Motorbike weights

[PeterT]

Nothing spectacular. My brother has a BMW motorbike. Apparently it has a known issue where the grips can resonate at a certain cruise rpm & I guess that buzz can fatigue your hands over extended rides. Anyway he found this article where a guy played with different weights & found the magic mass that supposedly dampens the frequency. They offer CNC ones that look like this but polished stainless. Very pretty but rather spendy (75USD/set sans shipping & fees). So I banged this out using whatever CRS he brought me. I think they were north of >500g if I recall. I was too lazy to mount the radius turner on so just did the stepover infeed & file it smooth trick. I think the plan is Rustoleum black just to protect it & see if it works so I didn't go crazy on the finish.

Owning a lathe makes a guy studly popular with friends, almost as much as owning a pickup truck.

 

[Everett]

Cool idea, I guess it would make sense just like the rubber-mounted weights on Ram 1500 frames to dampen the vibrations when the fuel saver kicks in. Nice finish on the pieces!

And yes, it's amazing what people come up with in "Hey, you think you could make this for me?" projects. Keeps the challenges fresh

 

[Alexander]

Looks good. I see them on all the vespa gts scooters that have the rear luggage boxes. Apparently the prevent speed wobble to some degree.

 

[PeterT]

This is what they are replicating. There are a few commercial variants, but all basically similar. These CNC versions are stainless & have some bling engraving. Still, would come to 130-150 $C/pair delivered.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HVMP-Stain...ash=item3d4d2f646f:g:g8QAAOSw-0xYjNCX&vxp=mtr

 

[PeterT]

The prototype tester weight apparently fit the handlebar just fine & Customer Bro has a plan of attack for painting. So I went ahead & did the remaining 3 (his wife has a bike too). Things go quicker when you do the exact same operation across multiple parts, preserving the setups.

The difference this time is I used my Holdridge Radii attachment. Bought it used for a decent price last year but I had to make some mounting & spacer attachments to get it properly fitted to the compound. Man, it made quick work of the round-over operation. I love this thing. I didn't use it on the first tester part. On that I made a series of step-over cuts to the radius XY intercepts (spreadsheet) & then blued & filed the steps until smooth. I made 3 parts with the Radii in less time & they are more consistent. I have some other projects earmarked for the Radii when the time comes - namely a tubing bender that has scalloped rollers.

 

[John Conroy]

Thats a very cool radius tool Peter. They go for big money on eBay. Ive been keeping my eyes open for one. Nicenjob on the bar end weights!

 

[PeterT]

Thanks John. I followed ebay for a long time long time but generally people know what they fetch. I got this (model 3) for 500$ on Hobby Machinist which is a fraction of new. It was never used & the guy was agreeable to ship to Canada. I had drawn some plans to make a slightly smaller frame version, but now that I see firsthand what all is involved in the parts & features, it would take some effort that's for sure. Especially the aligned axles bores on either end of the C-frame & various slit cuts & adjustment. Plus the assortment of inside & outside cutter bodies....

From what I know the basic tool hasn't changed much over the years, at least nothing that would prevent you from even getting replacement tools. I think this is the only thing Holdridge makes. The included carbide cutters are very sharp & cut well. They also make a kind of proprietary insert cutter, but they are stupidly expensive & oddball inserts. One day just I'll buy some cheap Asian lathe shank tools, like a neutral CCMT or DCMT which is what I use, turn the shank down to 0.375" round & use that.

You will probably encounter model-4's but I suspect it might be a bit big for our lathe, at least sitting on top the compound where tool post normally sits. Don't quote me on this, I have some notes somewhere. The Model 3 fits with 0.250" steel spacers under the C frame.

This is usually as good as it gets price wise. Sometimes the box is grotty but as long as the mechanism is in good shape. The typical buyer beware stuff.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/RALMIKES-TO...845703?hash=item5d7cafaa47:g:oBgAAOSw7I5a4iUx