Rallye navigation bracket photo thread

[Gros Buck]

This thread is absolutely fantastic ....

Really fun to watch ...

Paul Jr 8

[Muecke]

Thanks for fotos. I will write you an PM in short time.

[theantipaul]

I posted this over in the XCW thread in Thumpers, but it probably belongs here more,

Originally Posted by theantipaul

With the wiring shaping up it was time to mount it all up on the bike, here’s the bundle high and tight, it needs to be able to swing above the frame mount and still need to tuck into the triple tower. Also with all the little connectors for the lamps, temp, kill, speedo and computer, I went ahead and color coded them with shrink tube.



Next comes a trip to the molders for test shots, 3mi away, he wouldn’t let me take any pics of him, but here’s the business end,





And back to start building the mounting brackets,





Having had a few months to daydream about the mounts so I already had plans on what to try first,

Originally Posted by theantipaul

Thanks guys,

With the wiring sorted out on the frame mounted version it as time to see how the triple mounted tower would mount and if the wiring could all fit in there.



The right hand side plate can be removed while all the components stay bolted to the other side for ease of working.

I’ll be trying a plastic shear bolt for the roadbook mount to allow limited rotation in the event of an impact.



Buttoned up,





We have a volleyball tournament this weekend, so I’ll need to find time to finish the wiring and go for a ride. Up next is the fork mounted version, same brackets, just reversed,

Plan is a bit of testing over the next few weeks, then a vendor thread.

[640 Armageddon]

Excellent design Paul,

The plastic shear bolt is a nice idea. good job that half the tower stays in place... It can be hard to do work while trying to keep the thing in one place before it fells apart taking some cables on its way down...

Looking forward to seeing the tests !!

D.

[BigMike40]

Looks great Paul, one question though, why go to the trouble and expense of a billet mould for a plastic fairing when they could easily be beautifully made in composite from an epoxy mould?

[theantipaul]

Originally Posted by BigMike40

Looks great Paul, one question though, why go to the trouble and expense of a billet mould for a plastic fairing when they could easily be beautifully made in composite from an epoxy mould?

Thanks Dimitri and Mike.

There are pluses a minus's to any method, I find the composite route messy, dusty and toxic, way too much touch labor for each copy. With a plastic injection mold, they can shoot hundreds in a day, that are more consistent, durable and less prone to vibration or fatigue, easily and inexpensively replaceable.

Once a composite part is damaged the time and effort to repair it right is pretty high, as long as you don't crash a dirt bike, you're fine, but a plastic part will spring right back in the same impact a composite would be destroyed.

But by far the main reason is that I'm a toolmaker and that allows me to offer a decent part at a decent price.

[640 Armageddon]

I find the plastic a very good idea, especially in the fairing use. It is not like this part needs to be neither from composite nor from AL or SS or anything similar. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love CF and Kevlar as much as the next guy but for this use I think plastic is the way to go. The elasticity of these things is amazing...

Originally Posted by theantipaul

But by far the main reason is that I'm a toolmaker and that allows me to offer a decent part at a decent price.

Get ready for some roadbook parts in the near future

[Seth S]

The cost of the plastic piece is all up front cost in making the mold. After that you can churn out hundreds of them on a plastic injection molding machine. the composite one is cheaper than an injection mold but the overall cost never goes down by much because each one produced is fairly labor intensive.

[DasMatti]

Look absolutetly awesome.

I'd love to have such posibilities in my shop

But one thing puzzles me.
Why would you want to put the Nav-Tower on your fork and not the frame?

It's just additional weight you have to steer with your arms.
Is this some kind of steering-damper ->more weight, less prone to wobble?
Personaly I'd hate to have that thing on my fork. Just put it on the frame....

Please enlight me
Matti

[cross-country]

Originally Posted by DasMatti

Look absolutetly awesome.

I'd love to have such posibilities in my shop

But one thing puzzles me.
Why would you want to put the Nav-Tower on your fork and not the frame?

It's just additional weight you have to steer with your arms.
Is this some kind of steering-damper ->more weight, less prone to wobble?
Personaly I'd hate to have that thing on my fork. Just put it on the frame....

Please enlight me
Matti

Frame mounted option......

[crankshaft]

Originally Posted by DasMatti

Look absolutetly awesome.

I'd love to have such posibilities in my shop

But one thing puzzles me.
Why would you want to put the Nav-Tower on your fork and not the frame?

It's just additional weight you have to steer with your arms.
Is this some kind of steering-damper ->more weight, less prone to wobble?
Personaly I'd hate to have that thing on my fork. Just put it on the frame....

Please enlight me
Matti

I've ridden two hare scrambles with one of Paul's triple clamp mounted nav towers and It didn't bother me at all weight wise. It's not that heavy honestly.



Great work Paul, it's the IKEA Nav tower

[Baja Dad]

Originally Posted by DasMatti

Look absolutetly awesome.

I'd love to have such posibilities in my shop

But one thing puzzles me.
Why would you want to put the Nav-Tower on your fork and not the frame?

It's just additional weight you have to steer with your arms.
Is this some kind of steering-damper ->more weight, less prone to wobble?
Personaly I'd hate to have that thing on my fork. Just put it on the frame....

Please enlight me
Matti

I have over 1000 miles with pauls Triple clamp mounted unit and it works great !!!
the best part about it is at night when you turn the light is where the wheel is pointed not just off in to space!

[theantipaul]

Got it all together today and went for a ride down the freeway, after one abort to tighten down everything I forgot to, I got up to 85 with the thing and it feels pretty good, not much of a test but it was great to get it all together.





Moved the horn and hi beam to the throttle side to open up room for a future roadbook combo switch,



Nothing bolts to the outside of this plate so I don't have to disconnect anything to get at the insides,



Still need to find a clean way of attaching the horn and connectors to the side plates, but picked up a neat little fuse holder.



Just the 2 squadrons and the roadbook/USB circuits, need some smaller fuses,

[pilo]

I've also clocked some serious off-road miles with Paul's fork mounted setup and I can say that unless you are racing on a single track, the weight is a non-issue. Look at many of the low budget dakar racers from the 80's and 90's and you'll see a ton of similar setups.

The frame mounted setups are better in a lot of cases, especially with full coverage plastic. I still like having the lights point where I point the bars. I still have nightmares from trying to ride my NX250 in the woods chasing some friends...it's lame light was frame mounted.

[GS eh!]

Hi Paul, is that a clear cover over the lights??

Let me know when you can ship.



Thanks, Richard