Roy Fletcher shelf

[Mac]

Does anyone know if Mr. Fletcher is still making dash shelves for the st1300? I've searched the site, but can find nothing recent. I have also e-mailed and phoned, but have unable to get in touch with him.

Should I keep trying or is he out of business, in other business?

Thanks

[John Anthony]

I have one of his shelves, but I don't believe he's in business any more. I went to his shop a couple of years ago and he worked out of a pretty ratty hole in the wall. Too bad as it's a good, solid shelf. "Gnorts" tried to track him down without any luck. I suggest you contact John (Gnorts) and compare notes/needs.

Good luck.

John

[ST_Jim]

I heard from Joe Zulaski on April 10th over on "The List" that Roy was recovering from a serious health problem. No one is too certain when or if Roy will be able to return to his fabrication work.

- Jim :04biker:

[JD McCutchen]

What are the chances someone would be willing to take up the fabrication on this shelf?

[stoc445]

I run a small Farkle Installation shop (Farkle Mania) out of my garage. I did some work for a guy that can pull this off. Get me some pictures, measurements or even allow me to borrow one for a bit and I'll see what I can do.

[hojo in sc]

This is the shelf that I went with and LOVE it.

http://www.spoiledbiker.com/blmdash.html

[John Anthony]

Ping "Gnorts" on the forum as he made a template of the inner mounting hardware. I can shoot pictures of the shelf for you if you need them. I like mine a lot and use it to house my Zumo and radar detector.

John

[jzulaski]

Roy is still recovering from his Brain Anurism but, he made fantastic progress this week and was able to walk across the room on his own without aid of a walker or helper of any kind. He will soon be returning home.

But, he still has quite a ways to go before he is recovered fully. At that time, he and I will be going back to work to again produce our farkles.

I would ask that you refrain from "copying" our dash design. Roy has Patents pending on all of his creations. I really, really do not want to deal with another "knock-off incident".

Especially when there are plenty of other dash shelves out there that you can buy. We worked hard on ours. It has some unique features that the others do not. I highly recommend my friend, Bill McAvan's dash at BLM mentioned in another post in this thread.

I will be checking with Roy's friends who stored away his inventory to find out if there are any dash shelves and other things available. If I find any left, I will post to the various ST forums and will take orders for Roy.

Thank you,

Joe Zulaski

[topgun]

Joe: Thanks for the update on Roy. If the shelves become available again, please put me on your contact list. Hope Roy continues to make good progress.

Topgun

[Blue STreak]

Joe:

Is there a link that will point out the unique features of your shelf? I'm going to buy one eventually, and would like to compare what's available, and decide if I should wait.

Thanks,

Bob

[stormrider]

Roy is still recovering from his Brain Anurism but, he made fantastic progress this week and was able to walk across the room on his own without aid of a walker or helper of any kind. He will soon be returning home.

But, he still has quite a ways to go before he is recovered fully. At that time, he and I will be going back to work to again produce our farkles.

I would ask that you refrain from "copying" our dash design. Roy has Patents pending on all of his creations. I really, really do not want to deal with another "knock-off incident".

Especially when there are plenty of other dash shelves out there that you can buy. We worked hard on ours. It has some unique features that the others do not. I highly recommend my friend, Bill McAvan's dash at BLM mentioned in another post in this thread.

I will be checking with Roy's friends who stored away his inventory to find out if there are any dash shelves and other things available. If I find any left, I will post to the various ST forums and will take orders for Roy.

Thank you,

Joe Zulaski

Joe,
If the shelves come available again please also add my name to the list as I would like one.

[jzulaski]

The unique features are:

- no cutting of any stock plastic is necessary.
- strengthens the stock dash itself.
- center part of the shelf is raised just a little bit to allow better viewing of the turn indicator lights.

I believe that Bill McAvan's shelf doesn't require cutting on the stock plastic either but, at the time when I first designed this shelf, it was the only one that didn't require cutting. Bill's came along later.

