Fabricating Custom Parts

I'm a novice. But since I was already testing the waters. Why not take the dive? So, I gave fabrication a shot by redesigning my frame, customising the tank, making custom mounts for the headlight, speedometer, indicators, fender, number plate, tail light, key switch, electrics, regulator/rectifier, ignition coil etc basically everything I could get my hands on. Simple modifications here and there can do wonders, bring the lines together and make the bike a tad more unique.

Basically using card board aided design and drawings to mock up how I would cut metal, shape it and weld it into what I envisioned. Usually I recycled the existing parts and fancied up something different.

The front indicator mount is a combination of the rear rack (which I discarded) and the front engine mount with indicator stems. The wiring of the indicators runs through the tubing.

The headlight mount is essentially the mount that came with the headlight stretched out with a piece of tube. It allows the headlight to stick further out make the bike look less compact. On the practical side it allows the control cables and wires to move freely without rubbing against the headlight.

Of course the downside to this experimentation is getting carried away and running the risk of accidents. Like accidentally grinding off a critical piece of metal, or destroying a perfectly good mount. Luckily I didn't make any irreversible damages to the bike (yet) but I cannot stress the importance of safety first. As you can see, I welded my leg and the bottom of my feet whilst skimping out proper gear in the hot Summer weather. Couldn't walk on that foot for a few days, but at least the bike was ok.

Welding indoors can be good when weather is temperamental outside. Rain and humidity can cause parts to rust much faster. Funnily, I managed to set my bike on fire whilst leaving weld embers rolling around on a plastic milk crate. Within minutes the milk crate caught ablaze and spread fire to the entire fuel tank... It scared the shit out of me. Lucky I had a fire extinguisher around.