Rook’s Relocator Mounts for OHLINS KA 544 Shock Adjusters
The controls for the Ohlins KA544 rear shock are difficult to reach while riding the bike. Their mounting position being at the rear of the passenger foot peg brackets make them interfere with other equipment that might be located under the tail or on the passenger foot peg bracket accessory mounts. If an aftermarket exhaust hanger is used, there are no accessory mounts to attach the Ohlins controls to. The mounts I have designed for the KA544 controls improve access and minimize space requirements. My mounts make the controls fit compact and parallel to the back of the frame which also improves the appearance of the controls.
The following links are to threads I posted to get help me get through with this project.
Oil Reservoir Mount
The OEM exhaust hanger bolts are too short to fasten the oil reservoir mount to the inside of the frame. I needed to buy longer bolts so that the threads would protrude on the inside of the frame to act as studs. The rear hole on the LH exhaust hanger bracket was too tight for a brand new bolt to pass through even though the OEM bolt went in all the way. It seems like the bolt hole on my bike had threads that became tighter near the end of the hole which may have been nothing more than factory paint on the threads. I decided it was best to avoid tapping the hole and instead I simply sanded the the last half inch of threads on the bolt a touch smaller with some 220 emery paper. After reducing the thread diameter on the end of the bolt a touch and threading it through a few times, it passed through the hole easily.
The following links are to threads I posted to get help with this project.
I first took some measurements and determined a 2” angle iron would be needed to make a mount of the right size and shape. I felt a 1/4” thick angle iron would be best. I was not able to find 1/4” aluminum angle iron locally so I went with 1/8”.
Next step was to make a cardboard mock up for test fitting. 
The small strip on the left is to keep the cardboard folded at a 90° angle.
The 1/8” aluminum mount base would need some ribbing added to it to make it more rigid. I decided it would be just as effective, about the same amount of additional weight and a whole lot easier to just add another piece of 1/8” angle iron under the first to make the mounting base 1/4” thick.
After much test fitting and measuring and marking bolt holes, here is what I ended up with for my cardboard mockup. Two angle irons would be attached together. This will form a thicker mounting base with a vertical bolt hole to fasten the Ohlins clamp and and two horizontal bolt holes to fasten the mount inside of the frame.
A paper template made from the mockup was adhered to a 1/8” x 2” aluminum angle iron to roughly cut the shape of the two pieces for the mount.
Using a file and dremel, the mounting base was carved down to fit inside the frame.
The hole for the primary attachment to the frame was drilled in the aluminum piece and the bracket was fastened in position for numerous test fittings. The mounting plate for the Ohlins clamp sits perpendicular to the the back of the frame so the Ohlins oil reservoir will be situated parallel to it. This will allow the reservoir to fit as close as possible and also harmonize aesthetically with the shape of the frame.
The lower half of the mount required that a small piece of 1/8” thick aluminum be attached to complete the bolt hole. I used JB Weld to glue the extra piece on and placed weight on top to hold the pieces flat while the glue dried.
The bolt hole ad-on was reinforced with a disk of 1/16” aluminum attached with JB Weld. The disk was later drilled to match up with the bolt hole.
The next test fitting revealed that the support brace was not fitting on the frame perpendicular to the mounting base. The problem was that the glued bolt hole did not dry perfectly flat. I used an aluminum can to add a bit more thickness where the gap was and sanded some down after the glue dried. The bolt hole rested flush to the frame and parts fit together nice and flat.
The final test fit, the parts are bolted snug to the inside of the frame. The mounting base and the support brace fit together almost perfectly.
While the parts were bolted up, I used a metal scribe to trace a line where the mounting base and the support brace adjoin one another. Then I used a file and dremmel to do the final shaping of the parts.
I drilled the lightening holes.
I used my scanner to make images of the parts.
I then made drawings of them so they could be reproduced in the future.
I used the dremel to create a decorative, weight reducing recess in mounting base.
I used 220 grit emery paper to smooth the flat surfaces where extrusion marks would be visible. To maintain a proper fit, I did not sand over the areas where the parts contact the frame.
A tapered grinding bit in my hand held drill worked great for making small finishing bevels to the lightening holes.
I roughened the adjoining surfaces with 60 grit sand paper and applied JB Weld.
The two halves of the mount were bolted up in place. The fasteners were snugged a bit and I used a C clamp to hold the parts together for 4 hours. Then I removed the mount and scraped the excess glue off with my fingernail. The residue wiped off clean with denatured alcohol.
I ground the edges flush.
I drilled the last bolt hole. A reaming tool was used to make it exactly 8.8mm which is the proper diameter to cut M10 x 1.25 threads.
The 8.8mm hole worked well to tap the M10 x 1.25 threads. The threads look like they could have been tighter (by starting with a smaller hole) but I would not want to have to muscle the tap through anything much smaller than an 8.8 mm hole. The threads are not sloppy at all but the bolt spins easily right through.
I could see the tap was running a little crooked from the get-go but too late to start over once you start. Unfortunately my threads were not perpendicular to the base. As you see, there is a gap under the front of the clamp bracket.
I filed out the threads, dropped the bolt through and secured it with an M10 nut. The nut fits perfectly against the brace.
The final test fit of the mount with the reservoir installed.
Preload Bracket
It was a similar process with making the preload control mount but it actually required more time and test fitting.
Here are a few of the cardboard models I made before making the drawing for the aluminum piece. 
