Check out the hole on my bike!

Finally got the pictures to come through. Check out this hole. Is it going to interfere with anything? Do you think I can get it fixed?

They guy who owned the bike before sort of patched it up with fiberglass.

Post edited by: Pacificmonarch, at: 2007/04/14 01:16

Man! That's a hole! Someone posted a fix for a similar thing just recently. Don't know if it's tested out OK or not, neither do I know where to search for the thread. I'm sure the guys here will come to your aid.

I'm pretty sure Mark Wing did a repair in the same area on his bike, might want to hit him up for info.

Pacificmonarch wrote:

Is it going to interfere with anything?

I'm surprised it hasn't interfered already.

I wouldn't go riding too far in the rain, that's for sure.

With the back side of the ignition plate open to the elements like that, all kinds of things can interfere - up to and including small animals.

Do you think I can get it fixed?

At some point, it'll be an imperative.

The best fix would be a new set of cases. Period.

There's any of several ideas that might provide *some* level of comfort with a situation like that, but fiberglass wouldn't be high on my list.

I'd hunt around boneyards to see if a junk set of cases could be had on the cheap - with the appropriate section intact.

Depending on your metalworking skills, the existing crater in your cases could be trimmed back to some cleaner shape - and *measurable* dimensions - and a matching section from the junk cases could be cut to fit the trimmed cases and heli-arced into place.

The resultant repair - if done by someone that knows their stuff - could be ground, filed and polished to a degress that it'd do the job - and look acceptable to the casual eye.

Cost-wise? Hard to say. Depends on how much of the job - and required tools/equipment you have at hand.

Who knows - in looking around, you might happen on a complete motor in runnable condition for less than it'd cost to fix that one...

JB weld and duct tape should do. How did that happen?

Yikes! Note to self: Buy engine guards!

That would be a hard one to repair because of the contour. My first thought was to cut a strip of sheet metal and stick it on the inside to serve as a form for something like JB-Weld. Use the JBWeld like bondo or putty and form it into the shape of the case. Then, once the stuff hardens, remove the sheet metal/form piece.

I know aviation mechanics have some metal paste stuff they use for dents and dings in metal, but I haven't used it yet, so maybe I'm just talking out my *ss! But, that's the route I'd go. Good luck!

BTW... how did it happen?

when I got the bike, it was like that. It just had fiberglass covering it, but I broke it off.

meet the pig, camp bike, designed to carry 3 with beer, and dig holes
the alloy patch is 5mm bullet proof aluminium split to 1.8mm , bashed to submition then silicon glued into position with monul steel rivets.
keeps things nice and dry inside.
this bike i bought for $200 with an engine you can't kill, so better to patch

and

yep