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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
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Message started by Jeremy on 04/27/16 at 15:41:53

Title: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/27/16 at 15:41:53

Hey guys, my name is Jeremy and I'm working on a '95 Savage. Been riding for a number of years and been through a number of bikes, and although I'm more into sporty bikes, I've always had a hankering for a bobber. This is my first bobber attempt, although I have an old CB450 cafe in the works as well. My wife refers to them as "Junk 1" and "Junk 2" ;D

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/27/16 at 15:42:23

Hopefully this'll let me post the image up...

Anyway, I'm in the process of getting the frame as cleaned up, and now that it's all disassembled, I can't recall what this bracket is for. It isn't the rear brake switch bracket (which is on the right down tube). This is on the left down tube, circled in red... Don't want to grind it off and find out that I need it later!

http://https://jstrain.smugmug.com/Other/Savage/i-F32hcdw/0/L/Frame-L.jpg

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/27/16 at 15:58:20

Can't speak to the bracket, but since you're gonna be painting the frame, why not bondo the visible welds and smooth them out?

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/27/16 at 16:04:16

Thought about it, but I was thinking powder coat, which I didn't think plays well with bondo.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/27/16 at 18:38:58

Noo, probably not.. but you can smooth stuff up with a grinder, followed up with a cut off disk. You Can use them like a grinder, just don't push hard, you don't wanna break the disk. It'll smooth it up, clean up the grinder disk marks.

Try it on junk metal.
Or, a Dremel would clean up the grinder marks, but, slow and expensive...

Body shop supply stores carry a Thick masking tape. Good for protecting places close to where you are working.

The edge of the grinder disk needs to always be going off of the edge you're working down. Otherwise, it's liable to bang and jump.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by verslagen1 on 04/27/16 at 19:19:45

if it's on the near side (lousy picture) then it's a tab for mounting the air box.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/28/16 at 02:43:13

Yeah, the pic didn't come out well. Trying for a closeup that still showed enough of the frame for context always had the rear brake switch bracket in there confusing things.

This bracket is on the inside of the downtube.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/28/16 at 03:36:30

36292F2835320333033B29256E5C0 wrote:

Currently working on that. I've cut off some of the misc. brackets for stuff like the belt guards and the bungs for the passenger pegs on the swingarm.

I attacked the worst looking welds with a 24grit flap disk (the silver spots in the pic), but the joint where the backbone tubes meet the rear downtubes has some sort of gusset welded in there. I don't want to go too crazy, for fear that I'll take off too much.

I thought about trying to fill in the gaps between the tubes and gussets with an oxy torch and some scrap metal. That might fill them in enough to allow me to grind in a smooth transition, but not sure if my skills are up to that.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/28/16 at 15:20:26

If you laid some brazing rod in and smooed that up, would it take the finish and look right? Working that stuff would be easier and take less heat on the frame.

Title: Re: Intro and Some Frame Bracket ID'ing
Post by Jeremy on 04/28/16 at 17:58:21

Brazing might work, but I'm a hack when it comes to gas welding work ;D

I used the torch to cut out those gussets up by the joints under the seat, and cleaned them up as best as I could with the grinder and a flap disc. Not perfect, but looks much cleaner.

I may try to get a smaller air driven grinder so that I can get in a bit tighter. Also got a few of the other welds smoothed out on

I don't want to mess with the bracing around the swingarm mount. They're not pretty, but I'm hoping they'll sort of disappear once the bike is back together.

Have a friend who is much better at welding than I am, so I'll take it by his place and see if he can fill in any of those spots. Even as it stands now, it looks much better than it did stock.

Oh, I also gave up and just cut that bracket off, so whatever it was for, I guess I won't be using it :)