I will be visiting Roy this weekend and will contact his friends who stored his belongings away while he was in the hospital. I will find out what is in the inventory and post on this forum and others a list of what is available.

Thank you for understanding and for your patience.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

Joe:

Is there a link that will point out the unique features of your shelf? I'm going to buy one eventually, and would like to compare what's available, and decide if I should wait.

Thanks,

Bob

[Blue STreak]

Thanks Joe. Here's hoping Roy continues to do well, regardless of the shelf situation.

[jzulaski]

Hi all,

I visited Roy today and he is doing much better.

He said to say, "hi", to everyone.

His phys therapy is continuing and he is making good progress. Still, it's going to take quite a while till he's back on his own two legs and mobile.

We talked a bit about his future plans and what he is planning to do is scale back all his big projects like building race cars and submarines and concentrate on farkles for motorcycles.

Roy rides a Harley himself and plans on doing it again once he gets back on his feet.

He told me that he knows he has 10 dash shelves for the ST1300 in his inventory and he is going to have his friend, who has them stored away, contact me and we'll get them packaged up and let the various ST sites know.

He will be asking $90 plus shipping for them. Shipping in the lower 48 usually runs about $12 for ground. I'll be getting one of them (as I sold my old one with my first ST1300.

Because I helped design this dash shelf, I know what all it needs and how to install it. I'll post my web page explaining how to install it on my www.ST1300.US.com forum so that those of you who purchase it will have some good instructions and pictures on how to do it.

Also, before sending them out, we will test fit each one on my bike to make sure they all fit right out of the box.

I am not sure when Roy's friend will contact me but, I assume it will be in the next couple of weeks.

So, be patient a little while longer and we'll get you your dash shelves.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

[redst05]

Put me on the contact list Please!

[Blue STreak]

Please add me to the list, too, Joe.

Many thanks,

[jzulaski]

Sorry, I am not keeping a list but, as soon as they are available, I will post a note (first on my forum www.ST1300.US and then on the other ST forums) and you can contact me at jzulaski@hotmail.com to place your order.

I want to first confirm the exact number and make sure all the kits are complete and test fit them on my bike before putting out the note to the lists.

Best regards,

[Mellow]

So, what do they look like? Not sure I've seen one before.

[Blue STreak]

Theres a photo here:

http://www.hard-core-ware.com/howtos/index.php?page=shelf

[roginoz]

This is the shelf I have on my bike. These will go fast, with or without my recommendation, but I'd like to mention that it is a top quality product. It fits well, and provides plenty of room for a radar detector, Zumo, SmarTire, etc. I have the MCL riser blocks (the two-piece, not the single plate) which caused my J&M CB to contact the shelf at full lock. This may not be an issue with the single MCL plate, as I believe it moves the bars back farther. A little trimming with a cut-off wheel and file easily resolved the issue, in any event.

[jzulaski]

OMG Joe, you don't know what you've been missing. ;-)

After seeing how Larry Buck's dash shelf mounted - requiring you to cut into the dash plastic, I tore into my dash to see if I could come up with a way that didn't require cutting on the plastic. I don't like to do that if I can help it. I also wanted to strengthen the dash so that it could support a GPS without shaking.

I came up with the idea of using the stock mounting holes on top of the dash and putting a supporting bracket under the plastic dash itself that the dash shelf then could be bolted to using some hex-head screws.

The idea was to mount the supporting bracket to existing mounting points on the windshield adjusting rails inside the dash. Well it worked great and you didn't have to cut any holes on the stock tupperware.

I explained it to Ron Smith and Roy and we put our heads together and worked out a design. The first prototype was pretty ugly but, the final one looked pretty nice. Rather than cutting the dash front edge back so you could see the turn signals, we decided to raise the middle so that you had a "bump" in the middle. Kindo of a two-tiered design. The bump was perfect for mounting the GPS in the middle and then you could put a radar detector or what have you on either side.

Roy Fletcher did the metal work and Ron Smith handled the sales. I did the advertizing on our www.ST1300.us forum and they sold like hotcakes. That was back in 2003-2004.

