02 Pitbull Sissy bar! $8

Energy One
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Well, I finally got around to making and fabbing up a sissy bar for my Pitbull! I got 1/2" cold rolled roundbar, heated and bent to the shape I wanted, had a good friend help me weld it up and I got it mounted up tonight! I'll have it chromed in the near future, but thought I'd show it off. BTW, the roundbar was $6 for the 6' I needed and the 3 scotch brite wheels were $1.99 on special at Harbor Frieght! Without chroming the bar was basically $8! Let me know what you guys think!

It's bolted with flanges behind the turn signal bracket and mounted with a hardened allen head socket bolt under the fender into the gussets. I welded small nuts to the gussets for extra strength. I am using neoprene washers backed by small fender washers to prevent chafing on the fender paint. Very solid mounting with vibration control by the neoprene!


 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
I figured if I messed up the bending, I'd go buy more! At a dollar a linear foot, I could practice for weeks and still be ahead of finding one or having one made at a local shop, where my bike would be out of my hands for weeks on end and cost me a small fortune! I'll have a small pad made too, but I like the raw look, made it at the angle of the forks too so it has a nice consistent line to it!
Thanks!
 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Thanks Marc! It was pretty easy to do! I'm pretty happy with the result! I'll post some pics up tomorrow when the Ppad gets in!
Art
 
Five Five

Five Five

Well-Known Member
artie....
nice job....you do some nice work...
the spacers on the handlebars came out good too...got more of a raked look to the front end...V/H exhaust...nice, good upgrades

if you can post some close up pics of the sissy bar mount so I can actually see how you did the mount.

here is a picture of your old exhaust system on my bike....i'm running them without baffles....it breathes goooood..

 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Bill,
No problem, I'll get some for you. I liked those pipes without the baffles, nice and LOUD! I absolutely love the color scheme on your bike dude! The spacers came out fantastic! I couldn't believe 1.75" could have such an impact on the overall handling and look of the bike! I'll try to take some pics tomorrow of the mounting points. Quite simple really, but I'll get some close ups! By the way, did you see the peg mounts I made too? I posted a how to on them, I know you have the whisker bar on yours but I wanted something a little more "mine".
Art
 
Five Five

Five Five

Well-Known Member
Artie said:
Bill,
No problem, I'll get some for you. I liked those pipes without the baffles, nice and LOUD! I absolutely love the color scheme on your bike dude! The spacers came out fantastic! I couldn't believe 1.75" could have such an impact on the overall handling and look of the bike! I'll try to take some pics tomorrow of the mounting points. Quite simple really, but I'll get some close ups! By the way, did you see the peg mounts I made too? I posted a how to on them, I know you have the whisker bar on yours but I wanted something a little more "mine".
Art
Click to expand...
Art,
just seen your "how too" on the foot pegs...
those came out real nice.....good concept and engineering...

Bill
 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Thanks dude! I'm always looking for "different" ways of doing the same thing! There's more than 1 way to skin a cat! As the saying goes!
 
BadBrad

BadBrad

2005 Pitbull
Damn nice work Art! I'll also be waiting to see some close up pics of your mounting system. I have a pitbull and there aren't many options out there. Like you said, the only options out there cost and arm and your first born male child. I have some buddies that can make a sissy bar for me but I'm waiting to see some more of your pics first. Hope you haven't already put a patent on it. Is your bar stainless?:cheers:
 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Nah dude! I just wanted to make something for me, if you guys want to copy the design, I don't care at all! It was really simple honestly! The bar is cold rolled roundbar, not stainless. Easy to bend and shape without issue. Chroming it will give it some more stiffness, but it's pretty solid with the gussets and fender attachment point!
Art
 
Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Okay, guys here are a couple of pictures of the mounting system. I used the turn signal mount for the base of support. I had to trim the bolt by about 1/8" to get it to fit between the tire and the mounting flange on the strut. I used a buttload of RED loctite on the bolt and tightened very snugly! I welded gussets into the corner bend at the bottom of the bar for added rigidity and a mounting point for the fender. I welded an M6 X1.0 castle nut onto the gusset on the inside of the bar to mount the bar to the fender. Each side was a little different position, so the holes in my fender are a little lopsided but not noticeable from looking. Anyway, I hope this helps. I sat on the bike and leaned back and had very little flex. I'm 5'11" and 245lbs so I know it'll hold a small chick! Anyway, here are the pics. Ask more questions if you have them.
Art
Notice the gusset, I ground the weld back flush with the metal for a nice surface once the chrome is done



Here is an underneath shot of the main hold point for the bar.




I welded a piece of plate steel to the end of the roundbar for the mount. You need to feather back the edge of the roundbar to backfill the weld or it won't hold. I got a little crazy with the angle grinder, notice the plate steel is rounded some. I'll fix that before chroming.
Finally, here is a shot of the whole mounting system from under the fender. Notice the button head allen bolt I used. I RED loctited this also and had to trim my allen wrench down to a nub to get it to fit and work, but worth the hassle!
 
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Artie

Artie

Certified Gear Head!
Mike,
Yes, I got some 1.75" risers from a member here on the forum, like $60! Really ace upgrade!
Here's the final product with the Ppad installed!


 
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