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Message started by govmule84 on 10/17/07 at 17:43:33

Title: So Skrood
Post by govmule84 on 10/17/07 at 17:43:33

Okay, I am done having a minor freak-out.

My bob job is going beatifully...absolutely beautifully, and I will post instructions for interested parties. Should be able to be done for under $50 with parts available everywhere, and looks great.

So I need to move my bike a little, and pull in the clutch, and the lever goes slack. I figure I snapped the cable, muttered, and checked. Nope - the cable is fine.

What snapped is the boss holding the lower end of the clutch cable. (by the adjuster) I have absolutely no idea how to work around this, and moreover, I lost the piece that snapped. And this boss is on the engine, not the sidecover.

Anyone have any ideas?

Liam

PS - evidently my edited, more provocative title ruffled some feathers...so my apologies to board members and mods.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by demin on 10/17/07 at 17:49:21

Ouch..You are talking about where the adjuster part goes through the case?If so the only thing I can say is find the part,find somebody that welds aluminum.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by govmule84 on 10/18/07 at 17:15:35

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

Who welds cast aluminum? Some NASA guy somewhere, maybe.

I looked at my piece... it broke in the center of the hole where the adjuster goes. One side was polished smooth....I got a bad cast. Mine is a '96. You guys might want to take note and be careful with that thing, maybe reinforce it with some washers or somethin'.

I'm gonna try and drill a new adjuster hole closer to the speedo cable. Any thoughts are appreciated.

-L.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by demin on 10/18/07 at 17:26:54

If you have enough meat left,maybe drill and tap it,make a steel bracket with a piece of angle for strength.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by sluggo on 10/18/07 at 17:46:34

govmule84 wrote:

what we're trying to post, it may of got caught in the filter, we be a pretty open minded bunch. cant sat pregnant dog, but you can say b1tch

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by Dr_Jim on 10/18/07 at 18:46:37

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by Rockin_John on 10/22/07 at 09:43:33

With all due respect to Dr. Jim's instructions on the use of epoxy: I've used it too, with good success on some things.

And it is possible to get a bike home without a functioning clutch control in a pinch, if it were to break off...

But I'd rather not face rolling the dice on that.

IOW, I'd want a more trustworthy fix: (1) find the lost piece, it can't have gone far, and get a well equipped weld shop to "TIG" weld it back on (2) if you really can't find the piece: drill the necessary sized hole through an appropriate sized piece of rectangular aluminum stock, and have it TIG welded on in place of the missing piece.

Hopefully the speedometer threads can be protected and not damaged in the process.

A solid and reliable repair can be done to such material by someone with the right welding skills.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by Savage_Greg on 10/22/07 at 09:51:14

Might be metal fatigue or some other metal issue, but you still have to wonder why it broke, now, after 11 years. Right?

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by Rockin_John on 10/22/07 at 14:36:16

Savage_Greg wrote:

Might be metal fatigue or some other metal issue, but you still have to wonder why it broke, now, after 11 years. Right?

Yes, it does make one wonder; why now? No apparent extra strain on it. My best guess is as you said: Mediocre metal quality giving in to fatigue. One of my many jobs, had me helping engineers stress test large truck frames in a jig with huge hydraulic rams pressing and twisting the frames constantly. Discovery: Most of our high strength steel and automatic weld failures happened where the welds hadn't been "dressed" well by grinding and polishing after welding. Leave the most tiny crack in anything, and eventually that is where the stress will tear it apart. Same with castings. It only takes one bubble or thin spot, and that piece is junk. But in non critical parts where someone's life doesn't directly depend on it, not all pieces get magna-fluxed, or x-rayed, so some bad ones slip through.
It happens anywhere, but Asian Mfgs of different countries have been varying degrees of bad to terrible about metallurgy in practice for a long long time.

Edit: OTOH, giving credit where due: Asia was far ahead of the west in metallurgy in ancient times, and they have had astounding artisanship in all materials for centuries.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by govmule84 on 10/22/07 at 17:16:42

Hi guys.
I appreciate the help on the idears.
I thought about JB Weld. While I don't mind a poor boy repair, I don't use that stuff. Ever. Sorry.

Here's what I did instead, and what you could do if this happens to any of you, maybe.

I took an isoceles triangle lookin' piece of steel, about 10 gauge, and ran a 3/4" hole through it at the big end. I ran a littler 1/8" or so hole at the other end. Insert big end under speedo cable retaining screw, shim little end, and drop clutch cable through little end. Voila. Done. No movement side to side, or up and down

I gotta finish the wiring tomorrow, and then the bobber lives again.

Gotta go. - L.

Title: Re: So Skrood
Post by Rockin_John on 10/23/07 at 19:25:32

govmule84 wrote:

Heckuva idea! This should be in the tech section. Can you do a picture of the finished fix?