My Fox Campus restorations are progressing nicely and I've finally gotten to the point of needing kickstands. Eleven of them to be exact. During its production run the Campus models all used a kickstand made by Cecor which had a flat base and a leg drop of four and one half inches like the one in the first picture below. So, it was off to the parts bin to take an inventory of the kickstands that I have been collecting over the years and see what I had to work with. I found that I did have enough kickstands and pieces to do the job but I ran into two problems. The first was that some of them had the flat bases which was exactly what I was looking for...Pic #2. But others had a "W" shaped base like the one in pic #3 and would not work. The second problem was that the legs were all various lengths and shapes...pic4. At that point I had two choices. I could search ebay for the next ten years hoping to find the correct ones or; I could modify the ones I had and use those. I chose option number two. To be continued.....
How To Modify Kickstands
- Thread starter ogygopsis
- Start date
- Tags kickstands modify
The first job was to modify the ones with the "W" shaped bases. I began by taking those pic#1 and removing the "W" shaped portion pic#2. Next I fabricated a new flat base from mild steel like in pic#3 and welded it to the kickstand cylinder pic#4. After smoothing out the welds and bead blasting I ended up with eleven kickstand bases that could be used on the Fox Campus frames pic#5. If you're going to try this at home you may run into difficulty with the welding. I ran into one or two that absolutely would not take a good weld. Bubbling, splattering, pin holes and just plain ugly welds. On the others the welds were text book. Anyone have any opinions about this? To be continued.....
With the bases finished I now turned to the problem of the varying lengths and shapes of the kickstand legs themselves. After much deliberation I realized that the only real solution was going to be fabricating all new legs. In order to do this I knew that I was going to have to make a bender capable of handling 1/2" steel rod. Because it was only going to be used for this specific project I didn't want to spend a lot of time and effort making anything fancy. Just something sturdy and accurate enough to do the job. Using scraps I had lying around the shop I threw together the rig shown in pics 1,2,3,&4 below. That done I did some practice bends shown in pic5.
Now it was time to begin fabricating the legs themselves. The first step was to cut 16 one half inch diameter cold roll steel blanks. I made 16 to allow for mistakes. The next step was to mill two slots in each one for the locking pins like in pics #1 & #2 below. With the slots completed I was ready to begin bending the upper portion of the legs pic #3. The bent and slotted legs are shown in pic #4 while pic #5 shows a close up of the upper end of the leg. To be continued....
The upper end of each kickstand leg has a 1/4" dia. hole like the one in pic #1. This is drilled 1/4" deep into the leg and holds a pin which limits the up and down travel of the leg. To drill these holes accurately required the fabrication of a jig. Once again because this was going to be a one time deal I used shop scraps and didn't spend a lot of time making it look pretty...just accurate. Pics 2,3,&4 show the jig and how it was used. Pic #5 shows some of the legs with the finished holes.
Thats great Ogy. I have a similar situation right now on a ruttman pac mule that I haven't started on yet.
I have a brand new cecor kickstand, but it's very long.
I was going to attempt to bend the 1/2 inch rod in a 20 ton shop press. Since I haven't done it, I don't know how it will turn out. I suppose I should attempt on some scrap rod first to see how it works.
I have a brand new cecor kickstand, but it's very long.
I was going to attempt to bend the 1/2 inch rod in a 20 ton shop press. Since I haven't done it, I don't know how it will turn out. I suppose I should attempt on some scrap rod first to see how it works.
At this point all that remained to do was make the bend in the lower portion of the legs pics 1 & 2. After that I trimmed them to length and hit them with the bead blaster pic#3. Pics 4 & 5 show the finished results. All of the components have since been sent out for zinc plating. I'll post some pics when they come back. I hope you have enjoyed this thread. Give me a shout if you have any questions. Ogy
very impressive work,:bowdown:
I was thinking about modifying a cecor bicycle kickstand that can be found on ebay for about ten bucks. The problem like you stated is that the mounting plate isn't flat. I had thought of trying to use the shop press to flatten the plate but 1/8 steel takes quite a bit of force to bend. My 20 ton press might not be enough. Welding on a new plate seems like a simple solution and a lot safer. The problems with the weld might be from the plating, not sure. Your simple jigs for bending the legs is brilliant :thumbsup: For a one off that I will do something a bit more crude will work. Thanks again for showing what I was only thinking of trying is possible to do.
I was thinking about modifying a cecor bicycle kickstand that can be found on ebay for about ten bucks. The problem like you stated is that the mounting plate isn't flat. I had thought of trying to use the shop press to flatten the plate but 1/8 steel takes quite a bit of force to bend. My 20 ton press might not be enough. Welding on a new plate seems like a simple solution and a lot safer. The problems with the weld might be from the plating, not sure. Your simple jigs for bending the legs is brilliant :thumbsup: For a one off that I will do something a bit more crude will work. Thanks again for showing what I was only thinking of trying is possible to do.
