T.T billet top brace for Airhead rigs

[MotoJ]

Got my /7 brace yesterday. It's a beautiful thing. Thanks Stephen!

[Toaster.Tan]

I just mailed out the the last of the Standard /6-7 braces and have a few in inventory. Started the /5 and Café, which should finish up this week. Then will start the GS, followed by the Mono. Busy - busy. I can still add to the orders if you want in as the machinist will go back to do 'straggler' set-ups.

Yup, got a 98 Thunderbolt, which I have an irrational love for. It's on my lift right now getting the isolator mounts replaced, which is a weak point. Since I have to yank the whole ass end off the bike I am replacing the drive belt as the only way to do that is pull the swing arm. Sheesh.....


Stephen

[Les_Garten]

Any speculation on when the Mono braces will go out?

Also, will the stock handlebar risers work with your Mono brace till you do the risers you mentioned?

[gfx]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find that both SJ and TT braces are seriously lacking good instruction sets and information?

From TT Instructions:

You will need to trim approximately 18mm or less from the top of the headlight ears.

From SJ Instructions:

4. Remove the headlight ears (E) and trip .65 inch from the top of the ears using a hack saw.

Typos and lack of information does not inspire confidence when tackling a project that includes trimming metal. Shouldn't they likely just MAKE some some new ears and include them or make them an option?

I know this isn't rocket science, and I'm the first one to admit I'm not as mechanically inclined as many of folks on this sweet forum, but if I was a businessman, I'd probably want to appeal to a broader audience.

I'd really like either one of these products, but in my opinion there is a lot of room for improvement for instructions. San Jose especially looks like someone had to draw one up in under 10 minutes; the most elaborate part of the instructions is the warranty.

http://www.sjbmw.com/_documents/inst...ns/32_part.pdf

https://docs.google.com/file/d/14XQ0...V9E/edit?pli=1

See here for how real instructions look:

http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/v/v....7%2011-11.pdf

I'm not trying to put either company down, I'm just saying as a consumer I'd like a little bit more "feel good" if I'm going to drop $170 on a product.

[MotoJ]

Originally Posted by gfx

Is it just me, or does anyone else find that both SJ and TT braces are seriously lacking good instruction sets and information?

From TT Instructions:



From SJ Instructions:



Typos and lack of information does not inspire confidence when tackling a project that includes trimming metal. Shouldn't they likely just MAKE some some new ears and include them or make them an option?

I know this isn't rocket science, and I'm the first one to admit I'm not as mechanically inclined as many of folks on this sweet forum, but if I was a businessman, I'd probably want to appeal to a broader audience.

I'd really like either one of these products, but in my opinion there is a lot of room for improvement for instructions. San Jose especially looks like someone had to draw one up in under 10 minutes; the most elaborate part of the instructions is the warranty.

http://www.sjbmw.com/_documents/inst...ns/32_part.pdf

https://docs.google.com/file/d/14XQ0...V9E/edit?pli=1

See here for how real instructions look:

http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/v/v....7%2011-11.pdf

I'm not trying to put either company down, I'm just saying as a consumer I'd like a little bit more "feel good" if I'm going to drop $170 on a product.

Including headlight ears for an old airhead would double or triple the price if they were new. It's just not feasible.
Get yourself a Dremel for $45 and a cut-off attachment for another $8, scribe the top of the ears as described, clamp them down, and take your time cutting. Clean up with a sharp file. I just installed my new TT brace the other weekend. It took an afternoon, operating at a relaxed pace. Just be methodical and you won't have any problems!

[BMWzenrider]

Originally Posted by MotoJ

Including headlight ears for an old airhead would double or triple the price if they were new. It's just not feasible.
Get yourself a Dremel for $45 and a cut-off attachment for another $8, scribe the top of the ears as described, clamp them down, and take your time cutting. Clean up with a sharp file. I just installed my new TT brace the other weekend. It took an afternoon, operating at a relaxed pace. Just be methodical and you won't have any problems!

I did not get the impression that the previous poster was asking for pre-trimmed headlight ears to be included with the brace.
What I read was that they were hoping for something with a bit better step-by-step directions on what exactly needs to be done in order to complete the install.

btw -gfx, thanks for the kudos on the EnDuraLast instructions. It had been a while since I had done a tech. manual when I put those together for John, and my camera "model" was a pretty ugly bike that I had been riding year-round in Wisconsin with winter road salt for years, so I personally thought that there was some room for improvement on some of the photos.

