So I put on a Thunder Air Kit not to long ago and like most of you I was disappointed by the fins on the right front cylinder not covering the entire cylinder. I knew this would happen because I had a Shindy S&S air kit before, which Hollywood now has, and took it off because I didn't really dig the teardrop shape and there was that ugly spot…

Now this forum is the mother of invention.. we got Toolman this, and Blacktop that, and Winkie this, and Hollywood that… Heck even Gordo got in the mix with those polysyllabic pipes he put together, with help from the Paul of the thunder pipe fame… What's a regular guy like me to do.. So while I dig the looks, and the power, of the round air kit… I decided It is my responsibility to do something about the ugly spot…and that shall be my fame…

One day while polishing I noticed that the fins on the left side of the rear cylinder look a lot like the offending one. So I pulled them both off and… it fit! The next problem is that those fins support the box, via a support arm with a rubber grommet in it. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make a replacement with some sheet metal. Next stop… partsfish.com. Yowch… that fin is $95.. so I went to my local Honda shop and asked if maybe they had a spare one laying around….they did (2 in fact) I bought 'em both for $75. You will also need 2 of the special bolts that connect the fins to the engine, as the ones that are on the offending section are different. I stopped next at OSH and bought a piece of 16 gauge sheet metal a pack of heavy duty cutting discs for my Dremel and a new blade for my hacksaw, a can of black engine enamel spray paint, oh and some JB Weld. Total cost at OSH $20.

Basically there are two steps… remove enough metal to fit with the exhaust pipe, and fab the support. You can remove the bottom portion of the cover with a hacksaw… Cut carefully to make sure you stay straight, and I cleaned it up with a file. I then examined the support carefully and cut a piece of metal about an inch wide and 5 inches long. I compared that piece to the support and made the 2 necessary bends. I then figured out what additional cuts would need to be made in order to make it fit the fins, and made those. The next step was to make the holes in the new bracket for the grommet and to attach it to the fins. The fins hole was easy.. but the grommet hole, being oblong was tricky. I used an appropriately sized drill bit, and my Dremel to make it work. I then attached the bracket to the fins with a 6mm socket head bolt, 1 6mm washer, and a nylock nut. I used a little JB weld on the place where the bracket touches the fins to shore it up a little. I then put a light coat of JB weld on the bracket itself to give it a little more strength. I let it dry completely, painted it with the engine enamel. Installed the grommet in the new bracket and put it on the bike… BAM.. looks fantastic… For little safety measure I used blue loctite for the bolts that attach the fins to the bike, and I tightened the band clamp (I remember this one time at band camp…) a bit just to be safe.

I've attached pics of the bracket off the bike and installed on the bike. I'm more than pleased with it.. with this and the kickers… I love my bike more than ever.

Matt