I finally made some lowers-Foot warmers

Bedifferent

Old man on a bike
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Messages
1,764
Location
Coldwater, MI
Ride
2015 Rocket 3 Touring
Hi Everyone,

I've been off the forum for quite some time (no reason in particular...just busy doing other things I guess) and I thought I would make this post. I saw I started a version of this post way back in 2017 about "Pondering Making Some Lowers". Well, I decided enough cold toes and feet so I decided to finish the project I started. What I made was not intended to protect the whole front of my lower leg but it does give me the protection I was looking for over the tops of my shoes. They hopefully will help keep my feet warmer.... which is what I seem to have the biggest problem with. After working through numerous patterns and trying different fitments this is what I came up with.

I bought some 1 1/4" P-Clamps to go around my crash bars for fastening the aluminum panels I cut and shaped. I used some 0.062 3003 aluminum which is pretty tough, but something that can still be shaped a little if needed. They are solid as a rock and not flimsy in the least. I considered using some coupling nuts on the bottom holes to hold the bottom of the deflector out a bit, but decided it looked more clumsy than I wanted. The outer edge of the aluminum shield runs at about the mid-line of the crash bar. I did this to keep things a little smaller and also if I fall over and drop the bike on the crash bar it wouldn't jam up the deflector. (It just has happened a couple times if I'm not paying attention to the beast and its need to be kept vertical and not reach that point of no return). I did a little flip up at the top of the shields for looks, plus I had some HD deflectors on my Fatboy and they did the same on the top edge. I got them pretty even in spite of the crash bars not being quite the same on both sides of the bike. Right now they just look a boring gray (actually aluminum) but I plan to put some carbon fiber looking vinyl on the front surface for the time being. Maybe I'll spice it up more later.

I took my bike in for some fuel tonight to give them a try. It was about 64 degrees, so I just put on a pair of tennis shoes for the test ride. I rode for about 20 minutes and I could actually feel the warmth over the tops of my shoes and around my feet. When I got home my shoes were not cold in the least. I'm not sure how they would be in warmer weather , but they can be easily removed for the summer. They may serve a useful purpose in the rain as well....lots of options. Hopefully this will keep my toes happy for the remainder of the riding season.

Cheers!


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I'm done for this year with my project. This is the final result. I covered the front faces with some carbon fiber appearing vinyl. I did not wrap it around the edges, nor did I want to do that. I scrubbed with detergent and then cleaned the surfaces with denatured alcohol. I used plenty of heat to apply. Does anyone know how well this type of vinyl application will stay on? Does the adhesive cure and stick better over time? It is adhering very well at the moment and doesn't seem inclined to lift off the surface anywhere. I see people using it in all sorts of ways to wrap mirrors, dashboards, trim... I may need to make a post with this question.


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Follow up: It's only 73 today, but I went for another ride. I didn't take this picture right away, but the temperatures ranged from around 85 and running most of the time around 90 degrees in the pocket. I may have to do another test in cold temperatures.

Now that I have the basic design for the lower half and mounting all neatly in place, it would be real easy to extend all the way up and flair out just a little to create a full lower on the crash bars. If I kept the top parts mounted on 2 separate P-Clamps, I could easily put the top half on as needed for full weather protection. I plan to leave the current ones on year round and I'm quite please with the carbon fiber look. We don't get a lot of really hot summer temperatures here in Michigan and there is always the highway pegs outside of the pocket. I usually rest my toes out on them with my heels on the floorboards in the summer anyway.


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For those who might be interested, here is my final installment about lowers for my R3T.

I decided to complete the job with the upper half of my foot lowers project. After making the bottom lowers to keep my shoes and feet warm I decided what the heck...let's make the tops as well. Here are some pictures of the finished project. The tops can be easily removed for summer. They are small and flat enough they can be carried in my panniers and quickly put on if needed. I even shaped the edges a little for a better look and of course....more carbon fiber vinyl to make them look good. I used some knobs for mounting the mockups, but found some black onyx button head flange screws for this install. They are quite effective in reducing the cold temps and supper solid on the bike. I have ballpark patterns for all of this but getting them to printout the exact size is a problem. They still would require minor tweaking if you wanted to make a set.
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For those who might be interested, here is my final installment about lowers for my R3T.

I decided to complete the job with the upper half of my foot lowers project. After making the bottom lowers to keep my shoes and feet warm I decided what the heck...let's make the tops as well. Here are some pictures of the finished project. The tops can be easily removed for summer. They are small and flat enough they can be carried in my panniers and quickly put on if needed. I even shaped the edges a little for a better look and of course....more carbon fiber vinyl to make them look good. I used some knobs for mounting the mockups, but found some black onyx button head flange screws for this install. They are quite effective in reducing the cold temps and supper solid on the bike. I have ballpark patterns for all of this but getting them to printout the exact size is a problem. They still would require minor tweaking if you wanted to make a set.
20201019_151927.jpg
20201019_151927.jpg
20201017_131457.jpg
20201017_131429.jpg
20201017_131412.jpg

20201017_131336.jpg
20201024_152124.jpg
20201024_152216.jpg
20201024_152229.jpg
20201024_152244.jpg
20201024_152304.jpg
You know I’m in for a full set of uppers and lowers!! When are you starting production?
 
You know I’m in for a full set of uppers and lowers!! When are you starting production?
If only I had a way to mass produce. 👍🤣 Sadly, $160 just in P-Clamps. The hard work is done with ballpark patterns. All you need is a band or jigsaw, a hand drill or drill press for the holes, and (in my case) a belt sander for smoothing or tweaking the edges. 😳
 
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