[MotoJ]

Originally Posted by gfx

Typos and lack of information does not inspire confidence when tackling a project that includes trimming metal. Shouldn't they likely just MAKE some some new ears and include them or make them an option?

This is what made me think he was suggesting new ears be included.

But anyway- BMWz- thanks for your post recommending the braces for sidecar use- it's made a very noticeable difference for my rig. Much more responsive and sure-footed.

[Les_Garten]

@ToasterTan

Any updates on when the Mono Clamps will be going out?

Last update was a month ago...

[Toaster.Tan]

My apologies to all for not keeping up on this forum, but my dad has been staying with me for two weeks. He's 88 with early/mid stage dementia so is a constant-care situation.

Install Instructions:
Funny thing about that... when I started over 10 years ago the instructions were very minimal and had very few comments.... as I tried to 'improve' them the comments increased exponential to the detail provided. Catch 22

I think the math is pretty simple for the trim. The flat plane on the bottom of the brace is exactly were the stock brace was - so the amount trimmed off is the thickness of the end clamp from that point. The problem is that after 35 years these bikes have a LOT of variation in what's bolted on top and under that brace. Old or no grommets - custom ears - bent or squashed ears - ears off another bike... you name it. It's pretty dang hard to provide detailed instructions for ALL possibilities. In the diagram you see where if you flip over - whatever you have - it takes the right amount off - which is why I don't give an EXACT amount. As for trimming them....folks have used everything from a Dremmel to a grinder to take them down. Many folks buy an extra set of ears to keep in case they want to sell the bike and keep the brace - or just return to stock. Some owner/installer mechanical thought process has to happen to mount on THEIR particular bike.

I'M HAPPY TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON HOW TO IMPROVE THEM! If there is some part you don't understand let me know - it's harder when someone just says they want 'better' instructions.

I installed an Enduralast on my GS-PD and agree the instructions are well done....but even then I had to read stuff several times - look at my bike - read again. The top brace is not near as complicated an installation.

[Toaster.Tan]

Production Update:
The machinist ran into a problem when running the second set of /5 and /5-cafe braces when a 'line' appeared on the facing edge. He told me it was caused by a transition point of the cutter and had to modify the geometry of the cut. More delay.....

I expect those to be finished by the weekend and will be dropping off a group of Standard (/6-7) braces for him to re-bore into a Mono. This will save a great deal of time as the only difference is the end tube bore size and won't have to machine all new parts. The down side is it uses what little inventory I have and will have to come back and make more. It's always a trade-off.



Also delaying the custom engraved café braces for Max BMW and Good Spark Garage by a few days to get the Mono's done.

Breaking in a new machinist and basically starting from scratch has been a real 'learning experience' for me. I had badly misjudged what it takes and the time needed to create all new programming, much less debug and tweak the actual machining on the fly. I was really naive about the process. The good news is.... once this is done I will carry a small amount of inventory and the lead time will just be the actual machine time to make one. That will allow more focus on the custom stuff for customers and other new products I want to make.

[Toaster.Tan]

Originally Posted by Les_Garten

Also, will the stock handlebar risers work with your Mono brace till you do the risers you mentioned?

Yes, the stock risers work. You will have to remove the duel threaded stud from the top clamp and use a socket head bolt 5mm longer to come up from underneath the brace.

I have different height riser blocks as well as a tilt-riser waiting to be made when this run is done. The tilt-riser will allow the bars to be up and tilted back (or forward) so the rider can find the best position for the bars to his/her height.

[Les_Garten]

No clamp again, RATs!

[Toaster.Tan]

My machinist has been called in by Vitron to do a bunch of overtime and he is valiantly working his ass off when he's home to get them done. He is working the Mono brace now (fits the ST). I HOPE he gets them done this week!!

This has been an agonizingly slow ramp up and, like you, just want it finished! Once all models are run there won't be any programming or CNC tweaking to slow everything down. He will start running inventory for me so there will always be some on hand.

[Les_Garten]

Originally Posted by Toaster.Tan

My machinist has been called in by Vitron to do a bunch of overtime and he is valiantly working his ass off when he's home to get them done. He is working the Mono brace now (fits the ST). I HOPE he gets them done this week!!

This has been an agonizingly slow ramp up and, like you, just want it finished! Once all models are run there won't be any programming or CNC tweaking to slow everything down. He will start running inventory for me so there will always be some on hand.

Thanx for the update...

[sparkymoto]

...already painted and installed it. Worth the wait.