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Homemade Lowers

27K views 80 replies 29 participants last post by  Plee911 
#1 ·
Like to give Tony T. a Big Biker's Wave for posting the DIY instructions for the homemade lowers! I followed his instructions http://www.minneapolis-moline.com/lower.html and came in under $15 on this mod. Wished I had done this long ago - these things make the ride so much more enjoyable - really cuts the wind buffeting.
 

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#4 ·
Absolutely! While testing them out for the first time - got up to hwy speed and realized the shield on my full faced helmet was up. Amazing how much the wind noise is reduced. Funny - the downside now is hearing strange noises I've never heard before - like straps on my carry pack flapping, odd engine noise, etc. !!
 
#5 ·
I also made the home-made lowers, and had the same reaction.

What convinced me to try it was a long ride in 40 degree weather.
I was bundled up nice and warm and with the windshield the ride was comfortable. But I noticed a breeze coming UP my FF helmet. I used my left hand to trace the path of the wind and was surprised to find that it came from under the windshield.

So I made the lowers while visiting relatives (OK, my much more mechanically inclined brother-in-law did most of the work) and the ride home was so much nicer.

I had never ridden a bike with a windshield or lowers before, but now I would not want to ride without them.

Rod
 
#7 ·
Well you guys have sold me... This is my next project. Did you order the P straps from the same place (Marsh fastners), or did you find them locally? They look great by the way, excellent job! ;)
 
#15 ·
Lowers finished & installed

Guys, Thanks for all the help and guidance. Finished installing my home-made lowers last night. I will say what a pain in the a$$ to install. I know I made some of my own issue (used 8MM bolts instead of #10's), but I had them and what to use them. Part of the issue was there length (3/4 inch) so it was hard to get the nut on the back side started. If I ever have to do this again I would opt for 1" length. But, I am really pleased with how the turned out. Will test them this weekend.
 

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#16 ·
Guys, Thanks for all the help and guidance. Finished installing my home-made lowers last night. I will say what a pain in the a$$ to install. I know I made some of my own issue (used 8MM bolts instead of #10's), but I had them and what to use them. Part of the issue was there length (3/4 inch) so it was hard to get the nut on the back side started. If I ever have to do this again I would opt for 1" length. But, I am really pleased with how the turned out. Will test them this weekend.
They look great! Yeah = you need small hands (fingers) to attach those nuts!
Anyway - I expect you are going to experience a different ride altogether with the lowers attached. Took the wife out today - first time she had the chance to ride with me since I did the install. From her passenger perspective she said the ride was so much smoother - it created a dead zone of air current around her. Let us know how your test ride went. Later
 
#18 ·
I made a set of my own a bit ago and they look great. Here's a tip I picked up. If you run the edge of the lower to a blowtorch, the plexi will melt and get rid of all tool marks. It actually gives it a very professional look. Practice on a scrap piece till you get it right. It only takes a few minutes to do but it looks amazing!
 
#20 · (Edited)
Does anyone have any suggestions for homemade lowers on a 900 Custom. We have a different setup on our forks (no shock covers), so I was just wondering if there's a setup for us. Thanks!


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#22 ·
Here's what I came up with for a set of homemade lowers for my Vulcan 900 Custom:

I bought everything locally; 1/4" plexiglass from Lowes and the clamps from Northern Tool. They're not "p-clamps" because I couldn't find any (nobody around here even knows what a p-clamp is). These are "Apache T-Bolt Clamps". They're stainless steel and I bought stainless acorn nuts to put on the front side. Total cost in materials: $35.

They work well in that there is less air blowing around between me and the windshield, there's less buffeting of air at head level and I believe my legs will benefit from them too. If you need to know any dimensions, just let me know. Thanks!
 
#23 ·
Here's what I came up with for a set of homemade lowers for my Vulcan 900 Custom:


Great idea to clamp the lowers to the forks like this... first thing I thought (after looking at my own 900C) was that it looks like the lowers are going to hit the turnsignals when the forks compress. What did you do for clearance in this regard? Under hard braking, do the top edges of the lowers go past/in front of the turn signals?
 
