where's justin this kind of rigging is what he lives for.....

Well, this project is gonna have to wait for a while.  I found the piece of oak I want to use, but it is too big to mess with (I just had hernia surgery) and I'm having carpal Tunnel surgery next week (It's hell getting close to your "Sell BY:" date)  I'll update when I can use my hand again.

Rocco wrote on 01/29/10 at 19:11:00:




we all need either a little help, or more ridin   [/quote]


Ill settle for a little less help & a bit more ridin'.

Look at the polarity requirements of what you will be powering & connect accordingly?

Frame oughta be okay for that. Not such high current as to need to go straight to the battery. That would make installation cleaner & easier. Again, M/Cs run in the weather & vibrate, so, soldered connections are better than crimped. Liquid electrical tape doesnt come unwrapped or, even heat shrink tubing would do the job well. A really anal type might slip the heat shrink down, away from the connection,solder it up, put a thin dose of liquid tape on, let that cure, slide the heat shrink into position & hit it with a lighter or soldering iron. Soldering is easy, clean the wires, dont twist the ends together like on a twist tie on a loaf of bread, aim one wire at the other, end on, cross the bare ends about midway & twist them around each other, so its like grabbing someones wrist while they grab yours. Then the wires look nice & will accept heat shrink. Dont forget to get flux, a paste flux, no acid core solder for electrical work. Get a 60/40 solder, flux core & youll still need a flux to add to the wires, just a tiny dab. let the solder flow into the wire. You should be able to see the individual strands of the wires, just silver from the solder on them. Not a glob.

OK, I got it done.  I took it for a couple block test and it does work, and I can see it pretty clearly.


Here is what I started with:




Here's the block before I finished it.  I took T Mack's suggestion and carved a Suzuki S into the front, then filled it in with red epoxy.  The base is slid off to the side to show how they fit




Here is how it looks on the bike.  And there is still more room on the block for stuff, like maybe my iPod.  Wood is Texas Mesquite.  Finish is a oak penetrating stain, covered with a spray clear enamal.




and here's how the Power socket is mounted


Finished mounting and hooked it up last night, then checked today, and the battery was not drained, so I guess it's not drawing any power when nothing is plugged in.

Now that this is done, I ordered a forward controls kit form Ed L.  It got here yesterday, and I have been looking at some wider seats ( a little more support and comfort for my ample A55.  This stuff could get expensive!!

You may want to look into the Diamond Jim seat mod.  It is cheap and easy.  I redid my seat with his spray foam method and then covered it with some nice closed cell foam.  My butt is very happy with the results.  The whole thing is about $20 and an evening of work.