I also had the idea of a rack over the rear seat and how to mount it so that you could install things on it. The first thing we put on it was my auxilary fuel tank because I am big into the Iron Butt endurance riding thing. I brought it to the 2003 IBR in Missoula when I was working as a volunteer there.

We sold a lot of those too. You may have seen pictures of Adam Kazcarski's Hondaline trunk on one of our racks. They're pretty nice too. They're made out of stainless steel tubing. Mine was un-powder coated but I believe Adam had his powered coated a flat black. I'm not sure.

But, I eventually sold my ST1300 and went to a GL1800 and wasn't as involved with other ST1300 farkles that Roy and Ron produced. For a while, Roy had a contract through Cycle Barn here in Seattle to make all the extra stuff for the Seattle and King County motorcycle cops that used ST1300's. Roy told me that he also did a bunch for the Oregon State troopers too.

Then Ron passed away in 2004. But, Roy kept producing them on a as-requested basis.

But now, Roy needs help.

So, I'm partnering up to help him out. I imagine now that I have an ST again, we'll be coming up with more farkles for it. Roy did some tip-over sliders for the cop bikes that are pretty cool too. They mount where the passenger pegs are (and replace them) so, not everyone will want those. But, replacing small rubber slider pucks instead of saddle bags or metal bars is much better and less expensive than what I am doing now after my little tip-over. I'm going to put a set on my ST soon. Roy and I are already talking about how we could change the design to include the passenger pegs. The cops didn't care about that but, normal riders probably will.

I also want to design and have him make a tail-dragger aux tank kind of like the Ron Major ones for the ST1100.

Anyway, all that will have to wait for Roy to get back on his feet. But, at least we can get these dash shelves out to the folks that want them.

I'm also talking to Roy about him teaching me how to make them and other things. I've always wanted to learn how to weld and it would be a fun project.

BTW, I think that Bill McAvan's dash shelves also do not require any cutting. Bill is a friend of mine and I explained and showed him how we did it. I think he came up with a slightly different method but, still the same general idea.

Bill does great work and has made me several things over the years. I still have a couple of control boxes he made for my ST1300. The bolt to the handlebars and provide a place for switches and stuff like that. I was going to put my dual Heattrollers in one and some light switches in the other but, then I sold the ST.

Anyway, I'll try to get over to Roy's buddy's place this coming weekend and see about getting these shelves checked out and ready to ship. I'll also have to dig up my web pages that show how to install the shelf. It's pretty good if I do say so myself. ;-)

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

So, what do they look like? Not sure I've seen one before.

[Mellow]

Thanks Joe, I've seen the Ron Smith shelfs but didn't know about Roy.

Good luck, I'm sure this will be a pretty hot item.

[jzulaski]

Thanks, Joe.

Roy is fiercely determined to fight his way back and is working really had in physical therapy.

It just goes to show you that just never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball.

It's a good reason to enjoy every minute of every day.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski



Thanks Joe, I've seen the Ron Smith shelfs but didn't know about Roy.

Good luck, I'm sure this will be a pretty hot item.

[Mellow]

I can understand that. Tell him we all here hope he recovers quickly, not because of the dash shelf.. but, just because.

Thanks, Joe.

Roy is fiercely determined to fight his way back and is working really had in physical therapy.

It just goes to show you that just never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball.

It's a good reason to enjoy every minute of every day.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

[JD McCutchen]

I would like to add my name to the list of wanting a shelf. I plan to mount a video camera to the shelf, and the extra reinforcing is needed for the stability.

[jzulaski]

Jeremy,

As I mentioned in a previous post on this thread, I am not keeping a list of interested parties.

The reason for this is that we do not yet know exactly how many dash kits Roy has in stock. He thinks he has 10 but, we do not yet know if they are complete (i.e., all the screws, support brackets, etc. are included) because his friends packed up everything out of his shop to put into storage.

However, Roy went to visit his friend (where his inventory is stored) to find out what is there and I will be getting in contact with his friend too to help organize it.