I drilled the holes and used the Dremel to lathe out the decorative, weight reducing recess in the mount. This requires a certain finesse. Becoming familiar with how the dremel bit height works is imperative. I’m getting better at it.
I had some concerns that the metal would require some elaborate calculations to ensure that it could be bent without causing distortion of the positions of the bolt holes. I tested this theory with some scraps of 1/8“ stock in my vise. Using a flat piece of steel to hammer the piece, I was able to make the bends while keeping the rest of the piece flat. I tried bending lower and higher than the mark I initially thought was right. The original 15mm mark was the one that was dead on. 
Two of the scraps were bent cold. I heated up the last one just a bit with my kitchen gas stove and it bent much easier and did not exhibit any stress cracks at all. The metal remains malleable even after it cools. After 24 hours of molecular realignment, it will return to its original hardness.
It turned out that stretching and compressing are really not something that needs to be considered. The metal stretches all around the radius of the bend and does not compress at all the way a piece if corrugated cardboard would. After bending, the mount bolt holes maintain their intended positions in relationship to the frame bolt holes the mount will attach to.
To help with hammering in the small space between the two bends, I made this die out of a piece of steel mending bracket, a 10-32 x 2” countersink machine screw, a 5mm split lock washer and a 10-32 nut.
I also purchased this Stanley ductwork bending pliers. It looked like it would self adjust to various thicknesses of metal but I found it is only ideal for 1/16” metal. Too big to squarely grab sheet metal, and too small for 1/8” stock. I solved that problem by replacing the pivot bolt with a #8-32 machine screw, a 4mm wave lock washer and a #10-32 nylock nut. The smaller pivot allowed the pliers to grab 1/8” stock exactly flush.
Time to try the final test piece with holes. It was bent strictly according to heating process rules.
First, allow a very, very light film of wax to coat the piece. Drip the piece with wax and then wipe with a paper towel. Hold the piece over a candle to soot it up.
Not too much wax or all the soot just drips off back into the candle. I was not able to get much soot to come off of the candle wick alone so I threw a few pieces of newspaper into the fire. This worked much better. But melted half of the candle. A light accumulation of soot is fine. This picture shows a very heavy accumulation which turned out to be hard to burn off. When you need to snuff out the candle, use something that does not absorb much heat or the jar will crack.
Next heat the piece up with a propane blowtorch. It took about 20 minutes of heating but almost all of the soot burned off. The metal has been evenly exposed to very high temperature and is now almost as pliable as lead.
A steel strap was used along with a hammer to make the first bend. The sheet metal pliers worked very good but it did not seem to be producing as sharp of a crease as I had achieved by hammering. A test piece I had previously made was placed in the vice next to the piece I am hammering as an angle guide.
The piece was inverted and the second bend was made using the hammer die I made. The piece is plenty cool enough to handle by now but remains fairly pliable.
The hammering method works great for forming short, flat intervals between
sharp bends but remember that the metal is not ridged after being heated. If a long piece sticks up out of the vise, it will whip out of shape when hammered and be impossible to get perfectly flat again. Use the ductwork pliers for those situations.
The final test piece is done. The creases are not as sharp as the cold bent pieces I had done before but there are no stress cracks at all.
A quick check shows that the bends were made a few degrees less than the cardboard dummy. I did this on purpose because it would be easier to adjust the bends sharper if need be than it would to open them up.
The aluminum test piece fit. The bolt holes lined up perfectly even though they were drilled just big enough to fit the bolts through.
In a stroke of luck, there was no need to adjust the bends at all. The only problem was that the bends were not perfectly sharp as they are with cardboard. The slightly rounded bends were preventing the part from fitting flat to the frame but I had an idea of how I would fix that on the final piece.
I went to work on the actual bracket and formed it in exactly the same way. I used the Dremel to carve out the inside of the bends that would have interfered with the frame and the nut fitting flat to the piece. 
Final test fit of the finished part. Perfect!
The last step was to drill and file out the lightening hole. I decided to do this after the piece was bent so that the large hole would not effect the way the metal bent.
Finished and Installed
I already have a few improvements planned for the next set but here are pictures of the painted brackets. I wish I could have anodized them but that will have to be the subject of another how-to some other day.
Weights
Preload control bracket, P clip and nut for preload cable, Oil reservoir bracket, all with aluminum bolts.
+3.85 oz.
One M8 x 30 and one M8 x 35 socket head allen bolt with 2 flared washers for LH passenger foot peg bracket elimination bolts. The LH elimination bolts are just for looks since I have a single exhaust.
Two M8 x 60 socket head allen bolts with 10mm OD collars and 2 flared washers for RH passenger foot peg bracket elimination bolts.
+1.05 oz
One Aluminum M8 x 40 mm socket head cap screw with 10mm OD collars, flared washer and one M8 flanged nut for the muffler hanger bolt.
+.60 oz.
Aftermarket T6 exhaust hanger.
+5.35 oz
One M6 x 20 aluminum socket head cap screw for the oil reservoir clamp screw.
+.10 oz.
Ohlins Preload control bracket.
-1.50 oz.
Passenger foot peg brackets with LH mounting screws.
-3 lbs, 0.3 oz.
RH passenger foot peg mounting screws.
-3 oz.
OEM exhaust hanger bolt and nut.
-3 oz.
Ohlins oil reservoir clamp screw.
-0.15 oz.
* Last updated by: Rook on 1/4/2016 @ 3:28 PM *
