Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out

No, Dr Leary isn't back from the dead. While the bike is apart, I decided to add a drop out crossmember. This modification allows the oil pan to be removed without dismantling the bike. This is not my innovation. It has been done a number of times before I came along. I was advised by another Boss Hoss guru to use VW exhaust flanges. I went to my, local, muffler guy and asked for some. He said he cannot get them any longer because VWs are obsolete. He's been in the business for many years, so I didn't argue with him. I jumped online and found them for 8 bucks each. Now, Jack and Mary Ellen La Fong didn't raise any fools, so I saved my 32 clams and made my own out of a hunk of 2 X 1/8" flat stock that I already had. Hole sawed them out, drilled a 5/16" hole in each corner and there ya go. I could have made 2 or 3 hole flanges, but 4 holes was easier and faster. The, somewhat, tricky part was cutting the crossmember out. I remembered an old trick for cutting tubing nice and square freehanded. Wrap a worm drive hose clamp around the tube, snug it down and use the edge of the clamp as a guide. My Sawzall took a dump, so I used a jigsaw with a fine toothed metal cutting blade. This all needs to be done with the frame still bolted to the engine so alignment is maintained. The flanges were bolted together in pairs, slipped over the stubs on the frame and the severed crossmember was put back into place. The flanges were then slid so one was on the stub and the other was on the crossmember. After everything was square to the world, all four flanges were tacked in place. The crossmember was then removed and the flanges were securely welded in place from the inside for a clean look.