[help] Working with bike materials

Hi, I'm a newbie with only moderate mechanical skills
and resources. I'm restoring a bent '05 Triumph Thruxton
and fixing up a '94 Magna V45 with a sidecar.

As usual, I need to modify some materials (rarely does
anything I have, buy or scrounge ever bolt right on
without some futzing and tweaking).

(1) I have a wraps-back-around-behind-the-signal-lights windshield
which I need to drill holes in and trim the bottom extensions
(which collide with the Magna's radiator). However I've found
windshield material to be very brittle when trying to cut it --
what's the best way to drill and saw through it? (And smooth
it afterwards, such as with a file etc?)

(2) I needed some hard-to-find headlight supports for the Thruxton
and finally found a pair of chromed muffler support brackets which
(almost) work. They're basically a long metal bar bent into an open
ring at one end which (with a slightly larger diameter) would fit
around my over-the-fork sleeves. An already existing hole
at the other end fits the headlight's mounting screws.
Near the ring there's another bend but at too large an angle.
So I need to expand the ring part and reduce the bend angle.
How do I go about this whilst leaving the chrome intact?
I may also have to drill holes through the straight parts.
Is this possible without causing the chrome to peel away?

(3) The Thruxton's gas tank has a dent as if the Jolly Green Giant
punched it. However the dent's contours are all smooth; ie no creases
or sharp bends. Some Google research found a clever gadget called
a Ding King designed to fix dents by pulling them out with a glued
suction cup. Has anyone here ever used one and is it worth trying
or am I likely to do more harm than good and would I be better
off taking it to a pro?

TIA for any help,
SQ
cc rec.motorcycles

 

I don't have any specific help, other than joining this
Triumph site to find parts and advice.

http://www.triumphrat.net/

 

As I said previously, this is a naive idea.

The muffler clamps you're talking about were designed to be loaded in
a vertical plane and you're talking about changing the plane of
loading from a hanging load to a cantilever load.

The clamps will probably crack from supporting a cantilever load.

Furthermore, chroming the mild steel that the brackets were made of
results in hydrogen embrittlement.

That's what happens when hydrogen gas bubbles infiltrate tiny cracks
in the steel being chrome plated.

To avoid breakage after chrome plating, aftermarket companies who give
a shit will bake the hydrogen out of the parts in an oven, or they
will store the parts on the shelf for months before selling them.

Last of all, there is a problem with hole diameter versus edge
distance.

There should be a minimum of half a hole of steel between the edge of
the material and any hole you drill in it.

A muffler clamp that was designed to be loaded vertically probably has
more than half a hole diameter of material between the edge of the
hole and the end of the muffler clamp.

Any additional holes you would drill in the muffler clamps would have
to meet the edge distance rule cited above to avoid cracking for that
reason.