Changing Out the Handlebars - Part II

The paint on the triple tree is dry and we are ready to re-install it.  But first I needed to solve a quick aesthetic / engineering issue.  For that I turned to the mechanical creativity of Eric Bess, the owner of Flying Tiger Motorcycles.  As you can see in the photo below, the triple tree was pinched on either side by a bolt which fed into a nut on the other side of the triple tree.

In the second photo you'll notice that when the clubman handlebars are in position they press against the top of the bolt.  This would eventually cause the handlebars to scratch and grind in that spot, opening the door to other problems.  Also, the bolts in the photo are not stock, so there is no reason to keep them on the bike.

Eric's proposed solution was to tap and drill the holes where the bolt runs and switch to a button-head allen bolt.  This eliminates the need for a nut altogether and, because the button-head has a lower profile than the current bolt, allows the handlebars to sit in position without hitting the top of the bolt. All of that sounded great to me so we did it.

After searching the shop and making a quick run to the hardware store, we realized that we didn't have two identical bolts, but we had two bolts of different lengths that were otherwise identical.  So Eric cut the end off of one of the bolts so they would match.

The bolts were wider than the pre-existing holes so we used the drill press to widen the route for the bolt.

We then pushed the top of the triple tree back onto the front end.

We re-connected the gauges and the ignition to the top of the triple tree and bolted the top of the triple tree into place, but I forgot to take a picture of it so it'll have to wait for next week.  Also waiting for next week are the handlebars which must be marked and drilled for wiring before mounting.  Hopefully we'll be able to get that done and start making progress on the new tail section for the bike.