Once we verify how many complete kits there are, I will post a note on my forum (ST1300.US.com) and the other ST forums and we will then accept orders on a first-come/first-served basis. That's the only fair way to do this. If I accepted pre-orders without knowing how many kits are available, someone is going to get disappointed.

Roy is feeling better every day and was getting around and talking much better when I visited him last week. But, he is still several months away from re-opening his business. Once he does, we will go back to producing these dash shelves and his other products and I will post notes here and in other forums.

As I also mentioned, my buddy Bill McAvan, makes a great dash shelf for the ST1300 also.

Thanks for understanding,

Joe Zulaski

I would like to add my name to the list of wanting a shelf. I plan to mount a video camera to the shelf, and the extra reinforcing is needed for the stability.

[JD McCutchen]

Jeremy,

As I mentioned in a previous post on this thread, I am not keeping a list of interested parties.

The reason for this is that we do not yet know exactly how many dash kits Roy has in stock. He thinks he has 10 but, we do not yet know if they are complete (i.e., all the screws, support brackets, etc. are included) because his friends packed up everything out of his shop to put into storage.

However, Roy went to visit his friend (where his inventory is stored) to find out what is there and I will be getting in contact with his friend too to help organize it.

Once we verify how many complete kits there are, I will post a note on my forum (ST1300.US) and the other ST forums and we will then accept orders on a first-come/first-served basis. That's the only fair way to do this. If I accepted pre-orders without knowing how many kits are available, someone is going to get disappointed.

Roy is feeling better every day and was getting around and talking much better when I visited him last week. But, he is still several months away from re-opening his business. Once he does, we will go back to producing these dash shelves and his other products and I will post notes here and in other forums.

As I also mentioned, my buddy Bill McAvan, makes a great dash shelf for the ST1300 also.

Thanks for understanding,

Joe Zulaski

I can understand opening the sale to everyone to make things fair. If I am unfortunate to get one, I wish the best of luck to someone with fabrication skills that could continue to make them and offer them up for others since no one is currently making them. I already have the BLM shelf sitting right beside me, but if I can get one of these with the extra reinforcing, I already have a buyer for the BLM.

I am wanting the stability of the reinforcing to be able to mount a camera like shown here - http://www.sporttouring.info/WEB_PAGES/MISC_INFO_PAGES/ST1300_CAMERA_MOUNT/ST1300_CAMERA_MOUNT_PAGE.html

My camera is not quite that big, but I may still need to create the same T-Brace to reinforce the back side.

Edit:
I also ran across some information that the bump in the middle is to allow taller individuals to see the blinkers easier, at 6'-2" it may be a benefit.

[jzulaski]

Thanks for understanding, JD.

That's an interesting mount for a camera on our dash shelf. I've always wanted to do some video taping while riding.

However, I would caution anyone who intends to copy or reverse-engineer our dash shelf design. Roy has patents pending on all his products and will fiercely protect them.

Do yourself a favor and design your own or purchase one of the many other dash shelves available rather than stealing someone else's hard work. I'm sure you can figure out how to reinforce the dash similar to what I did. There are many methods to do it. Copying our design just isn't worth the hassle later down the road.

Roy will be back on his feet and producing again in just a few months. I'm sure that people can wait that long. Or if not, go check out the other dash shelves and then figure out a way to reinforce the dash itself.

And contrary to what the gentlemen said (in the web link you provided, J.D.), Ron Smith did not design nor did he build the dash shelf. The design was mine and Roy Fletcher's and Roy fabricated the shelves. Ron merely sold them and had his name on front page of his Web site. I was kind of the silent partner in that I would come up with ideas, they would use my bike as a model, I would test it out and I would get a free farkle, but I didn't share in any profits. It was a good partnership as I wasn't interested in the business side - only in getting my bike setup the way I wanted it to be.

Hence, they became known as "Ron Smith Dash Shelves" as Ron was the one that handled the sales an customer facing part (Roy wasn't interested in handling that part but Ron was very outgoing). And that's what we've called them ever since - "Ron Smith Dash Shelves" -for want of a better name.

