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Henry Martin spends his nights writing fiction and poetry, which predominately deals with the often-overlooked aspects of humanity. He is the author of three novels: Escaping Barcelona, Finding Eivissa, and Eluding Reality; a short story collection, Coffee, Cigarettes, and Murderous Thoughts; and a poetry collection, The Silence Before Dawn. His most recent published project is a collection of Photostories in five volumes under the KSHM Project umbrella, for which he collaborated with Australian photographer Karl Strand, combining one of a kind images with short stories and vignettes. He is currently working on his next novel narrated in two opposing points of view. He lives with his family in the Northeast.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tool Tube WR250R

I finally got around to mounting a tool tube on the WR250R. Just like on my other bike, I went with the AgriSupply tube, as the other ones I have proved to be rugged enough for serious DS rides.

At first, I thought finding a location would be difficult. This bike is really a dirt bike and not having racks on it like I have on my BMW, there aren't many suitable mounting options. Personally, I don't like mounting tool tubes with hose clamps. Nevertheless, once I removed the useless factory installed helmet lock, it all became clear.

First step was to remove the helmet lock and the useless tiny tool kit that came with the bike. Once removed, the helmet lock has a 6mm nut welded from behind, and the little tab where the factory tool kit rests has two small holes.

Next, I made a small, simple bracket from some 1/4" angle aluminum I had in the junk pile. I drilled three holes in it: two to mount it to the tab on the subframe, and one to attach the tool tube. The only challenge here was that the holes are so close apart that there is no way to get two 6mm nuts next to one another. To rectify this, I filed one side of the two 6mm bolts so these would actually fit in the limited space, then used a straight nut on one bolt, and a small spacer over the other bolt, which allowed the nut on the second bolt to stop above the nut of the first bolt. Sounds complicated? No, it's really simple. Trying to fit two bolts side by side would have been impossible.

Next, I cut a piece of flat 3/16" aluminum stock to reinforce the plastic tab on the tool tube itself. Again, there are two bolts. One simply mounts the plate to the tube, the second attaches the tube to the subframe at the helmet lock location. This way, the weight is spread over a larger area, and it also limits flexing of the plastic tab. Remember, it's a bike for the rough terrain. The bottom tab only got a fender washer.



And here it is, all mounted.

  

This setup is not going to be used for heavy tools, but a tube repair kit, tire irons, and some screwdrivers/wrenches will fit in just fine.

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