Recommendations for welding/fabrication shop

[PacoT]

I have a silly (and maybe crazy) idea—some of you might even call me a madman for this one.

I want to add luggage to the Monster. I already have a pair of Shad panniers from my previous bike, but unfortunately, Shad doesn’t make a specific mounting kit for the Monster. I don't want to purchase kits from other brands as I'm a cheap man. So, I’m thinking about reusing the hardware from my old setup.

The mounting system would need some modifications to fit safely and securely. I don’t have the tools or skills to cut or weld metal, so I’d need help.

Do you have any recommendations for shops or fabricators that could take on this kind of work? And do you think adapting the kit would cost me a fortune—like $200+—or is it within reason?

Any constructive feedback on the crazy idea is well received.

 

[GreyGhost]

IIRC @Mad Mike has done similar before.

Cardboard aided design is your friend. Use some corrugated cardboard to construct the shapes you need in 3D. Once they are good, reproducing in metal is not too hard. That path is much simpler and faster than trying to work with metal from the start. You could do the cardboard work to save the fabricator time (and therefore you money).

 

[Mad Mike]

A fabricator isn’t drawing an arc for less than $500 - you need to find a metalworking hobbyist/enthuiast.

The easiest way to nock up a rack is to use some 3/16 round rod. It can be bent by hand and zip tied to your existing rack. That’s how I mock things up before fabricating.

 

[PacoT]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll start with the mock up using cardboard and the 3/16 rod

 

[nobbie48]

A fabricator isn’t drawing an arc for less than $500 - you need to find a metalworking hobbyist/enthuiast.

The easiest way to nock up a rack is to use some 3/16 round rod. It can be bent by hand and zip tied to your existing rack. That’s how I mock things up before fabricating.

A hobbyist is about your only hope. A commercial shop starts counting the time to acquire materials, cutting costs, minimum orders, small quantity pricing, shop time etc. Add the liability factor and you have mega bucks.

I assume the brackets are Shad and you either have to modify them or make Shad to monster adapters. Done right, the former would fit better but the latter leaves the Shad brackets virgin if you had to sell them or move them to yet another bike.

As you design the solution you have to envision every possible scenario. Does the modification affect any operation or maintenance issue on the bike?

To get the design right you need a six man design team. To get the job done, you need to shoot five of them.

 

[Relax]

Have you checked the Monster forums for ideas? Depending on what a custom job will cost you, it might be more cost effective to sell what you have and use that towards a new or used set designed for your bike. On the other hand, this is also a good time to invest in a welder.

 

[KLR Junkie]

There are lots of shops that fit in between the hobbyists and $$$ fab shops. When we have a small one-off job at work we use a local shop called Nel-tek in Ajax. Nel-Tek custom fabrication. There are lots of small shops like his all over the GTA. A month back I had him repair a broken engine guard from my KLR. Just a bit of grinding and welding a tube back together where it had cracked. He had it ready the next day and charged me $25.

 

[Mad Mike]

There are lots of shops that fit in between the hobbyists and $$$ fab shops. When we have a small one-off job at work we use a local shop called Nel-tek in Ajax. Nel-Tek custom fabrication. There are lots of small shops like his all over the GTA. A month back I had him repair a broken engine guard from my KLR. Just a bit of grinding and welding a tube back together where it had cracked. He had it ready the next day and charged me $25.

A simple repair is a little different than a fab job. No material to source, no soft time. time spent making sure the customer’s design is reasonably sound.


To put it into perspective, you paid a small shop $25. I’d have done that for Laker Ice tall boy. You paid 10x what a hobbyist would expect.

 

[Aens]

There are business models like sendcutsend.com but I'm not familiar with any Canadian alternatives. Of course, you'd still need to weld what can't be bent, but I'm sure a crappy weld job is much cheaper than a cheap fabricator.


They are great as long as you can do CAD/get someone to convert your Cardboard Aided Design into a CAD file. If you can reduce your design into a few bends and a few spot welds, it should be 'relatively' inexpensive.

However, most racks are aluminum so welding is a concern. You might almost be better doing a clamp with fasteners.

 

[PacoT]

I assume the brackets are Shad and you either have to modify them or make Shad to monster adapters. Done right, the former would fit better but the latter leaves the Shad brackets virgin if you had to sell them or move them to yet another bike.

Correct, brackets are Shad.

Have you checked the Monster forums for ideas?

Yes, sir. This is where I got the idea from. A crazy SEA guy fused a Shad 3p bracket with some other brand that I cannot identify.

Depending on what a custom job will cost you, it might be more cost effective to sell what you have and use that towards a new or used set designed for your bike. On the other hand, this is also a good time to invest in a welder.

You might be right. I just wanted additional perspectives, as I was not sure about fabrication shop rates, but it seems it will be economically unviable.

There are lots of shops that fit in between the hobbyists and $$$ fab shops. When we have a small one-off job at work we use a local shop called Nel-tek in Ajax. Nel-Tek custom fabrication. There are lots of small shops like his all over the GTA. A month back I had him repair a broken engine guard from my KLR. Just a bit of grinding and welding a tube back together where it had cracked. He had it ready the next day and charged me $25.

Oh! Thanks. I will contact them.



Thanks for all the ideas, everyone! I've been super busy at work and haven't had the chance to get back to you all properly until now.

I'm still in the design phase, but the other day I picked up a tail bag from FBMP. The guy offered me some free panniers since they were all scuffed up and one had a hole in it. So for now, I’m using these soft panniers that I honestly don’t mind getting more beat up.

 

[timtune]

I have a welder and work for beer. PM sent.