GEAR REVIEW
MOTORCYCLE NECK JIG 2008 Harley Street Bob is
MY named Rex , short for Resurrection . It has been through many changes in life since I have owned it . You could say it ’ s been resurrected from its old life to a new life and is no longer recognizable as the bike I first received . At this stage in life , one could say it continues to be refined to the image its owner would like to see . Like our Christian walk , we have been bought with a price and are being refined into the image of Christ . I ’ ll stop here , so I keep on topic and not go to preaching .
While most winter projects revolve around chrome accessories , performance , or comfort , this year , I wanted to change the tank as the old one never really fit the bike ’ s look . I found the perfect tank , but it didn ’ t fit the backbone of the bike . Not a big deal as I could “ make it ” fit . I had some issues with it : I didn ’ t like how the square backbone looked , and the tank exposed more of the backbone . So I did the sensible thing ;
I stripped the bike to the frame , and then cut it in half . I cut right in front of the seat and then cut the down tubes . There were a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong at this point . One cannot just weld new tubes in place and hope for the best . You want to be different from the old logging truck that won ’ t go down the road straight .
This is where the Gear Review comes into play . I bought a neck jig a few years back and decided to bring it into play on this project . It basically just holds the neck in place and allows you to set the rake you would like on the bike . There is nothing magical about the jig ; it still has to be set up properly , and everything lined up . First , you want the neck to be parallel with the bike . The best practice is to ensure the frame is level , and then the neck jig is perpendicular to that plane . Next , make sure the bike is lined up with the neck jig . Placing the neck in the center of the bike , lasers or string line is the order of the day . Once all of this is set up , and the bike is clamped down , you can begin to fit , tube , and rebuild the front of the bike . I went with all round tube to give the bike a better look and flow with the tank . It has more of an old-school frame vibe with round tube .
Now that the bike is set up and in alignment , the jig allows you to adjust the rake between 15-60 degrees , and the height is only restricted to what the bike will allow . Once set , you can tighten all the bolts , locking the neck in place . Then you can go to work confidently , knowing it will not move on you . While there are other ways to accomplish this , the jig makes life simple and is almost a must when cutting the neck completely free from the frame and going back with new tubes . The jig I bought is a simpler design than some more expensive jigs but works great for my desires . You should be able to pick one up for around $ 150 . This one came from tcbroschoppers . com .
CMA
13⎪FEBRUARY 2023⎪www . cmausa . org