Opinion on Frame Damage and Repair

[mydogsmonkey]

Any advice or suggestions would be helpful. This frame is the section right after the gas tank and before the battery compartment. Is this frame still good? Can I just have it repaired since its steel? Is it just that they had crap welders and couldn't get the right angle from the factory?(doubtful). I'm planning on doing a streetfighter build but don't want to put all my labor to waste by building on a bad frame.

Heres the welded part, right after the gas tank, before the battery compartment


Inside part of the frame


Heres the inside on the other side, the side that appears to be original


The outside shot of the good(?) side, no obvious welding on this side


And heres a top shot, the bottom side is the one with the weld showing.

[SouthendChris]

I'd like to bet that a previous owner has run the bike with no breather pipe on the battery. The fumes from lead acid batteries are very acidic and eat through the frame coating in no time. This leaves the bare metal out in the open air to rust at will. the exhuast tube from the battery exits just by the frame.

Whether the rust has affeted the structural strength of the frame is a million dollar question.... you could weld in a small triangular gusset under the joint.

Unfortunately to repair it properly you need to strip the frame right down, have it blasted and repainted or powdercoated aswell.

Chris

[mydogsmonkey]

so do you suspect that the welding is to reinforce the corroded areas and is not a repair from a wreck? Thus meaning the geometry of the frame is untouched and if just grind it down and weld it cleanly, the frame is fine? I may weld some gussets around to strengthen it and for looks since its going to be streetfightered anyway.

[SouthendChris]

Without having the bike litterally in front of me its very hard to say. The corrosion you have doesnt look that bad really - you couldn't say its like gone through half the wall thickness of the frame tubing or some such. If you are that worried I would weld a little gusset underneath on each side.

As for saying the 'Geometry' of the frame. Well that is never measured any where near the back of the bike. The headstock to swingarm-pivot length, fork length, angle of swingarm & rear shock top mount position are much more important *to handling* than 'the angle the rear seat subframe goes up' (seeing as FZR's aint twin shockers ). Depends on how heavy you are aswell

Nothing in your pictures, if it wasnt cleaned and repainted, i wouldn't expect to see on a steel jap frame from the late eighties/very early nineties. I reckon it came from the factory welded like that.

Chris

[Evilchicken0]

That's actually quite nasty but but you might just get away with it. Use a paint scraper and a sharp knife, you should be able to get that fake carbon / plastic off. Then clean the surface rust off with a wire brush.

[mydogsmonkey]

i was mostly asking about the welding and integrity of it, since it looks like it did not come that way from the factory.

i figure most of the rust and other crap is a non issue

[nicrod]

Oh man... If you guys are questioning this... you do not even want to see what my bike looks like... :'(