Motorcycle Lowers (low Deflectors)

Tis the season, once again, to make something for my motorcycle to compensate for the cold weather.
I've been thinking about these for a few years and just didn't get around to making them.

Lowers are deflectors that mount to the forks and deflect the wind away from your legs and keep it from kicking up under the windshield and into your face.

The solution I came up with is fairly simple; easily acquired materials and hand tools will get the  job done.

Before you start, read all of the directions and look at your bike to determine what adjustments in materials you may need for the size and mounting conditions you need to work with. 

If you plan ahead and purchase all the materials you need, you can complete these in about an hour.

Lastly, there will always be those that think these are not finished enough to put on their bike. So don't.
My bike is strictly for commuting and running errands. It is a workhorse and not a show piece (although it still looks pretty good.
I commute down to about 18 degrees F, so I'm more interested in utilitarian concerns during the winter than looks.
That being said, these things are a nice compliment to the windshield and homemade hand deflectors (see other Instructable).

The following materials were obtained from the local Home Depot and Ace Hardware stores and can be obtained at pretty much any big box or neighborhood chain hardware  store.

• Lexan polycarbonate sheet: I needed (2)pieces about 17" x 5". I purchased a .093" thick 12" x 24" sheet for around $13 from Home Depot..
• Aluminum angle: I needed (2) pieces about 17" long. I purchased a 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/16" x 36" piece of aluminum angle for around $7 from Ace.
• Adjustable straps: I needed (4) straps for approx. 3" diameter application. I purchased (4) stainless steel adjustable straps for about $2.40 each from Ace.
• Machines screws, washers and lock nuts: I purchased #10-24 x 1/2" stainless steel machine screws, washers and lock nuts from Home Depot.
• Cardboard for making a template
• Old bicycle inner tube
• Some kind of tape - Optional
• Piece of rubber bungee cord (to act as spacer) - Optional

The following tools were used:

• Jigsaw for cutting Lexan
• Hacksaw for cutting aluminum angle
• Drill (I used a drill press) for drilling aluminum angle and Lexan
• Sheet metal shears for cutting adjustable straps
• Files for smoothing cut edges of Lexan, smoothing cut ends of aluminum angle, elongating the drilled holes in angle to make slots, smoothing cut edges of straps
• Dremel tool for elongating the drilled holes in angle to make slots
• Screwdriver for adjusting straps
• Writing implement (I used a Sharpie)

I cut a rectangle of cardboard the approximate size of the lowers I wanted and held it against the fork to get a sense for how big the things wanted to be.

Next, I cut that into a shape that I thought would be appropriate. It was a little wider at the top (about 4 3/4") than at the bottom (about  2 1/2") and held it against the fork to confirm that was the right profile I wanted. I Started a little long figuring that I could always cut it down later.

I traced the pattern onto the Lexan and cut it out with a jigsaw. Use a file to smooth off the edges.

Originally, I was going to use a fairly thick piece of Lexan or acrylic held to the forks with some sort of strap, however, the Lexan available at the Depot was fairly thin. This was the same stuff I used to make my hand wind deflectors.

Since the lowers can only hard connect to the upper stationary portion of the fork and I wanted them to extend down past the lower section, I figured the thin Lexan would need something to support its length. Hence the aluminum angle.

I cut the angle slightly shorter than the Lexan and marked where the attachment (adjustable strap) points would mount to the upper portion of the fork. Next, I drilled a series of adjacent holes the length of what I wanted for a slot to fit the adjustable strap through. The holes went right up against the vertical leg of the angle.

I then used the Dremel tool for grinding away the bits between the drilled holes and finished them up with a files to make a nice slot.

Next I drilled (3) holes in each angle for mounting the Lexan to the angle.

Next, hold the Lexan pieces in place on the angle and mark the (3) drilled hole locations and the (2) slot locations.

Drill (3) holes in the Lexan for the bolts and cut / file away the edge of the Lexan at the slots

Remove protective covering and bolt the Lexan to the aluminum angle using stainless steel machine screws, washers and lock nuts.

Wrap a piece of paper around the fork leg and mark the circumference, before you buy your materials, to determine what size strap you will need.

Temporarily fit the adjustable strap around the fork, allowing for a little extra thickness for the inner tube (see next step) and mark the amount of excess strap that can be cut off and discarded. Also determine which portions of the strap would benefit from the liquid rubber and mark the strap accordingly. File the sharp edges.

Cut pieces off of an old bicycle inner tube. If you don't have one, go to the local bike shop and they'll give you one from the trash. Wrap the pieces of inner tube around the fork where the straps will go. I used Gorilla Tape to hold it in place.

Since the part of teh fork above the mounting section was a slightly larger diameter, I had an approx. 1/8" dimension the I had to hold the angle off of the fork in order to clear an upper section of fork. Your condition may vary. I could have added extra inner tube, but I chose to cut off sections of a rubber bungee strap to act as a spacer and cushion between the aluminum angle and the fork leg.

Clamp them on and adjust as necessary.