Here’s a longish video explaining how you might bend up some stainless steel rod to make fender struts. A similar process could be used to make a sissy bar on a chopper or bobber.

Supplies needed:

  1. Stainless steel round bar for the struts (I used 6mm for this project, I’d use 10mm or 12mm for a sissy bar on a chopper).
  2. Stainless steel flat bar to fashion some mounting points (I used some 6 x 30mm flat bar).
  3. Welding wire to make templates of the strut shapes quickly and cheaply.
  4. Tape for masking/protecting bike surfaces.
  5. Piece of tube, approximately 10mm in diameter, to act as a spacer on the tyre to hold the strut/fender at the correct height off the tyre.

Tools needed:

  1. Measure and marking gear (rulers, tapes, Sharpies, acetone for cleaning)
  2. Angle grinder for cutting and shaping
  3. Welding machine – I used MIG to weld the former pieces to my bench, and TIG to weld the struts to their mounting points
  4. Oxy/Acetylene heating set to heat the bar for bending
  5. Files and a Dremel for shaping and forming the mounting points
  6. Buffing wheels and polishing compounds (check my article+video on polishing metal)

Got any questions? Just send me an email and ask.

 

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