I've been mulling this around in the ol' knoggin' all day now, and I was wondering how much interest people might have. I was thinking about making two different top triple clamps.

The first one would be for people who use normal style clip-ons that clamp to the fork tube. It would be a billet aluminum piece that would remove the handlebar mounting locations for a much cleaner look. I could design nifty little cuts into it as well, for aesthetics. That's the basic premise of it though.

The second one would be a replica of the 1989 style clamp with the clip-on mounts and everything. Also machined out of billet aluminum, this would be a direct replacement, with possible visual modifications to avoid legal ramifications.

Both would use stock mounting hardware, with no drilling or cutting required. These would be direct bolt ons. I've got my own CAD software to work with (SolidWorks 2005) so these would be mapped out in 3D before machining.

Interest? Responses? Comments? Questions?

There are at least a half-dozen people that want '89 clip-ons.  If the price was right, you could probably sell more than a few dozen of them.

no.

you have been pancaked.

Quote from: RVertigoThere are at least a half-dozen people that want '89 clip-ons.  If the price was right, you could probably sell more than a few dozen of them.

What do you think a fair price would be? I know there was one that sold on eBay for $114 recently.

Well, it depends on your goal... Are you looking to make money or do something cool for your GS buddies?  If you're looking to make money, then you should charge a "fair market value" for the product.  If you're looking to do something cool for your GS buddies, then charge cost plus a few bucks for time.

I wouldn't mind making some cash off of it, but I'd also like to not be an ass and overcharge. Would you buy one if the price was around, say, $50?

I think $50 would be a great price, but I still wouldn't buy one 'cause I don't want clip-ons...  If I wanted clip-ons, I know right where to get some...  :lol:

You can't really come up with a price until you know how much it's gonna cost you...  If the raw materials + machine use (+ wear & tear) == $60, then you'd have to charge that as a minimum, unless you're an NPO.

Then...  If it takes you 4 hours to make one, figure that in...  Nobody will argue with paying you for your time.

But...  If you're looking to actually make money, you want to charge as much as people are willing to pay.  If you saw some going for $100+, that means you could charge at least $90-$100 for them...  But, then there's also implied safety and all that crap...

Yeah. The first thing I want to do is design out the standard top triple for people with regular clip-ons. I can do that a lot easier because I've got a clamp to design off of. The 1989 one, however, I don't.

SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SEND ME DETAILED PICTURES OF THE 1989 TOP TRIPLE CLAMP

What would be best, though, is if someone could send me one that I could use for a while to get measurements off of.

RVert, think you could jack the top clamp off that '89 in the parking garage for a while?

Quote from: AlphaFire X5RVert, think you could jack the top clamp off that '89 in the parking garage for a while?

I dunno...  I still need to put a note on it to see if anyone at the apartment owns it.

At very least I can measure some stuff...

http://www.jayspang.com/pics/gs500/004.jpg

That's the only clean pic I've got so far of it.

For measurements, I'd need a lot of them to get a detailed and perfectly scale model. I'd probably design the first top clamp first, and then modify it to hold the clip ons. The '89 looks like it uses the same clamp, minus the standard handlebar mounting points.

Well...  Maybe RG will lend the use of her camera for some detailed pics...  My digicam sucks. :dunno:

GeeP gave me a reply. I typed out all the measurements I thought I might need and it was a fairly hefty list. This could be fun.

ive got both type, the stock 89 clipons  (top plate still on but bars in box) and real 37mm alumin Clipons (soon to come off and 89's to go back on)

Quote from: Blueknytive got both type, the stock 89 clipons  (top plate still on but bars in box) and real 37mm alumin Clipons (soon to come off and 89's to go back on)

I've been talking with some other people, and trying to manufacture the clamps that hold the bars on would be pretty difficult. It's got a lot of features. The top plate would be the easy part, but those clamps might be kinda tough. I'm going to talk with some MEs here on campus and get their opinion on it.

The normal top plate could be done. All I need to know is how much interest there is for it.

I'm game! $50 to convert my bike to clip-ons like an 89, heck yes.

Quote from: kvgsI'm game! $50 to convert my bike to clip-ons like an 89, heck yes.

According to GeeP, we're looking at $38 alone for raw materials. Billet aluminum is expensive, apparently. I'll look into what other things we can use, though. I'm also going to look into getting someone here on campus that knows how to operate the CNC machine. This might actually work... it all depends on wether I can find a machinist.

OK Do not do a cast one like the 89. I have destroyed 4 of them, OK I destroyed 2 and had 2 others come to me busted ... the threads are easy to bust ... helicoil works great though ... and I have been told by some experienced people to use loctite before putting it in and it should stay in there forever ... I had some on my 89 and 4 years they didn't budge    ... 6061, 7075 or other machinable allloys are a good choice, 6063 is not. 2024 may be good as well ... you want high machinability and weldability or whatever isn't relevant. High strength too of course.
Cool.
Srinath.

These won't be welded at all, Srinath. These are going to be straight machined. However, I might just design the tube clamps right into the top plate, rather than having them bolt onto it. That could alleviate stress points caused by the bolt holes.

What do you think? Perhaps weld the clamps on, or design them in?

I know they wont be welded, which is why I said weldability isn't a concern - read my post. However If you do want a weldable alloy get 6061, its weldable and a great general purpose alloy. There is one advantage though to designing it with a welded on part. That dash carrier ears will be a bear to machine, having them made separately and welding it on is a better solution. The 1 piece design will make that part more complicated.
Cool.
Srinath.

Make it out of Al 6061, and no heat temper is really necessary(i.e T-6 or T-65), it will easly cost you ton to make these. Send me your CAD model when your done..(IGES preferably) and I can send it to my buddy who owns a machine shop with a ver nice CNC Milling machine. If you want to do it excatly how the 89' was done it will take like a couple steps which equal more money. If you are not really famialar with CAD send the dimensions and/or drawings to me and I can draw it. CAD the stuff I do at work all day so I know it pretty well.

[edit] Where is the good pic of the '89 clip on??