Na,... I'll bet any ol' steel drillbit will go through there... as long as it's nice and sharp...

You might want to go 3/8",... then 1/2".... to keep the hole even and smooth...
Put a block of wood under it, so when you punch through, you don't drill into your table or floor...

You definitely don't need a press for that...

... if you have a bench vise, clamp it in there,.. if not, just stand on it...


easy as toast!... ...

Well, I got impatient and just grabbed a cheapo set of titanium from HomeDepot...
got back and gave it a shot a minute ago, easy as pie!!

Unfortunately, the shock bolts are just slightly BIGGER than 1/2"...
so I got a hole, but it's still not big enough!

HD didn't have a lot of bits larger than 1/2"... the rest were heavy industrial bits (like a foot and a half long).
So now I have another problem... those bigger bits don't FIT into a normal drill... even if I bought one, I can't use it.

I'm so close too... so I took a Dremel with a little sanding pole 'thing' and tried grinding it out...
I think it worked a bit, but the little grinder attachment just wasn't up to the task, it ground down and broke... real fast!

Honestly, it only took maybe 3 minutes to drill it... so I have to wonder if this sissy bar (mount) was made out of aluminum...
it's still chrome colored inside (it's a Paughco sissy bar... they know what they're doing --- and I don't!)... LOL!

Does Dremel have any heavier duty attachments that might work in this situation?
I don't think drill bits are an option anymore... and it's sooooo close!

Oh, I tried cheating... didn't seem to grab anything, although I was really just pushing sideways (rather than tilting)... maybe, maybe.

I may just do the file... it's really that close.
Of course, all I have on hand are tiny files that would take forever.

I'm almost ready to just grab a blowtorch and a spoon... just scoop out the molten metal! hehe!

Magnet: Ha, great idea... I just checked, and it sticks!! (weird, extra thick chrome????)

How about the largest step drill? They are always nice to have around.

Get a 15/32" drill and glue a 1" wide by 1.47" long strip of some good wet or dry 80 grit sandpaper on it past the point where the flutes stop.  This will make a .5" diameter abrasive file.  Use some fluid (water will be fine), and with your home-made file turning slowly in your drill (drill press if available), slowly hog out the hole a few thousands of an inch at a time. Do this until it just fits.

If you turn it too fast or don't use any fluid, you'll just dull the 80 grit paper.  

I've used this trick using material from a belt sander belt that had broken into pieces.  It works nicely if you are patient.  If you are in a hurry, just hog it out with a file and accept a less than round hole that might not be exactly perpendicular.

Any real hardware store will have the 9/16" bit you need to fit a 3/8" drill chuck. $15-20. Run it SLOW and use some cutting oil on it. They'll have that there too.

If you decide to go the next step and strut it (poor man's hardtail), go to O'Reilly's and get a set of lift shackles. The generic $25 ones in the towing/add a leaf section. Enlarge the holes to 9/16".

I'm using an old dirt tracker tank on mine. Drilled the frame where the downtube reflectors were attached to the neck gusseting. HD Softail front mount kit. Rear tab held on by seat front mounting bracket.

This winter I'll smooth the frame and repaint it. Suzuki's have some of the ugliest welds I've ever seen on a metric. The spatter wasn't even ground off mine before it was painted.