Welding on the frame.

[Guest]

As the case guards I got were not the right ones for my bike, I have decided to fab my own.

In order to attach them I figure I will weld some nuts to the frame in two or three spots. Now I need some educated opinion.

Using a 110v wire feed, flux core rig is it safe to do this with the electrics in place or should I remove the igniter and coils?

On my Xs build I had everything off including the harness before I took an electrode to it.

I've been told you will definitely fry things by some and others say it is safe enough.

What are your thoughts and or better yet experiences?

As always, I appreciate all input.

Cheers,
spyug

[GS1100ez]

when i weld to equipment and trucks at work
all i do is disconect the battery and everything is always good to go

if it was me, i would fully weld each nut to a plate (obviously with a hole behind the nut) and then weld the plate to the frame and weld inbetween the nut and the frame
this way you get a full strong weld, as apossed to only 1 side of the nut being welded, this plate and nut weld to the frame will be a very strong weld which will hold up to the bike falling on the gaurds were as i would be weary of the nut welded on 1 side breaking off

[GQROD]

GS1100ez is correct, you should however disconnect your igniter to be on the safe side as the bike will be a grounding point.

Definetly the more surface area you have the stronger the weld will be.

Using a flux core just make sure all the areas to be welded are clean and you have metal touching metal, no gaps bigger than 1/16th of an inch otherwise you will compromise the integrity of the weld and it won't be as strong.

I'll have to fab up my own and i'll also be using plates welded to the frame for strength.

Hope this helps.

[SqDancerLynn1]

when i weld to equipment and trucks at work
all i do is disconect the battery and everything is always good to go

if it was me, i would fully weld each nut to a plate (obviously with a hole behind the nut) and then weld the plate to the frame and weld inbetween the nut and the frame
this way you get a full strong weld, as apossed to only 1 side of the nut being welded, this plate and nut weld to the frame will be a very strong weld which will hold up to the bike falling on the gaurds were as i would be weary of the nut welded on 1 side breaking off

Sounds like a good sugestion, also put your ground cable as close to the work as possible

[tone]

Ive been welding bikes for the best part of 30 years now & all ive ever done is remove the battery & unplug the cdi, no problems to date

I always remove the battery & put it in a safe place rather than just disconnect it as the fumes from lead acid batteries are flammable

just a thought on welding nuts to the frame .... ive not seen the job at hand but it sounds like this will be just a butt joint, imo a stronger way of doing it would be to either weld crush tubes through the frame or weld in a threaded boss

cheers tone

[spyug]

Thanks all.

I was planning on pulling the igniter anyway. Better safe than sorry. It also makes a lot of sense to keep the ground clamp close to the weld point as well, thanks for that.

I like the idea of the nut to plate weld as well. I've been weldding with the flux core for a few years now and while the welds are getting better and cleaner, it still is not as good as those produced by a MIG or Tig. i think they'll do for this application ,however.

I'm not going to use tube as it is hard to bend tight radii without the proper tools so I'm thinking of strap or solid rod ( or combo)which I can heat and bend more or less by hand.

On this project I'm going to try and document it so hopefully I can add to Mr. BC's fine page of tutorials.

Thanks again.
Spyug

[Planecrazy]

As I recall many crash bars bolt through engine mounts (using slightly longer bolts, of course). Wouldn't this be an easier and more reliable way to attach your custom fabbed bars? This would hypothetically prevent you from accidentally weakening the frame with too much heat, as well as avoiding a potentially weak joint.

My .02

Regards,

[GS1100ez]

mine has 3 attachment points
1 threw the top engine mount with a longer bolt
1 has u shaped bolts around the frame rail
and a 3rd which attaches to the lower engine mount i beleive

[Zooks]

Sounds like a good sugestion, also put your ground cable as close to the work as possible

Critical point but often overlooked.

Electrics 101 - 'Current will always follow the path of least resistance'.