Starting to Cut....

Now that the rear axle is in the general vicinity of where I want it, it is time to cut off the excess frame members and start laying out the hard tail sections that will be added to the frame to make it a hard tail. First, I am cutting away the "seat frame" section, away from the connection joints. I will then be able to do a more surgical removal of the smaller parts.

 

Removing the upper section.

Then cut of the attachment to the lower section.

 

Along with removing the "seat section" the brackets that held on the foot pegs needed to be removed so that the 1" mechanical tube could fit over the lower seen in the above pic. The small tubes that form the cradle around the engine are 3/4" O.D., which is convenient since a 1" O.D. tube with 1/8" wall has an I.D. very nearly 3/4". I can now create a slip joint that will attach my hard tail section to the lower tubes. Pretty slick :>). Next we will begin to mock up the lower hardtail tube with cheap EMT from Home Depot to make sure we like the look before committing to the more expensive 1" mechanical tubing..