Snow Days in the Garage

I have had snow days the last 2 days. They haven't really been for snow but for the really cold temps. This morning it was -18. Despite the fact that my Shingles are still kicking my ass, I decided to venture owt in the garage for a bit yesterday and a bit more today in between naps. I spent most of the time working on the tank. Yesterday I had sanded to 600 grit. This morning I put more filler on some spots that I just wasn't happy with and then started sanding over again from 120. I'm back up to 400 and, wouldn't you know it, I found some more spots that I'm not thrilled with. I'm done though. I gotta stop at some point. That point is now. This tank will never look custom because I'm not a professional. I am, however, very happy considering this is the first time I have ever done any body work. In hindsight, this was probably not the best thing to start trying body work on. The knee dents are really a critical piece of the bike and they just have to look the same. 

The other job I started on today was the rear fender. The stock one was just too long and I didn't like the look. Don't even get me started on that gigantic tail light. I took the fender off and decided to chop off about 4" from it. Here it is after it was bobbed and I re-drilled the 2 mounting holes on the side. I still need to drill new mounting holes for it under the seat but I'm going to have to come up with some spacers to put between the fender and frame (about 1/2"). The first attempt didn't work out so I'll give it another go tomorrow. 

Then I started playing with the license plate location. This is where I want to mount it. You can't tell from this picture but I've bent the plate to match the curve of the rear hub. I'll use aluminum to come up with a mount that gets the plate mounted in the spot I want and then take that bracket to work and fab up something out of steel. I plan on making a small hood at the top of the bracket where I'll mount an LED so it shines down on the plate to keep Johnny Law happy. I'll run the wire to the swing arm and then up into the electronics so it'll be hidden. A new seat cover is on the way from the UK as we speak.