Bike build! project "Justifiable homicide"

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Picked up this 78 special for a fair price. She has a rather seemingly dark history with a ground off and restamped Vin, 81 motor, false year on title, and not to mention I bought it out of a pole barn in the middle of nowhere from someone who knew a few too many mob stories.

I know I know its a decent candidate for a restore but I'm gonna chop this baby up for a brat conversion and murder it out justifiably.

Let me know if anyone needs resto parts from this bike.

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Started at the back and worked my way forward when dissembling. I found this was better for me because I didn't have the urge to start cutting wires from the harness. Getting the air box housing out was another story.

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Has anyone had a bad experience mig welding a brat kit as opposed to tig. Also do most people grind the brace off to weld the ¥ directly to the frame or leave it on.

 

[figure8]

Weston Boege just started a good welding thread here in the garage. I'd go there and ask, you'll get the help you need.

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Soda blasted the frame with a blaster I just got from harbor freight of course. I know sand blasting would have been better and faster but I wanted the soda blaster so that I could blast the engine, clean and paint it. Couldn't find much about mig welding so I'll be the test dummy in that department. Just laid a bunch of flux core wire down and ground it down to make it look pretty! I'll tell you it's a solid piece now. Did a few drop tests on accident

 

[angus67]

your not the first to mig a frame together. grinding welds off just to make it pretty could be a bad idea. the weld adds strength. these frames are very thin. Think of a weld profile as a gusset.
Flux core huh? what machine did you use?
Im not trashing your process, I think it looks ok.

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

I didn't grind too much off just polished her up, It's a tweco 141. Used .030 flux core wire

 

[muks]

From what I understand if PROPERLY done, flux core offers better penetration than MIG wire with gas. (Would love one of the experienced welder to confirm this)

If you have ANY doubt about your welds I would highly recommend you get them checked out by a certified welder.

 

[muks]

oh, and good luck on your project!

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

I have no doubts on it. I did a trial run on part of the frame I chopped off and it's solid.
I'm now at the nit picky tedious fabrication and it's killing me. I like to see progress!
Just made a little capacitor and rec/reg box. Does anyone know the basic capacitor dimensions? This box is a rough draft.

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Thanks Muks, I need it!

 

[wherearewe]

From what I understand if PROPERLY done, flux core offers better penetration than MIG wire with gas. (Would love one of the experienced welder to confirm this)

If you have ANY doubt about your welds I would highly recommend you get them checked out by a certified welder.

Im not sure its fair to say Flux core offers better penetration than MIG full stop. It would depend on the machines in question, and the settings used right?
In general flux core does run hotter if comparing gas vs gas-less machines of the same size though. They are great for agricultural or out door applications on thicker metal, where shielding gas will be disrupted by wind etc. But this same heat also increases risk of burn through on thin metal like an XS subframe.

They produce a lot of spatter which is probably why most people dont use them for motorcycle frames, and the welds are rarely pretty like a nice TIG bead. If you are proficient though, yeah they will work.

 

[HooliganCycles]

I'm with wherearewe, both gas and gasless have their place, like he mentioned I like flux for outdoor applications where wind could be an issue but they are messy...I have built a lot of stuff far more crucial than an xs sub frame with a flux core welder, I definitely prefer my tig over anything else. Clean and Bevel your joints and get good penetration and that thing will last forever haha. Have fun lookin good so far

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Well it's welded on there soooo she isn't coming off. Burly 10.5s on the way. Got a PMA so I just put the motor in to make sure all my wires were the long enough to reach where they need to. Getting on the kick only train!

 

[westonboege]

Looking good! I welded up my first brat frame with my flux core mig. And i didnt use a brat kit, so i had a couple of but welded tubes to make the sections i needed.

As long as the rear tubes are lugged properly and you got a good fit at the front it should hold fine. Your gusset will help too. I check my bike every few weeks and look at the welds to make sure nothing is moving/cracking...

Bikes looks sick! Hurry up! Its time to ride!

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Been awhile since I've posted. Moseying along...

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Not sure if I want a 1, 2, or 3inch drop on the forks. Or any at all.

 

[chizler62]

If you're looking for a super smooth looking weld you can fillet braze over them. Shoe polish joint and it'll look molded. You can do this for about $50 of supplies. IMO its better than grinding welds.

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[hutch311]

where did you get that headlight? Looks good!

 

[Maverick-Man-Ice]

Still trying to decide the color route I want to go with this bike. The silver looks good so I might go a gun metal gray. Have to get a quote on powder coating