How to roll your own Blast rearsets.
Nothing here is original, I found it all on a lot of old BadWeb posts. I can’t take any credit. This is just my version of it. A lot of what I learned was from here:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/201 64/222428.html?1149546134
All the pics of the project are here, plus a few other things I did to the bike that weekend.
http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h224/krjoseph/Va lentines%20Day%20Mods/
GETTING STARTED & MATERIALS
Give yourself at least 8 hours, but it's relatively simple. If you have average mechanical aptitude, and most Blastards seem to, you'll be OK. My wife went away for the weekend with her girlfriends. That was a huge help.
First, collect your materials. You'll need a 12"x18" piece of 1/4" aluminum plate. Some guys say you can do it with a 12" square, but I like giving myself a little extra in case I screw up. Lots of places online to get metal, I used onlinemetalsupply.com and got 6061-T6 aluminum.
Then get the hardware to mount the plates, Grade 8, of course. I got all mine from BoltDepot.Com, but your local hardware store may have it too. I liked Bolt Depot because I could get spacers and odd size bolts, like 3-3/4" (that's 3 and 3/4 Inch, or 3.750 inch, not sure the correct notation, but the first number is the inch, then a dash, then the fraction. clear as mud?)
Mounting hardware - left side plate
2 - 1/4" bolts, 3-1/2" long (20 threads per inch (tpi))
1 - 1/4" bolt, 3-3/4" long (20 tpi)
2 - 1/4 ID (inside diameter) spacers, 1-1/4" long
1 - 1/4 ID spacer, 1-1/2" long
Spaces do not come in these sizes, I bought 1 inch spaces, then 1/4 or 1/2 spacers accordingly.
Mounting hardware - right side plate
3 - 1/4" bolts, 2-1/2" long (20 tpi)
3 - 1/4 ID spacer, 1-1/2" long
This list below will help you with the order, the above list tells you what side gets what bolts.
1/4" 20 TPI Grade 8 bolts
1 @ 3-3/4"
2 @ 3-1/2"
3 @ 2-1/2"
1/4" ID Spacers
6 @ 1"
4 @ 1/2"
2 @ 1/4"
Cut the plates out, bolt them on, your half way done. Of course, it's a bit more complex than that.
HOW TO CUT THE PLATES
I used these as reference for hole drilling, but did not use the shapes. The shape is a personal thing, cut what you want, as long as it works. I found templates here on badweb, not sure who made them, but thank you, your specs were a big help. I didn’t use the shape, but the measurements were handy. I used cardboard to make templates. The right side was pretty much the shape of the sprocket cover. The left was trial and error with the cardboard till I got what I wanted.
The I cut the shapes out of the aluminum plate and painted. That was stupid, should have painted much later in the process. I used a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw, with a bit of 3-1 oil to help cutting.
Drilling holes tip - always use a tiny bit to drill a pilot hole. Everything will be more accurate and make it easier to drill
Drill the holes and bolt them on. Measure everything 3 times, you have to get this right. The right side is easy, you can use the sprocket cover as a template. Mark, drill, check that you can bolt them on. Just threads the bolts a bit for now to make sure they fit.
The left side is harder, but use the diagram above as a reference. 6-1/4" between front holes. The back/middle hole is 2-1/8" back and directly centered between the front holes. The diagonal between the front holes and back hole is 3.779 inches, or at least if Pythagoras's theorem is still right. Mark and drill. I cut a 12-pack box into 6-1/4" by 2-1/8" rectangle to help me find the spot for the 3rd hole.
Put the bolts in the holes and make sure things line up. If they don't, you probably need to fix it. Mine did the first time. Again, measure everything several times.
Decision time. Do you want to mount the plates and then drill the holes for the pegs and controls? Or do you want to drill everything first? I believe the correct way is drill first, then mount stuff up. But I wasn't sure where I wanted everything, so I bolted the plates on, then drilled.
