Where to get `bracket metal'

[xwhatsit]

I have some wonderful instruments to replace the ugly square thing on my bike, courtesy of BungBung. They've been sitting around far too long, I need to put them on my bike. So I need to make a bracket.

I don't have a vast array of metal bending-things and cutting-things. What I'm looking for is some kind of metal that I can bend and shape using a hammer and a vice or something. It only needs to hold a speedo up so it needn't be super-strong. I also want to be able to cut it with a hack-saw and drill holes in it with a normal drill.

What do I need to look for, metallurgical geniuses? Where can I buy it? Does somebody here have their own offcuts that might be suitable?

Thank-you.
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[imdying]

Bunnings for all your hobby needs... and sheetmetal workers for something more serious. The sheetmetal guys will generally cut to shape and bend stuff for you if you show a little leg :o

[scumdog]

Boat-builders and engineering workshops have lots of smaller off-cuts of aluminium and if it is just a scrap piece you can get it dirt cheap.

Make some plastic strips out of an old 4-litre oil container and use them in the vice jaws to prevent vice-marks on the auminium.:yes:

[FROSTY]

Why reinvent the wheel?? --- Take the origonal instrument panel off then unbolt the dials etc from the bracket that holds them- Now see what you need to do to mount up your new dials to that bracket.
Im thinking that most likely a little bit of cutting and a couple of tack welds willhave your new instruments all mounted up

[xwhatsit]

Why reinvent the wheel?? --- Take the origonal instrument panel off then unbolt the dials etc from the bracket that holds them- Now see what you need to do to mount up your new dials to that bracket.
Im thinking that most likely a little bit of cutting and a couple of tack welds willhave your new instruments all mounted up

<hints id="hah_hints"></hints>The existing instruments are... not normal. They are a one-piece speedo+tacho, not fixed with a bracket but sort of attached by plastic to the headlight indirectly. Pain in my assholes.

Bunnings, eh? I shall go and look! There's a few engineering-type shops around the Bunnings nearby so I'll have a wander around as well.

Thanks for the help guys.

[FROSTY]

Have another look dude

[Buster]

PM sent. I work local too.

[El Dopa]

PM sent. I work local too.

If you're handing out metal, I need a piece about 100mm x 330mm x 2-3mm.

Xerxes - if you/we aren't sorted by next Wed, I'll be dropping into a place I've used before to try to get a piece sized roughly as above. I'm sure there'll be spare, to which you're welcome.

I also have some smaller bits of flat bar knocking around - 2.5mm x 25mm profile - about 3m worth. Easily bendable in a vice, etc.

[xwhatsit]

Frosty, you may be familiar with the set-up on the CB250RS, but there is a bracket that joins to the headlight assembly (which I'll be replacing in due course anyway, with fork brackets and a round headlight). I would consider using this bracket, however all it provides is two tapped holes for the instruments to screw onto. The speedo I want to use is a traditional style round clock, whereas the old ones are a square plastic one-piece unit that fasten on in a completely different matter unfortunately.

PM sent. I work local too.
Hey thanks mate, got your PM -- you sir are a gentleman :D Will send you a txt sometime tomorrow probably.


If you're handing out metal, I need a piece about 100mm x 330mm x 2-3mm.

Xerxes - if you/we aren't sorted by next Wed, I'll be dropping into a place I've used before to try to get a piece sized roughly as above. I'm sure there'll be spare, to which you're welcome.

I also have some smaller bits of flat bar knocking around - 2.5mm x 25mm profile - about 3m worth. Easily bendable in a vice, etc.
Cheers mate, if I'm not sorted I'll definitely tag along. Waste not want not :yes:

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[TLDV8]

What do I need to look for

You need to look for the door on the right at the end of the Ullrich Aluminium building on Wiri Station Road.
2mm or 3mm alloy should do the trick,you will probably get a small offcut out of the scrap bin.

[Buster]

If you're handing out metal, I need a piece about 100mm x 330mm x 2-3mm..

Ill have a rummage through the scrap bin. Aluminium I presume?

[El Dopa]

Ill have a rummage through the scrap bin. Aluminium I presume?

Not that fussed, to be honest. It's going to be painted, and the weight difference isn't really a concern to me.

Whatever you've got that fits the bill will be mint.

[xwhatsit]

Hello chaps,

GiJoe1313 and I just spent the early hours of the morning building up a wonderful, very Frankensten looking bracket to hold my speedo. It works very well, barring some cable routing issues that will be resolved with the new headlight that will be forthcoming. Cheers Buster for the metal!

So anyway, I was riding home from Justin's home to mine, and on the way I noticed a noise that appeared, sort of a squealing. I wasn't sure if it was my helmet at first, but it's definitely coming from the speedo. It's very loud at 30kph, however it seems to get quieter (may just be the wind carrying the sound away) as you go faster. The noise doesn't change pitch as speed varies, however as you come to a stop it sort of fizzles out.

It sounds like metal on metal. The clocks have been sitting around for god knows how long -- I think there's a bit of corrosion. So I've pulled the speedo off just now as I got home, and filled it up with WD40 (same with the cable).

Has anybody ever had anything like this before? Is WD40 the stuff to use, or does anybody have a better idea to deal with speedo squealing?

Thanks for answering my strange questions :D

[ZeroIndex]

Xerxes, have you worked out how to remove the bevel thingy on the round gauges yet?

[xwhatsit]

Nope. I think you have to go in from the back. There's a couple of screws on the back that look promising.

[Holy Roller]

that squeel happens with older gear. a bit of grease usually sorts it out. Its the internals of the speedo rubbing where the cable enters. Same thing happend with my bike thought it was the fan making the noise. A bit of grease smeared on the fitting and its all good now thanks to help from another bike site.:Punk:

[xwhatsit]

that squeel happens with older gear. a bit of grease usually sorts it out. Its the internals of the speedo rubbing where the cable enters. Same thing happend with my bike thought it was the fan making the noise. A bit of grease smeared on the fitting and its all good now thanks to help from another bike site.:Punk:

<hints id="hah_hints"></hints>Ah, thank-you sir, I suspected it might be the fitting but I had dark thoughts the internals were poked. Glad to see somebody else has had the same problem.

It was frigging loud, though :D Louder than the engine at 30kph, I'm sure!

[xwhatsit]

Well, filling it up with WD40 then leaving it to soak overnight has done the trick. Tested it out just now, and it's quiet, apart from maybe a slight whine that I can barely hear with the visor open -- not sure if it's coming from the speedo or not. At any rate I'll buy some grease and load it up once I have a chance to visit Repco.

Sadly, one of the bolts attached to the speedo pulled out as I was taking it off last night :( -- the plastic around the bolt holding it in was already cracked, so now it's just a `press fit' sort of thing which isn't very good. Have to see if I can somehow crack open my gummed-up Araldite tube and have at it.

I'm quite pleased. It looks slightly comical, with the square headlight beneath, however it looks better than duct-tape and instruments that bounce over bumps. Definitely doesn't look standard, which is OK in my book :) A round headlight will substantially improve aesthetics. The front end looks very `empty' which is what I was aiming for.

One thing I noticed last night coming back along the motorway was that my keys, no longer shielded from the wind, just about flew away -- so I had to take them out very carefully with my left hand, find the other key on the key ring one handed (still at 100kph), and carefully poke it into the fuel tank lock for safe keeping. A bit hairy. So that's what I'll have to do from now on, start the bike, take the keys out and stick them in the tank. The ignition has always been a loose fit around the key, I've lost them on the road hitting a pothole before.