#28 · (Edited)
Great idea to clamp the lowers to the forks like this... first thing I thought (after looking at my own 900C) was that it looks like the lowers are going to hit the turnsignals when the forks compress. What did you do for clearance in this regard? Under hard braking, do the top edges of the lowers go past/in front of the turn signals?
Update on the lenses rubbing: I discovered today that only one lens was rubbing on hard braking. That baffled me because the lowers we perfectly even, so I put a straight edge across the forks and discovered that one of the turn signals was crooked. I worked on that lens until it was even with the other side; this was accomplished by adding a washer in front of the brace as a spacer. Now my both my lowers pass in front of the lenses.
 
#25 ·
Thanks Steve! Under extreme braking, the lowers I made do lightly graze the front of the turn signal lenses near the top of the lens, but there's enough flex in the lowers and signals to do little or any harm. If the lowers begin to adversely affect my lenses, I will cut a notch the top of the lowers to provide additional clearance. I considered installing them like rick50's, but I wanted to try this first.
Did you put anything between the clamps and the fork lowers to keep them from slipping and/or scuffing?
 
#27 ·
Nope. They will definitely not slip; they may scuff the coating on the forks a little, but I'm not really worried about that. If it was a $20K bike with chrome forks, I would have been a bit more concerned about the finish, lol! :rolleyes:
 
#30 ·
These homemade lowers look great. My only problem is that I cannot source anywhere here on this big Island the 2 15/16-3" "P" clamps unless I go to some SS hose clamps.

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#31 ·
If you don't mind ordering from the mainland. Marsh fasteners has the P clamps you need for this project. West marine has them as well just more expensive.

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#32 ·
Thank Bosco. I've emailed Marsh so I'm just waiting for a reply.

Not sure if u noticed, I was making fun of where I live down here in Australia. To think that there is no one down here that stock these.....
 
#33 ·
Also, could you have gone any lower on the lowers? Would they have had the same affects do you think? I have cobra lightbar on my bike as well.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Just made some homemade lowers with a little size adjustment. I made them almost 6 inches wide, this enables me to angle them back a little with the shape of the windshield. Also, they are almost 12 inches long, spanning from the bottom of my cobra light-bar blinkers to just over the top of the deflectors on the forks. I do see a huge amount of head buffeting being taken away. However, I seem to be concentrating on the chills up the back of my neck now that I don't have them in the front anymore. And, I torched the holes as spoken of earlier in the post, worked well. I do have to torch the outside edges, and I did not have to sand them. I worked the jigsaw at half speed with a narrow #10 blade for scrolling. It was about half the width of normal scroll saw blades and worked beautifully. When I get a chance to show pictures I will, hopefully this weekend. Really dig what they do for the ride, especially at high speeds!!!!

Oh, one more thing, do any of you guys who made this mod smell any exhaust occasionally that you didn't before? Just a little gas smell?
 
#40 ·
lowers

I made a set of lowers on my 900 but instead of fastening them to the shocks with clamps, I used a strip of angled aluminum and fastened the lowers with the aluminum strips to the two bolts between the wind shield braces. That solved the problem with the lowers bumping into anything.
 
#48 ·
I made a set of lowers on my 900 but instead of fastening them to the shocks with clamps, I used a strip of angled aluminum and fastened the lowers with the aluminum strips to the two bolts between the wind shield braces. That solved the problem with the lowers bumping into anything.
Would love to see some photos - the 6" may be the way to go!
 
#42 ·
Bosco, I would like to order from Marshalls but they don't seem to want to reply to emails. I sent them 2 emails the last being on the 22/1/13 and yet still no reply. Yes I did check my junk box too..........
 
#45 ·
Yes I have Bosco. Total price with shipping.
 
#49 ·
Yeah sorry Hatchcover, it was Marsh. Thanks for the link but I think it's the 48 clamp I'm looking for to fit my VN1600 Classic. But then I could be wrong, if someone could help me out.. :)
 
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