Ron was a great guy and close friend and everybody knew him. He would help any rider who was coming through town (Seattle). He is sorely missed by all his friends.

Now, Roy and I will be working together on these products and we hope to come up with more. So, stay tuned...

BTW, I would be very interested in seeing your camera rig setup when you get it done, J.D. As I said, I may be interested in doing something like that.

Years ago, I saw a setup on Carrol Walkers' bike for a video camera that was really trick. It sat on a tripod on his fuel tank up high enough to "see" over the dash.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

I can understand opening the sale to everyone to make things fair. If I am unfortunate to get one, I wish the best of luck to someone with fabrication skills that could continue to make them and offer them up for others since no one is currently making them. I already have the BLM shelf sitting right beside me, but if I can get one of these with the extra reinforcing, I already have a buyer for the BLM.

I am wanting the stability of the reinforcing to be able to mount a camera like shown here - http://www.sporttouring.info/WEB_PAGES/MISC_INFO_PAGES/ST1300_CAMERA_MOUNT/ST1300_CAMERA_MOUNT_PAGE.html

My camera is not quite that big, but I may still need to create the same T-Brace to reinforce the back side.

Edit:
I also ran across some information that the bump in the middle is to allow taller individuals to see the blinkers easier, at 6'-2" it may be a benefit.

[JD McCutchen]

Thanks for understanding, JD.

Roy will be back on his feet and producing again in just a few months. I'm sure that people can wait that long.

Joe Zulaski

For a while it sounded like he wasn't going to continue, therefore I was looking forward for someone to continue with it. If he is coming back and going to make more :bow1: great.



Or if not, go check out the other dash shelves and then figure out a way to reinforce the dash itself.


As for reinforcing, the vertical break in the design near the center acts like an I beam adding rigidity to the center section from drooping in the middle. The support bar in the middle shown on the web site is for a camera that weighs a couple of pounds. My camera weighs about 13 ounces.

[jzulaski]

If you had read the whole thread, you would have seen several places where I said that Roy was going to start making dashes and other things again. You would have also read where I asked people NOT to copy our patent-pending design.

Here's a thought, the old ST1100 dash shelf (designed and made by Mark Reis) has a beam welded to the underside because when I was testing it, it wobbled and shook a little bit. I reported that to him and he added the extra support.

Perhaps something like that could be done to a flat shelve to strengthen it for your purposes. I would also somehow stiffen the plastic dash itself.

Regards,

Joe Zulaski

For a while it sounded like he wasn't going to continue, therefore I was looking forward for someone to continue with it. If he is coming back and going to make more :bow1: great.


As for reinforcing, the vertical break in the design near the center acts like an I beam adding rigidity to the center section from drooping in the middle. The support bar in the middle shown on the web site is for a camera that weighs a couple of pounds. My camera weighs about 13 ounces.

[jzulaski]

Hi all,

I just visited Roy and he's doing great. He visited with his buddy who is storing his inventory and tools and they're going to assemble the dash shelves and all their parts this week. I will then pick them up, test fit them all to my bike to make sure they are good to go in that way, and then I will package them up and make an announcement on the various forums.

I do have an all day appointment next Saturday so, I would imagine that we'll be making the announcement next week some time.

Thank you for being patient.

BTW, Roy is making very good progress. He was walking the parking lot the other day and up their big hill with only one cane. His doctors are amazed at his progress. Roy will be moving to his new place next week and leaving the health facility.

We're also lining up some other outfits who will be able to mass produce our products. This will accelerate their availability for you as we won't have to wait for Roy to get back to 100%.

Roy was in great spirits today and was telling me some really funny stories about some of the other patients there. It was good to see my friend back to his usual jovial self again.

Best regards,

Joe Zulaski

[Blue STreak]

Great to hear about Roy's progress, and greater availability of the shelves. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[jzulaski]

Things got delayed a bit as Roy was moving out of the Healthcare facility to HIS OWN apartment!!!!

Yep, Roy is doing pretty darn good. Still quite a ways to go but, he's moving around better every week.

