Instrument shelf - cheap, easy, looks great!

[stevepsd]

Here is a shelf I have made where I will mount my Powerlet outlets, volt meter, dedicated outside air temp gauge and the heated grip controller (just sold them, so...) and whatever else I decide to place there. It has tremendous flexibility, is very, very sturdy and with a invisible gap between the shelf and the instrument cluster it is easy to route (and hide) wiring.

It is made out of a piece of .125" thick ABS sheet, 3" x 10.75" in size. I drilled a 1-1/8" hole for the factory cigarette lighter. Remove the large plastic nut holding the cigarette lighter in place, put the new instrument shelf over the lighter and secure it all with the large plastic nut.

The left side will be secured by a Powerlet outlet when it arrives tomorrow, so there will be no gap on that side as shown in the attached picture. I will drill thru the existing fairing and secure the Powerlet and instrument shelf with the Powerlet nut & washer.

Here is one pic, will post others shortly.

-steve

 

[Koinz]

That looks neat. I was thinking of doing something like that to enclose that big empty space.

 

[SpeedStar]

That is a great use of that area. I think Rocca from Greece did something similar.
I will add this to my plans as well.

 

[~TABASCO~]

That looks good ! Nice job !

 

[colorider]

Great idea Steve!!!! You may want to consider making more and marketing them to others here!!!

::003::

 

[elizilla]

That's awesome. I am definitely going to copy it. But not tonight. Must resist starting more projects when I haven't finished the ones I already have started. Must resist...

 

[glazier]

Neat idea ::012::

 

[tomatocity]

Very nice Steve. You are very creative (have you owned a KLR?) Added to the ToDo list. Now to find the sheet of ABS.

 

[Twitch]

Nice job! I like it. That's now on my plan. 8)

 

[justbob]

<<<It is made out of a piece of .125" thick ABS sheet,>>>

and just where can I purchase this material ?

 

[3putt]

Neat ideal!

 

[Checkswrecks]

<<<It is made out of a piece of .125" thick ABS sheet,>>>

and just where can I purchase this material ?

Watch along the edge of the road for a car bumper cover. ??? Seriously, you can cut out sections and it's ideal for these projects.


And yes, I did once own a KLR. In fact, this is just what the entire fairing was made from!

 

[stevepsd]

<<<It is made out of a piece of .125" thick ABS sheet,>>>

and just where can I purchase this material ?

You can usually buy it at a well-stocked hobby shop, or online from McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/#abs-sheets/=dtwue1 for less than $10 a sheet.

 

[stevepsd]

Very nice Steve. You are very creative (have you owned a KLR?) Added to the ToDo list. Now to find the sheet of ABS.

Not a KLR, but a TDM 850!

 

[SisuTen]

It's too small for my cupholder (seriously) :lamp:

Good idea. I'm thinking aluminum might be better if you plan to hang many items on it.

In any case, be sure to add something as anti-squeak material.

Paul

 

[stevepsd]

It's too small for my cupholder (seriously) :lamp:

Good idea. I'm thinking aluminum might be better if you plan to hang many items on it.

In any case, be sure to add something as anti-squeak material.

Paul

I was concerned about that as well, but the 1/8" ABS sheet does not really flex over the short 10" distance.

 

[SisuTen]

I was concerned about that as well, but the 1/8" ABS sheet does not really flex over the short 10" distance.

It should be fine. Make sure you put some foam in the joint as an anti-squeak, though.

Paul

 

[Venture]

That's awesome. I am definitely going to copy it. But not tonight. Must resist starting more projects when I haven't finished the ones I already have started. Must resist...

My motto is, "80% done, 100% Venture." You can borrow it if you want. ::025::

 

[stevepsd]

Here is my dash, as it stand right now. I have added two Powerlet outlets, a Voltmeter and a dedicated air temperature gauge from Trail-Tech. Still messing around with placement of these gauges.

The left-most Powerlet is doing double duty, as it is securing the left side of the shelf to the fairing.

As a aside, if you look at the insutement cluster you will notice '22' being displayed in the lower left of the LCD....that is the error code for the Intake Air Temp Sensor (I had it disconnected from the airbox). So you know where to check for error codes now!

-steve

 

[martinh]

That looks great, I was looking to do something like that also and couldn't figure out how to really secure the left side of the panel. How much room do you have when it is full turned right and left?