American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 243 October 2019 | Page 28

attention to detail business like never before."
Once the tubes, parts and castings have been
collected to meet a customer's order job sheet
component list, Guus sets the mold. At VG this is a
very advanced tool that massively improves precision
and saves time.
Guus has developed what is more of a modular and
very versatile mold system than a series of individual
jigs and fixtures, though he has plenty of those too
- especially for the more difficult and rarer frames.
The mold itself has dozens of parts, allowing
adjustment to meet all possible specifications and
dimensions.
The seat post is the first component to be positioned.
Next comes one of the most important castings, the
head, which is precision-set at the correct angle.
After that the two downtubes are placed in the mold,
and then the two castings that form the 'bend' in the
frame tubes (to which the attachments for a sidecar
use are attached, in keeping with all Harley's older
designs). Then two mandrel bent lower tubes that
pass underneath the engine to the gearbox from the
front block support (also a casting) are introduced,
The key to efficiency is to batch-manufacture as
many of the common components as possible and
pull from inventory for each new frame order.
VG uses its own modular, bespoke designed mold system
rather than individual, frame-specific jigs and fixtures.
The heavy-duty mold is a
versatile, electrically
driven tool - allowing the
frame to be rotated and
adjusted, considerably
speeding up and
increasing the precision of
the welding process.
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - OCTOBER 2019
laser-checked for precise alignment and then spot
TIG- welded.
The casting for the seat post is introduced and also
laser-checked and, at the back, the mounts for the
gearbox are welded to the tubes, which are more or
less ready-made parts from inventory. From that
point, both tubes go diagonally upwards to the rear
to the rear axle. Castings are also used there, just like
on the original frames.
Every operation, every addition of a casting or tube,
requires that parts are put fixed in the mold and
measured, and laser-checked several times before
final welding. The heavy-duty mold is electrically
driven, so easy to rotate and work with - especially
speeding up the welding process and increasing the
precision.
Then comes the upper frame tube, from saddle to the
steering head, onto which the engine mounts,
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