GARWOOD CUSTOM CYCLES ZION WHEEL INSTALL

Garwood Custom Cycles out of Lexington, North Carolina, is as American as it gets. Whether it’s full custom builds, swingarms, or wheels, it has just what you’re looking for, like these Zion wheels we put on a 2016 Road Glide. While this job can easily be done in a driveway, we always take our wheel swaps to our good friends at Wheel Works in Garden Grove, California, for the ultimate in ride-in, ride-out ease of installation. HB

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#HOTBIKESNAPFAB p Following up from last month after learning to pattern off an existing fuel tank, we now look at creating a buck to shape an original tank design. For this exercise I’ll create a buck from 3/8-inch plywood of a fuel tank for some early iron. p First, using a piece of poster board I’ll sketch out the side profile of the tank to fit the frame. p With the side and top profiles decided upon, I lay out the centerline of both profiles. p Once I’m happy with it I cut it out and take another look at the profile.

GET BUCK WILD!

2 4 p Using the side profile template I get the overall length to sketch out the top profile.

2 6 p  I split the centerlines so the two profiles can intersect one another.

2 7 p With the two profiles taped together I mock them up on the frame to check the size and profile of the tank one last time before going to the plywood. p Now I trace out the patterns onto the plywood and also sketch opposing slots in the profiles so they can intersect one another the same way the poster-board patterns did.

2 9 p  I cut the plywood with whatever tools are available, like a jigsaw, band saw, scroll saw, etc. You can see here the top and side profiles are cut from plywood with opposing slots to allow the two parts to intersect one another.

2 12 TECH WORDS AND PHOTOS: BIG JOE 1 p With the two profiles assembled we can get a very good idea what space the fuel tank will occupy, but we’ll need more structure in the buck to aid in making patterns.

82 / HOTBIKE.COM p Every buck is different, but the intention is the same when it comes to adding ribs or segments to the buck. Here I chose four locations to add profile ribs, which aid in creating the overall shape of the tank.

2 13 p Once again I use poster board to make patterns for the additional profile ribs.

2 14 p The patterns are traced out onto more plywood and cut out.

2 15 p  I then lay out the opposing notches and cut them out as well.

2 16 p Using wood glue and brad nails I assemble the side/top profiles along with the additional profile ribs and have a look at the buck on the frame before it is fully assembled.

1.50'' p Seen here is the fully assembled buck. 17 Atthisstagethebuckisonlyroughedin.INTHENEXTISSUEwe willdosomesandingtosmoothoutallofthetransitionsand addfillertoallofthevoidsinthebucktocreateacomplete solidformfromwhichwecanmakepatternsinsimilarfashion likewedidinthelastissue.Ifyouhavequestionsorrequests forthiscolumnfeelfreetoemailmeatjoe@snap-fab.com.

BOLID’STER

JEAN’STER RIDING PANTS

Most protective jeans have Kevlar liners sewn into parts of them. This is all well and good, but most of them feel bulky and like you are wearing a pair of Huggies pull-ups under your riding jeans.

The Jean’ster riding pants are a whole other kind of garment. The protective fabric is woven right into the fabric of the jeans themselves. Bolid’ster uses a composite material called Armalith for the jeans, and this fabric is the first of its kind. Armalith is a mixture of a reinforcement material known as UHMWPE (ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene), which was developed for aerospace as well as defense applications, combined with goodold comfortable cotton and Lycra. This makes the Jean’ster pants a non-bulky single layer that provides the same abrasion protection as other riding jeans. But it does it over the entire garment.

Once I put them on they didn’t feel like I was wearing protective jeans, and I easily wore them in a myriad of warm and hot temperatures without getting monkey butt. Also, they look just like a pair of regular jeans, so I didn’t look like a puffy Kevlarpaneled-pants-wearing goon when I was off the bike.

I have been riding with these jeans for a solid six months and have found them to be a very legitimate pair of riding pants. I wore them on numerous daylong and weekend-long rides, and they did not bind or become uncomfortable at anytime. The cut on the Jean’ster is good and roomy but not baggy. Sorry to say, but I was not a big fan of the faux fading and wear of the fabric and prefer to wear dark blue or black jeans that naturally age themselves. But that’s just my personal style, as many of you will like the looks just fine. After my sting wearing these jeans, my synopsis is that if you are into getting some pants protection and don’t want to look like MC Hammer, check out the Bolid’ster Jean’ster riding pants.

$349 // EUNIQUE.US