Its almost winter. Time to ruin another bike (1970 XS1)

[Exploding Coffin Emporium]

As much as I appreciate the expertise, a part of me just says fuck it, weld it up solid, and go, did any of us expect to hang around on this rock forever anyhow?

 

[wrmdovr]

Hey ECE.....In principle that is kinda my thought process.........in reality a person should and needs to practice welding enough to gain proficiency to ensure that anything built is strong enough and is safe. If not then work with someone who has the knowledge/skills to do the job and better yet....try to have them teach you so that next time you can do it for yourself. WRMDOVR

 

[Abrasive]

Played around with some more tubes today.

 

[MaxPete]

I could do a quick write up on mag particle and liquid penetrant testing in a separate thread if there's interest. Those only require strong magnets and/or spray can chemicals you can get from any industrial supply store.
I'm going to do some MPI on my neck welds anyway, and I could LPI the repairs I just had done to an aluminum engine cover.

Hi Abrasive:
I'm really glad to note that you are going to have a careful look at those welds. As an inspector, you'll be aware that even for experienced welders, the metal joining process can be dodgy and so inspecting safety-critical welds is always a good idea. I always remember an old joke about a boss (whose background was in corporate finance...needless to say) who went to his engineering department and asked if they could develop a low-cost substitute for safety, quality and reliability...



Pete

 

[Exploding Coffin Emporium]

So what's the current plan for this frame, rake obviously, but how bout dat ass, you goin kidney killer or staying a swinger?

 

[Abrasive]

Swinger stretched about 4-4.5"
I'll start laying out the new swingarm pivot point as soon as I finish with the neck. Bent up some 1" as a proof of concept last night. As long as I can hide the transition between the 1-1/8" frame rails and the new 1" DOM, I think I should be able to clean the back of the frame up quite a bit.

Now that I have the single downtube mocked up, I'm no longer happy with the backbone. Once the downtube is welded in place, I'll cut about a foot of the backbone out at the steering head and replace that with a nice piece of 1-1/2" DOM that's properly notched to the steering head. If I don't fuck it up too badly, that should leave a nice clean connection.

 

[Exploding Coffin Emporium]

I can dig it, keep the pics coming amigo