Where can i find a reasonably priced sissy bar for my 02 FXDX?? Preferably black, old school minimal look, round tubing. Any help would be appreciated. I have looked all over and cant find any good deals. I am riding from Boston to Miami in 3 weeks and i would like to get one to strap gear to. Thanks in advance.

 

You can make your own. I found a steel supplier that had the right size stock, gave them a graphic with the exact bends, and it came out just right. I had to drill and tap the holes to accept the bolts holding it to the side plates, and also had a center piece welded in, but all together it cost me under a hundred bucks. Solid stock and very heavy.

 

could you explain the process you went through to make your own? Where did you get the mounting plates?

 

They are HD detachable side plates. I was running a full HD setup (detachable plates, backrest bar, pad) and wanted something higher and unique. I removed the HD bar and used it as a template (mostly just for the spacing of the two ends that mount into the plates). I contacted a local steel supplier and sent him a graphic with the following text:
"A five foot long section of 9/16" square bar stock bent at the middle and 15" from each end. Last 15" of each end should be parallel, and are spaced 8 1/2" apart, measured center to center."

From top to bottom the bar is about 27" tall. They only had 5/8" stock, so I went with that and ground the ends to 9/16". Fits tight in the plate sockets (which are not exactly square by the way) Once I had that piece made, I used the side plates to mark the location for four holes to mount. I drilled the holes on a press from the outside in, then used a tap set to thread them. I painted the whole thing with one light coat of flat black, then mounted the side plates using allen head screws with lock washers. Then I masked the side plates and shot the entire bar with multiple coats of Rustoleum truck bed liner. It is an exact match to the wrinkle black on my Street Bob.

A few weeks later I drew a maltese cross on card stock, cut it out, and took it to another shop with a laser cutter. Had a guy cut a piece of 3/16" flat stock into the cross shape. It fit between the bars, and I welded it in there at four points.

The whole thing is very heavy and solid. It would work better on bolted side plates. The detachables have to be tight, or it will rattle a little. Without the center piece you could flex the ends less than a half inch when it was not mounted. With the center piece bracing it, it is totally stiff.

 

Making one out of round stock will be easier in some ways. Not twisting the bar when they bent it was a challenge for the shop. Round would not matter. But when you drill it for the mounting holes you will need to be sure you are drilling perpendicular to the plane you are going to mount it. Probably not a big deal. I would use a round size that was just too big to fit into the plates, then grind flats on two sides of each end to allow it to fit, and to help keep it from turning in the plate. Grind it flat on the outside and it would be easier to get the hole drilled where you want as well. Definitely worth the time to have something as visible and unique as you want on the bike. Only other ones I have seen as an option were cyclevisions, and they were pretty spendy for square bars. They have a 30" round at Dennis Kirk for $125 here:
https://www.denniskirk.com/cycle-vis...ck.p493832.prd

 

Wow. I tried to get a local shop to bend me some bar stock to my drawing and they wanted almost $400 ... of course, I had some other tweaks to it so it wasn't the plain one that DK sells.

 

Here is where I got mine

http://www.ginzchoppers.com/

Good style and great quality