A few weeks ago
@HKMP7 pointed out that the Lower Chain Guard cannot be installed with after market exhaust because one of the bracket that hold it was attached to the stock exhaust.
Thanks to
@HKMP7 for the information.
Unfortunately, I did not know about this in advance because I haven't installed my SC-Project WSBK exhaust when I decided to purchase the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard...,
if I knew, I wouldn't purchase the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard
Since I don't want to the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard to become another unused items, I am determined to find a way to install it
After looking at the positions, I figure that another bracket mounted to the SC-Project WSBK exhaust lower bracket will be able to hold the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard.
Initially, I purchased a STRAIGHT aluminum bracket but turn out, I need an L-Shaped bracket... so I found a nice Stainless Steel L-Shaped bracket at Amazon, of course I still need to further modify it
So today, the first thing I did was GRIND the 2 pins of the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Bracket that goes into the 2 rubber bushing in the lower part of the Ducati Performance Carbon Fiber Front Sprocket Guard since it was too thick,
and now it fit perfectly. Later, I will coat the surface that I grinded with a new layer of Resin/Polymer to make sure no moisture intrusion into the carbon fiber layer, but I will do this later.
Here is how it is mounted to the Ducati Performance Carbon Fiber Front Sprocket Cover mounted on the bike:
Here is the Stainless Steel Bracket from Amazon before I modify it:
I then shorten one end and drill an M6 holes, plus enlarge the holes at the end of the longer leg to allow an M8 bolts to pass. By the way, those heat mark was because I try to heat up the Stainless Steel Plate to soften them so I can drill the M6 holes easier, but it did not have any affect at all, so I just use a Dremel Stone Grinder act as a drill bit and then use a regular drill bit again until I manage to drill it through... My drill bit is already a HSS special drill bit that usually can cut other metal easiely... however, this Stainless Steel just become so hard after it got heated by the drill bit that it took a lot of effort to drill it. I was planning to drill more holes to make it weight less, but after I realized it is already so difficult to drill just one M6 holes, I decided to not do it... Of course if you have a bench drill, it will be easier, but I don't have any bench drill
Then I test fit, by attaching the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard to the bracket using the M6 holes:
From measuring the gap between the stainless steel bracket and the lower suspension bracket:
I found out that 2 pieces of 10mm Aluminum (Black) spacers is the right length to space the bracket from the SC-Project WSBK exhaust bracket (I happened to have this extra 10mm aluminum black spacers):
And here are the result... well,.. it looks like I cut the Bracket too short and make the distance/gap between the swing arm and the Motocomposites Carbon Fiber Lower Chain Guard TOO FAR, as you can see on the picture below:
So I decided to cut another bracket (luckily the stainless steel bracket from Amazon came as a package of 4 pieces), the bad news is I have to fight again with my drill bit and dremel stone grinder (plus Makita large grinder) to cut and drill another stainless steel bracket.
(note I already use drilling oil too, this stainless steel is just hardened with drilling heat), below are comparison between first bracket that was too short and the second bracket, and of course, I learned my lesson to make the corner chamfering looks better
:
Direct comparison on top of each other:
Test Fit, now it looks better, it still have more gap compare to stock but I need the extra gamp since the position of that Gold ProTi bolt is now a bit outside due to the spacing needed to clear the AELLA Suspension Link, plus I will use larger rear sprocket, so the chain will be lower too:
Here are the gaps needed to clear the big bolt holding the AELLA lowering links:
I already ordered the longer (50mm, M8) ProTi Titanium bolts, that black steel bolt holding the stainless steel bracket is just temporary of course,
Tomorrow, I will polish this stainless steel bracket with other things I need to polish and will paint them all Red Anodized
note: I was considering using a carbon fiber as the material for the bracket, but since this is a lower chain guard, I want a more robust solution (considering the bracket got to be thin), plus a carbon fiber bracket might cracked when I tightened that M8 bolts to the right torque so it was either aluminum or stainless steel. I choose stainless steel on the end since that is what I found at Amazon with the right shape and the right dimension, and again for a bracket that thin, I think aluminum is not strong enough