HEAD IN THE SHED
Nothing beats the satisfaction of a DIY farkle well done. Here’s what ABR reader Tam Forrester has been up to in his shed…
I have just finished making a side stand foot-extender thingy for my trusted TDM 900 – and yes, that is a technical term! All that’s left to do now is paint it. It took me about five hours to make and cost around £20, as I already had the aluminium kicking around my workshop. Here’s how I did it:
Materials
- 3mm-thick aluminium plate
- 4x M5x20 countersunk machine screws
- 4x M5 Nyloc nuts
- 4x M5 washers
- 4x 5/8″ tap washers
Tools
- 5.5mm drill bit
- Countersink drill bit
- Stepped hole-cutter
- 8mm combination spanner
- 4mm Allen key
- Ruler
- Scribe and centre punch
- Hacksaw
- Files
Stage 1
Mark out a template of the side-stand’s ‘foot’ on piece of card. Draw the outline again 3mm inside of the original template outline.
Stage 2
Cut out a second template to the shape you want for your side-stand extender plate. (At this point, it’s probably a good idea to check for any clearance issues by putting the side-stand up and using the cardboard template as a guide.)
Stage 3
Place the side-stand plate template on the aluminium and trace the outline using the scribe. I found the best way to do this is to clamp two pieces of aluminium plate together, then cut out the shape.
Stage 4
While the two bits of aluminium are still clamped together, now’s a good time to drill the four 5.5mm holes through the plates where you want the screws to go, making sure their position won’t interfere with the side-stand. Countersink the four holes on the plate that will be on the ground, so the finished foot will sit flush.
Stage 5
Choose one of the plates you’ve now cut to shape and transfer the template of the side-stand footprint from step 1 on to it, then cut this shape out. I used a stepped hole-cutter and hacksaw for this. Check the fit with the side-stand.
Stage 6
At this point, I test fitted the ‘foot’ to the side-stand and realised as I tightened it that the whole thing was sliding backwards off the plate that was on the ground, so I had a cuppa and a rethink. To overcome this problem, I reduced the measurement of the top plate’s back edge by 4mm and put a slight fold on the bottom plate to stop it moving.
Stage 7
I reassembled it using four 5/8″ tap washers on each of the machine screws and four M5 washers as spacers, before tightening down the top plate. Do you have your head in the shed? If you’ve got a DIY bike project to share, email details to [email protected] with a few pics of your handiwork, and if it’s featured in the mag, we’ll send you some ABR stickers for your pimped-up steed!
