Bending Thoughts and Thinking Steel

This is Scott. He's the man behind the scenes that makes this all happen. He's a partner at the electromechanical engineering firm ElectoKinetics. A boxer lover and a creative thinker he's come up with many a great idea on this project. Here we're looking at the fitting of the bent (to clear the carbs) cross braces. Traditional bracing on boxers is a straight tube connecting the swing arm pivots to the downtubes just below the head stock. Rarely welded they are typically bolted in which is a compromise we aren't willing to settle for.

You can see that the engine mounts are changed. Traditionally a racing boxer moves the engine 1 1/2" forward and about 1" up at the back mount - the front mount is typically above the rail helping to align the motor with the shaft drive and giving better clearance with the cylinders. Looking at lots of photos and AHRMA race bikes helps us determine this placement.

Chris Cosentino, another Electro brain, and Scott discuss the stresses on the frame and where bracing should go to counteract them. Once Scott bent the side braces we decided to triangulate them into the spine to add support. We're still contemplating how to get the engine out of the frame - perhaps a removable downtube?

The tank is from The Tank Shop in Scotland and is really quite stunning - worth the 9 month wait. As we begin to incorporate the tank we realize how asymmetrical it is and that we'll have to make the mounts accommodate that.