How to pin your apes to stop them moving

[kiwidave]

Here's an idea for keeping your high apes in place on the road when braking hard…or for when you are kick-starting and the bodyweight pressure on them causes them to move.

I have tried various recommended methods with my 18in ones including centre-punching dimples all over the bars and riser clamp, and adding a thin strip of rubber under the top clamp. They are a help, but never worked totally.

Time to try ''pinning'' the bars in place.

Studying my OEM low risers (standard on many Shovels and Evos) the answer became obvious. Those with different risers will see a parallel and may be able to use this as a template.

I got two UNC bolts exactly the same size as the two which secure the risers underneath (the big middle hole)



screwed them into the top of the risers until they hit the bottom bolt. Then marked roughly where the threads finished flush with the top of the riser hole, and cut the bolts, leaving just a headless threaded section

I then clamped them in ViseGrips, risking thread damage but then this is a shade-tree production and a gash bolt showed no problems. Then drilled a hole at CUT end as deep as possible. Drill into the real end of the bolt and you will have a hell of a time starting the thread into the hole at the grinded (cut) end





Then from a box of old Allen keys found one that was a very tight fit into that hole, added superglue and pounded it in



Yeah, not real straight. Whaddya think I am, the dealership? ;D

Then I tested it in riser hole



Then cut the Allen with a grinder leaving about half an inch sticking out of the bolt - enough to sit snug inside the bars. Did a second one exactly the same, loctited the bolts with Allen key bits sticking out then painted Tippex on the end of each bit and placed the apes where they would sit *exactly*. Tippex marks then transferred to the bars. After 2-3 goes to make sure, used the transferred-Tippex blobs on the apes as a guide and VERY CAREFULLY drilled small as possible holes on the underside of the apes



Very carefully because there was still a brake line in there that I did not want to remove - I was already rewiring through the bars and had enough grief with that….you can see some thin wire which, much further up the bars, is connected to switch wiring which will be pulled through when bars are pinned

Note the holes in the bars do not exactly line up square - that's because of the vagaries of my amateur Allen key holes and the final angle of the ''pins''.

Then very carefully again eased the apes into place, working the pins into the holes (you gotta grind off any messy edges on the pins, not least to avoid switch-wiring shorts in my case)



Gentle use of a rubber mallet helped with the final securing! I got rid of as much ''swarf'' as possible before buttoning all this up.



Bars now in place and touching the bottom of the riser as they would without pins, top clamp applied, and the switch wiring pulled through easy.

Test rides and test pressure while kicking reveal NO MOVEMENT!

Job done. Not professional, no. But free and it works.

[S.T.Chapman]

While I recoil in horror , and pick myself up off the floor ;D ;D.
I get the point lol but did you know they make a thing called a grub screw and machinemart sell inexpesive vices. :
ask me to show you the scar in my left index finger where i ran a 1/8" drill thru to the bone once and you will understand the above horror comment :'(

Are! but they make em tough in NZ ;)

[S.T.Chapman]

grub screws? ???

I think the man used imagination and ingenuity to it's fullest under the circumstances.

Doffing me hat. ;)

[Mike Benis]

It didn't raise the eybrow so who are we to raise an eyebrow? And I'll bet it stopped the apes shifting...

Give that man a banana! :-X

Cheers

Mike