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Hell, buying any aluminum framed bike that has been ridden hard is an iffy proposition and is an as-is sale.
I guess all you guys that are acting so righteous lecture everybody that has ever bought a bike from you on metal fatigue and the disadvatages of aluminum compared to various steel options.
Do you tell them how you might not have been as careful as you should have been about cleaning the air filter so you won't feel guilty if it locks up in the air and causes the same kind of injuries you are forecasting if a repaired frame lets go?
Do you replace the throttle cable in case it is frayed for the same reason?
http://www.readperiodicals.com/201109/2527062251.html
Comparing Not knowing and normal wear, to this thread is.. well, Fucking Stupid!!
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If that 5 sided extruded frame rail took that severe of an impact, are we to believe that there is no secondary damage at any other point on the frame?
That rail is damaged to the point that it needs to be replaced. IF, and that is a big if, there was a 5 sided extrusion available to replace that one with, isn't it inserted into the components it's mated to before welding? I doubt these components are just butt welded together. How would you fit it into position to weld?
This is a fourth (or fifth) generation aluminum frame, with each version being refined for better flex and rigidity characteristics. Does anyone realistically think that frame will ever be as it was before being damaged? It may not be a significant "issue", but we all know the answer. To take it to the next level by adding gusseting, well you'll probably end up with a 1997 CR250 frame and we all know how that worked out.
If it was welded, does it need to be annealed, fixtured, welded and then re- heat treated? Or were they ever heat treated in the first place?
My personal view is that I would replace the frame if I planned on keeping it and riding it. Find one on Ebay with a title and rebuild it. If I was selling the bike, I would sell it as is and let the new purchaser assume all responsibility associated with it. Not sure how much money you could get by parting the bike out on ebay and just go buy a new one.....
I would not cobb it back together and sell it.
The other bike? Not so sure. I never looked at it. I was caught up seeing if my son was ok. Then when he left to jump on the flagger, the inner battle occurred. Should I stop him or encourage him. I choose the later and don't feel bad about. I saw the little bitch later in the day texting or checking Facebook on her phone instead of watching the track. Anyway at that point I had not even noticed the frame damage. I first thought just a set of bars and a lever. They did have to push the other bike out as it never would go in neutral.
I know what I thought when I first saw it. It needs a frame. I was surprised at the reactions at the track. So I thought I would ask "would you fix this if it were yours?". Did not mean to stir up a storm, it's not like we're talking about the best suspension tuners.
With all things considered I'm going with a new frame.
Sure it's bad, but at least he did not drop a valve.
A good fab guy would likely charge a minimum of 300$ to fix that frame if he did everything by the book including using the right material for the fix and the post weld heat treating.
Bottom line is you're screwed either way. It happens.
And before I'm lumped into the group of one of the "clueless" ones on the board, I've been doing development testing for one of the manufacturers for the last 14 years or so, and yes I can feel a hole drilled in a frame somewhere.
There seems to be guys on both sides of the fence here on this subject. BUT....it seems to of been resolved as the OP mentioned he was just going to get a new frame.
Were all good.
First, to properly repair it you'd need a section of the same material to replace the damaged one. That extrusion is proprietary to Honda so it's not like you can just run down to the local material store and buy a section of material. $$$
Next, to find somebody to properly bend the material is going to cost big $$$ to fab up some dies.
Another option is cutting a piece from another frame and welding it in. Again, lots of fab time to properly remove each piece and do the swap. Then they'll need to weld it in and replicate the same weld beads using the right amount (and proper type) of AL rod. $$$.
Of course you could just patch the damaged section but your going to end up with something that handles differently than the original chassis did. Will you notice it, hard to say, but there's a reason some skid plate manufacturers have started using rubber isolators to mount them up. This area if the chassis, if too rigid can really make the bike feel heavy and hard to initiate a turn with. Will the rider notice it? Again hard to say but there will be a difference.
Now let's say you finally decided to do the repair, fabbed up a replacement piece or patched it up. Do you know what post-weld heat treatment the factory calls for? I sure don't and I'd be willing to bet the welder that did the job doesn't either and is just going to be guessing.
While all of this may seem like it's the extreme, it probably is but when you consider the amount of man hours and development time that goes into making these bikes handle the way they do why would you purposely go backwards with it when there's another option that might cost a little more initially but pay off in the end with resale value..
So,my long winded answer to the question would be nope, I wouldn't fix it. I'd dig around online and in eBay and try to find a used 2010-2012 chassis for the best price and go that route.
And trust me, I'm sure there are tons of people on here that know more than I do, I just happen to have spent quite some time working in this area and I've picked up a few tidbits of information over the years!
Pit Row
I watched a "behind the bars" for Kyle Cunnighams bike and all of Rock Rivers bikes get their frames welded many times throughout the season. Check it out on transworld
My God, that's nothing compared with cutting out and re-welding the entire cradle on a CR500 conversion.
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