Hello from SoCal
 

Hey guys,
I found this forum while looking for where to start with metal shaping and oxy-fuel welding. I'm a mechanical engineer, and get a little nerdy with things. I recently picked up a '78 Triumph Bonneville, and would like to learn enough to shape a new rear fender, a couple of side covers, etc. Maybe one day I'll have the skills to fabricate a tank...

Hello.... I am in north county myself

Welcome Mark! Nice classic Brit bike.

I had a 1977 Bonnie - nice bike, but horrible brakes in the wet. I alway remember the botty puckering delay whilst the rotors decided to shed water before gripping.

I was given a 1989 Kawasaki 440 recently which I'm going to make a new set of clothes for. Think I started a thread on here somewhere, but there is a thread here on the Ducati Imola tank I made a few years back.

In some respects a tank is perhaps easier to form than the side panels and guards.

Main thing is to grab some sheet and start to make scrap :)

Good luck and please post plenty of pictures.

Welcome to the forum, Mark.

Depending upon the shapes you want to make and equipment you have or plan to get, I would suggest looking what can be done with an arbor press. Shapes like motorcycle fenders and others (entire item or components for them) are surprisingly simple to make from aluminum with an arbor press and simple tooling you can make from hardwood. The method is quick but also a slow, methodical process which can teach a lot about accuracy for blocking with a swung hammer.

Hi Mark welcome to the forum. Here is a link (I hope) to a Triumph front fender I made for a pal some years ago. https://www.allmetalshaping.com/album.php?albumid=1105.