Mending thy buell

[lithiumion]

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Courtesy of one hit and run driver rear ending my motorcycle at 45mph. What have you guys done about this sort of buell injury? Looking for ideas to fix or hide.

 

[Loki]

Youll get told bondo and frame puck.

 

[lithiumion]

what would you do about this loki?

 

[Loki]

If i had the money i would buy a new frame. If i didnt, i would bondo, paint, frame puck.

 

[lithiumion]

right on the lip of the frame there, its somewhat bent so even with the best bondo job its going to be a bit off. is it possible to beat it back into place then bondo, and then paint?

 

[Macbuell]

I am a little doubtful the AL will be beat back into place without cracking. Also, no place to beat it from unless you have a bunch of tiny gnomes in the gas tank. I agree with bondo and frame puck.

 

[lithiumion]

i mean more along these lines

 

[Zeroflat24]

right on the lip of the frame there, its somewhat bent so even with the best bondo job its going to be a bit off. is it possible to beat it back into place then bondo, and then paint?

You dont want to "beat" aluminum. It tends to crack. I would just bondo it, and buy those carbon fiber frame covers if the little bent lip bugs you. I dont think your going to notice it unless your really looking once the frame puck is on.

 

[onelogue]

If it were me and i was unable to buy a new frame... I would drill a hole in the center put a hardware anchor in the hole and use a come-along to pull the dent out as much as possible. Then weld the hole and bondo til smooth. Powder coat and frame puck.

I know a guy who did it and it works great!

 

[greasyxb9s]

Your gonna have to watch pulling it out even.... once it bent it changed the aluminums molecular strcture per say. There is going to be thin spots right around the bends. If it were mine I'd take the frame all the way apart and wash out with water to get rid of any gas. Then you could go one of two ways....

#1 instead of bondo I'd use a mig welder with spool gun and fill it up with weld and contour back to the right shape......

#2 cut out the bad spots and patch it back together with pieces of aluminum plate. Then contour back into shape.

He biggest thing to remember is keep the gas cap off!!!! And make sure no gas is left in the frame.

It all depends on your skills equipment and time and money. I have all the stuff I would need to do it and have been a welder/fabricator for over a decade..... so it might be easier said then done for some of you guys.

 

[iman501]

I used Bondo, frame pain, and a puck on mine, just make sure you sand down the bondo down really good, and try to get it as close as possible to the original frame design so the puck sits on there nicely.

 

[Shatrat]

You can try bondopuckification, but I imagine there will always be an irregularity on that side because the aluminum is now stretched, and working at it too much will make it brittle.

If it was me, I would score a new frame on ebay or elsewhere and start moving parts over the winter.
It's more a question of time than money I would say. Frames seem to be selling around $300-400 and you can pick between silver or black. Half the people on this forum have spent more than that on their muffler.

It will give you a chance to clean all those little nooks and grease all the stuff that doesn't come apart that often.
I'm in the process of doing something similar to the Ducati.

 

[Shatrat]

Oh yeah but remember, frame = VIN = title. Could be a pain depending on your DMV.

 

[d_adams]

New frame.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

I agree with greasy, cleanest and i bet simplest way is weld it back together. Anoter note about welding aluminium is watch the heat, gotta keep the temp down. Bondo and a puck is a terrible solution your bike deserves better

 

[lithiumion]

i don't mind replacing the frame, but what i am worried about is the salvaged / assembled title.

 

[buellbradski]

^exactly change the frame and the vin no longer matches. Unless you got Skills with metal . Bondo in your simplest sollution! Kinda cobbish but i wont tell anyone if you dont.

 

[buellbradski]

Now just a thought ? If you got a new frame what couldnt you grind down the vin on the new frame and etch in your vin? There kinda hand done anyway no?

 

[matt87951]

If you buy a brand new frame - it comes with your VIN# on it already. You then have to send your old frame back to them - that way no title issues no salvage / rebuild, etc. Keep in mind a new frame from HD is around $1200.

-Matt

 

[Red93stang]

There kinda hand done anyway no?

They are pin stamped and would be extremely hard to duplicate. Besides being illegal, well that is if you get caught anyway.