PARTS: Sunline V1 MDX Flex Levers

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V1 MDX Flex Levers

It was a struggle to not put these under the "Art & Design" tag because they're so beautiful. You'll first notice the abundance of adjustability. Yes, you can dial in your precise angle, but the real functional advantage here is crash resistance. MX racer and inventor Vince Warren came up with the idea of a multiple hinge design to prevent the bikes levers from breaking in a mid race fall. Vince passed away before seeing his design to fruition but the torch was carried on by his mother. For every V1 MDX lever sold a portion of the proceeds gos to The Vince Warren Estate. To top it all off, the levers come in an array of gorgeous colors and finishes.

$65.00-$85.00








PROJECT SR250: Exhaust Heat Shield

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Last week I started making a new exhaust hanger / heat shield combo for the SR250. Here's Part 2 of that project - the heat shield portion.

The diameter of the muffler is 2.5" so I picked up a section of 3" exhaust piping at a local auto parts store. I started by cutting the pipe to the desired length and then cutting the pipe in half the long way to make it more manageable.



The exhaust is mounted in a parallel fashion to the direction of the bike, however the hanger bracket made previously mounts at an angle. This meant I had to weld in a bridge from the hanger to the new heat shield.





After roughing in the desired shape in Sharpie I cut it out, finished the edge on the bench grinder and tacked the shield to the hanger plate.
 
The above result is how she sits thus far. I'll be taking the piece with me to my welding class where I can finish it off on the TIG. I will also be adding mounting holes (seen in marker above) and welding some threaded bungs to the muffler itself to accept the bolts. More to come soon!

PHOTO: Jonathan Szczupak - Between the White Lines of the Spa Classic

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6hr Spa Classic
Belgium


Jonathan is an Automotive Designer at Ford in Cologne, Germany with a passion for photography. Below is a taste of his superb eye for composition and detail, which can also be seen on his blog, Between the White Lines Photography. 












Jonathan also hand picks some of the best automotive and design imagery on the web to be featured on his other blogs, Between the White Lines and Great Pictures of Great Design. Both are highly inspirational and on my daily blog roll. I'm looking forward to seeing some 2-wheeled work from Jonathan in the future.