Forward Controls Project
My forward controls project works great! I have to admit though, it might be just
a little expensive. With that
said, I want you to check out
MAPAM.COM to
have a look at what they’re offering. Now, they may say that they’re for 1986 Viragos and up, but I
bought a set
And have them installed on my 1984 XV1000. They fit PERFECTLY. I sold my home made controls only because the new ones I bought
From MAPAM.COM gave me an additional 1” of leg room.
You can also check out Seeger Cycle. Click Here
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I am not a short person. I stand at 6'1" and weigh in the vicinity of 190 lbs. I need a big bike. This is one reason why I chose the Yamaha Virago 1000. Despite the size of the bike, the position of the foot pegs leave a lot to be desired. When the Virago 1100 was produced, the footpegs were moved forward by about 2 inches to give a more forward riding position. This only served to make changing the oil filter a chore and did little or nothing to alleviate cramped legs. So, that's what I have done. I got my hands on a sturdy peice of round, tool steel to be the main component for holding the foot pegs, shifter and brake pedal. I removed the existing footpegs and chassis from the bike and strung up the bar with some wire, to take measurements. I thought about making the pedals and linkages myself too, but I figured the final product wouldn't look all that hot, so I went to the local Harley-Davidson shop to look at what they had to offer. The forward control pieces on the 883 sportster were perfect. Why Harley? Because there are billions of parts avaliable for the Harley-Davidson name. I was SURE to find what I needed and I wasn't disappointed. I took some measurements and found that I would have to mill my steel bar only a little bit to get the shifter and pedal to fit. As luck would have it, the Harley parts were teflon lined too, smooth shifting and braking. To dress up the finished product and to protect it from the elements, the bare metal was prepared with POR-15 Marine Clean (biodegradable degreaser), POR-15 Metal Ready (surface primer) and then painted with POR-15 Satin Black Paint. This will guarantee my custom work never to rust and to resist rock chips, not to mention matching the finish of the rest of the bike frame. Many of you have expressed an interest in my custom forward controls. Please feel free to use the information listed below to fabricate a set for your very own. The final cost, excluding your time, should be about $400 US. The big part of the cost is the Harley Davidson parts. They don't give those things away. |
Because my bike was bought for riding AND tinkering, I could make the
ride more comfortable by adding a set of forward controls. This would
move the position of the gear shifter and the rear brake pedal to the
front of the engine. No more cramped riding for me. I could stretch
out, drape my hands over the bars, kick my feet up in front of me and
watch the world roll by. It is true that I could have just stuck with
my highway pegs, but using those always meant taking my feet away from
the controls. It's not safe. I searched for forward controls for the
1000. I found several sets made for the 1100, but only one for the 1000.
It's cost was $840.00. To look at the kit, you would swear that there
was no more than $200 worth of parts and work involved. The foot pegs
were ugly and the shifter and brake pedal were cheap looking too. I
was convinced I could do a better job by making a set myself.
Parts required;
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Part Description |
QTY |
Part Number |
|
Harley-Davidson Gear Shifter. |
1 |
# 49303-98 |
|
Harley-Davidson Brake Arm assembly. |
1 |
# 49301-98 |
|
Harley-Davidson Shifter Rod. |
1 |
# 11763 |
|
Harley-Davidson Shifter Rod Ends |
3 |
# 33871-85A |
|
piece of round tool steel, 17" long by 1" dia. |
1 |
(mounting bar) |
|
pieces of mild steel, 1 1/2" x 1" x 1/4" |
2 |
(mounting ears) |
|
Stainless Steel 1 1/2" fender washers. |
2 |
(holds the controls in place) |
|
5/8" #24 stainless steel nuts. |
2 |
(squeeze nuts for the linkages) |
|
Female Harley-Davidson type footpeg mounts. |
2 |
|
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Female mount, Harley-Davidson compatible footpegs. |
2 |
|
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1" x 3/8" Stainless steel #24 bolt |
3 |
(linkage fasteners) |
|
3/8" nylon lined #24 nut |
3 |
|
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1 1/2" x 5/8" Stainless steel #24 bolt |
2 |
(footpeg fasteners) |
|
5/8" nylon lined #24 nut |
2 |
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The steel rod has to be milled and drilled on either end so as to fit the shifter and brake arms. When you bring the rod to the metal shop to be lathed, bring the Harley parts too. The machinist can measure the inside diameters of the parts to mill the bar just right. Be sure to have the bar ends a fraction longer than the width of the shifter and brake arms. This is so when you install the fender washers, to hold the shifters in place, they won't bind up against the moveable parts. Either end of the bar will also be drilled out and tapped to fit the female mountings for the footpegs. These mounts will also hold the fender washers in place. When I installed my mounting pegs, the fit was very snug. Depending on how well your bar is tapped out, you may need to put some loctite in the threads or add some lock washers to keep your footpegs from moving Using a 1" drill bit, enlarge one of the holes on each piece. Hold both pieces tightly in a vice and saw the 1" hole in half. This is the makings of the mount that will be welded to your milled bar. using a round file and a flat file, clean up all of the edges to make near perfect fits. I was able to get excellent results by putting a piece of carbon paper between the rod and the 1" mounts and then filing away all of the blackened areas. The end of the mounts with the 5/8" holes need to be rounded out. This will take a bit of work. You may want to use a hack saw to cut away a small piece of metal on each corner so as to make filing easier. Round out the ends of your mounts so that there is 1/4" of metal all the way around the drill hole. On the bottom of your bike, measure the mounting bracket where you're going to attach your forward controls. It's the bracket where the chassis for your old footpegs and shifter was mounted. The width of that bracket is going to be the inside width of the mounting bracket on your new controls. Weld the two mounts to the bar using that measurement. Attach the new bar to the engine case and put on all of the gear (shifter, brake arm, washers, footpeg mounts and footpegs.) Be sure everything fits right and things move smoothly. Assemble the shift rod and swivel ends, complete with one squeeze nut on each side. Using a 3/8" bolt and nut fasten the assembly to the Harley shifter. You will notice, when trying to attach the shifter rod to the Yamaha gear box linkage, the rod looks a little long. That's because it is. The way to work around this is to remove the gear box linkage and flip it around so that the "ear" is pointing backwards. Before you do that though, you'll have to drill out the old shifter mount that is on there. Drill it so that you can put a 3/8" bolt through. Put the shifter arm back on the bike and attach the Harley shift rod. When you're happy with your setup, tighten the squeeze nuts. The brake setup requires a leap of faith. You must cut your existing brake arm and drill a 3/8" hole into it to mount the Harley swivel end. I took several measurements and found that 3" was the best length to cut it. Be sure to experiment with the length yourself. You might find that my measurements are not to your liking. Finally, all that is needed to complete the job is to paint or chrome the final product. I chose to paint my bar. Whatever you do, remember to protect the machined ends so that they don't get coated. Also, don't forget to grease those ends so they won't rust. |
Next you need to fabricate some mounts to attach the bar to the engine
case. I used two small pieces of 1/4" mild steel. I cut each piece
1 1/2" long and drilled a 5/8" hole in either end of both
pieces. Be sure to leave a 1/4" of material between the side of
the hole and the end of the piece.
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Click to enlarge each photo