Service Focus: Welding

Fig 1.1

Fig 1.2.

Welding is a trade all in itself, however; armed with MIG and TIG welders  we get this job done in house along side everything else.

A common job that comes in is damage to motorcycles, either from crashing or the engine taking lumps out of itself.
More often than not this ends up being an aluminium weld such as this paddock stand bobbin (see fig 1.2) that got ripped off of a customers Honda CBR600RR in a spill. This is a fairly quick and simple weld on paper but the prep is what takes all of the work. There were holes in the swing arm where the base metal failed rather than the weld and the edges were turned up and bent. To add to the fun there was a few years worth of chain lube and road grot ingrained in the metal so a thorough clean was needed too.
Once the prep was all done, now came the task of marrying a small but thick bobbin mount to a thin but large swingarm. Thankfully pulse mode on the Rtech digital tig 170 was here to save the day which made short work of filling in the holes then welding the bobbin back into place.
fig 1.3

Similar levels of patience and prep are needed when welding engines.
Classic engine cases such as this Yamaha RD250 LC side cover were not made of the best quality aluminium to start with and 30 years of soaking in two stroke and chain oil had not improved matters.
Despite this, a number of successful crack repairs have rolled through the workshop: from over excited porting holes filled in, to this bolt hole in fig 1.3 which needed to be built up then shaped to restore the part for future racing use.



Finally we have bespoke fabrication. Usually performed for racing use, we have here some examples of parts that have been made for some classic RD250's. The examples shown are some exhaust stubs to run expansion chambers, expansion chamber straps to improve the vibration survivability of the rear mounts and instrument brackets.

Check out below for some more examples of fabrication and repair carried out.
This bolt removed from a Honda VFR750 RC24 had been badly damaged during removal as it was seized. It was a however hard to replace so the head was built back up with the welder then filed back to the original shape with an added wire locking hole.
A custom HRC insired rearset for a Honda VFR750 needed the brake levers brake master cylinder connection moving. This was achieved with a discreet finish.
An extremely light weight radiator support made of aluminium tube and some welded on brackets.


A completely custom made stainless steel 4-2-1 link pipe inspired by the HRC design.

Using the MIG to make extensive repairs on a van chassis.

The start of a complex repair after extensive corrosion was found.


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