for something like this
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s92RB60J6TI/Te9MMsmc1bI/AAAAAAAAF5o/Ob0U0iO8psI/s1600/YS2B4254%2Bcopy.jpg
For this i would need to bend some pipe for the curve. I took a template to all the metal shops and bending places around me and they all told me it was too small a job and not worth their time. So i just said, screw it ill do it myself.
So i started off by measuring out my frame (which had already been cut by the previous owner).
The pipe i needed would be 7/8ths of an inch outside diameter. So i measured from pipe to pipe on my frame, found a geometry kit and drew out a curve on some plywood and build a little rig. (I covered it in tinfoil to protect it from setting on fire but that turned out to just be completely useless.)
I then filled a bucket full of sand from my driveway, put it in the oven for about 45 minutes (stirring every 5 minutes so all the moisture would be let out)
I took one of the pipes and capped off one end and filled it with the sand (making sure to pack it down a lot.) once it was full i capped off the other end and drilled a very small hole in it, so any moisture left in the sand wont cause the pipe to explode
Then into the BBQ goes the pipe
Took a long time to get it up to heat and i flipped it every 20 minutes for about an hour.
Once it was fully heated up and ready to go i stuck it in the rig and began reefing on it.
After a lot of bending, reheating, bending, reheating, smacking with the hammer, and more bending i finally got it bent and i screwed down another 2x4 to hold it in place.
That is as far as I've gotten today, now i just need to wait for it to cool down, give it a trim and test it out. Then the tricky second bend. Then comes the welding.
I will update this as i go along but so far it looks really promising.
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