Roy said now that he isn't "chained down" in that hospital room, he'll be better able to handle his business and coordinate the dash shelf inventory.

Sorry it has taken so long but, I kind of have to work to Roy's schedule.

The other good news is that Roy is making arrangements to farm out the actual manufacturing of these and other "farkels" so that his rehabilitation will not impact their availability. More info to follow.

Regards,

Joe Zulaski

[Big Red]

Making a dash shelf out of aluminum sheet stock would be easy. All you need is an idea of what you are going to mount on it, a pattern, saber saw, some small files and a belt sander then send it to the local powder coater and you can have exactly what you want for very little cash out lay.

[roginoz]

I have one of the Fletcher/Smith shelves. I sure couldn't/wouldn't make one for the price I paid. Aside from getting everything assembled in the right place, there's the matter of welding aluminum, sourcing hardware, and bending the shelf (it's higher in the center, to allow viewing of the instruments.) I don't mind paying for quality, and the Fletcher shelf was a bargain compared to what other farkles cost.

[jzulaski]

I'm picking up the first shelf next weekend. It is already spoken for but, this will give me an idea if we need to adjust the fit, etc.

Roy is doing much better but, it is still going to be a long, tough time for him. Things got delayed because of his move and because I'm in MSF instructor prep training.

But now, things should move along a bit quicker.

Roy is making arrangements to outsource the manufacturing of these shelves so that we should have an adequate supply soon.

The key selling point on these shelves is that they are designed to stiffen the stock plastic dash along with providing a mounting point for your farlkes. No other dash shelf for the ST1300 does that (that I am aware of).

Not even the Migsel.

(EDIT): I'm told that Bill McAvan's dash shelf also has a stiffener to solidify the plastic dash. Not exactly sure how but, I thought I would correct my earlier statement.

Regards,

Joe Zulaski

[Blue STreak]

Nope, not the Migsel either. I really like the way the mount looks and works, but it could stand to have a brace under the plastic. When I get a chance, I'm going to look into tying the fittings that the Migsel screws into to the windshield adjuster framework under the plastic. I would guess that's what the Fletcher shelf does, too (as there really isn't anything else under there to attach to).

Frankly, I'm a bit disapointed in the way Honda assembles the entire dash assembly. I guess it's adequate, but the design is clearly focused on low cost and ease of assembly over long term maintenance. There's very little support for the entire gauge cluster, the assembly is keyed on too many plastic to plastic attachments (with those stupid little rivets that don't even stay attached), and self tapping screws into soft plastic is just a very, very poor design. Dis and re-assemble those a few too many times, and the holes are going to wear out, and you'll be pricing new plasitc bits.

Frankly, compared to the 1100, too much of the bike shows a focus on reducing cost and and easing assembly at the cost of maintenance and longevity.

[jzulaski]

For details, see http://www.st1300.us.com/showthread.php?t=424

and then email me at "jzulaski@hotmail.com" if you want one or want to get on the waiting list.

Regards,

Joe Zulaski

[Mellow]

Joe, please post pictures here, thanks.

[jzulaski]

Blue Streak posted a link earlier in this thread with pics and installation instructions (although I include my own instructions with pics too with the dash shelf itself).

Look here: http://www.hard-core-ware.com/howtos/index.php?page=shelf

When I get home, I'll hunt around for some more pics.

Regards,

[jzulaski]

Here are a few pics but, the 2 shelves I had available are already spoken for now (you guys were too slow).

However, there will be more by December 1st once Roy gets his new production line going so, if you want one, email me and I'll put you on a waiting list.

I'll post another note about that then.

Here are the pics:

[jzulaski]

Ok, I have one more shelf (Roy found another one) for sale. Same deal.

Email me at jzulaski@hotmail.com if you want it.

[jzulaski]

Still have one shelf left looking for a new owner. Email me at jzulaski@hotmail.com.

First come, first served.

[jzulaski]

This shelf was sold.

More shelves should be available on December 1st. I will post a note.