MOUNTING THE PLATES
Bolt stack pattern: bolt, lock washer, flat washer, plate, spacers, flat washer, engine case/primary cover.
Use red locktite. Have you guys tried the locktite gel? Best thing ever. Doesn't run or make a mess. It's in a tube like my wife's lipgloss. Just put a little on the bolt and it stays. Super convenient to use. I forget what brand I used (wasn't official "locktite") but the gel was great.
This is the easy part if your holes are lined up. Stack your bolts, add locktite, bolt on. Done.
Torque specs:
Left side - 8-10 ft lbs
Right side (sprocket) - 6-8 ft lbs
MOUNTING PEGS AND CONTROLS - LEFT SIDE
Shifter - 4 options
1. Buell X1 Accessory shifter (bolts on at bottom of primary cover using primary cover bolts). About $120-$150, depending on the dealer.
2. XB shifter hardware. Tap and drill primary cover. (I think the best option, but didn't feel like opening my primary now. Will go to XB shifter when I tackle some work inside the primary).
3. Old-skool tuber shift linkage - Found my parts on ebay for cheap, I think it was from an S1, but I suspect you could make any work. Used busing from hardware store to mount shifter with the left side peg using a 3/8" bolt.
4. Have no idea if this will work, but saw a HD XR1200 up close. It looks like its shifter/linkage could work.
Pegs - generic bolt on pegs. I got the o-ring pegs, lots of places have them online, may do something better someday, but these were cheap. Lots of places sell pegs like this. Bolts on with a 3/8" 24 TPI bolt. Use one long enough to allow room for the shifter. I think was a 2-1/2" bolt. It depends on how you mount the shifter.
Just a bolt with red locktite -- bolt, lock washer, washer behind the plate. Between the plate and peg is the shifter. The bushing/bearings/ washers were something I came up with by tinkering with different parts at a real hardware store (not Lowes or HomeDepot). You want to have a solid mount, but not have the peg crush the shifter, yet still need the shifter to rotate freely. I had to cut down a brass bushing, but it seems to work. Shifting feels solid.
MOUNTING PEGS AND CONTROLS - RIGHT SIDE
This is a little more complex because you have to figure out where to mount stuff. You want the right peg to be pretty much where the left one is. I did it in this order:
1. Peg.
2. Brake lever
3. Remote reservoir
4. Master cylinder.
1. Mount the peg. Simpler than shifter side peg, just mount the peg to the plate, I used an 1-1/2" 3/8 24 TPI bolt, grade 8
2. Figure out where you want the brake lever. I mounted mine just below and slightly back of the peg. Drill and mount. Used a 1/4" bolt, 1-1/4 inch. Has a spacer/bushing on the stock lever. Just put a washer between the bolt and brake lever big enough to keep the lever on. It should rotate freely. I used nylon-stop lock nuts as well as a bit of locktite.
Brake note... I drained and disconnected everything. You could do it without, but you still need to let off hydraulic pressure on the line, maybe put a hose on the bleed valve and open it.
3. The remote brake fluid reservoir - Just bolt on near the top back corner of the plate. Not critical to line up, really. I used a 1" long 3/16" bolt, a few washers, locktite and a lock nut.
4. Mount the master cylinder. If you did not disconnect the brake lines, GENTLY bend the hard line to position the MC. I choose to work without the lines to find a good mounting position. Needs to be pretty much over the back end of the brake lever. I mounted on the outside using 1/4" bolts, with a few washer to set the MC away from the plate. A 1/4" spacer could have worked too. The linkage up/down is a tad bit adjustable. Drill the holes, mount, then connect up your brake lever. My clevis pin wasn't long enough, I used a 1/4" bolt with red locktite, lock washers and a lock nut.
5. Bend your break line very GENTLY. Mount to the master cylinder. Refill brake fluid and bleed as necessary.
GO FOR A RIDE!
Enjoy your new rear sets. Take it easy for a while, your riding position drastically just changed. Get used to it before you start corner carving.
