"On bike" welding & edge rolling

[Andy W]

Hi all,

So I want to have another pop at my home made exhaust now I've bought a used TIG (& got some glasses!).
I also want to reshape my rear mudguard over the winter.

So...welding on the bike...I want to tack the exhaust up on the bike, then remove it to weld it up.
With the TIG earth clamp on the exhaust, is disconnecting the battery enough?
If I need to disconnect the ECU, how is that done?

Also...Rolling/crimping the mudguard edge. I've read Jarv's, My version of the rear fender chop, and timoken's,
chopped rear fender (new style w. pix), threads but can not find out how you re-roll the edge bead....?

All advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy.

[1256day]

Andy

I'm not a welder, but,,,,,,
When I was making my homemade slip-on, I used JB Weld to "glue" everything in place. I glued the connector flange and the rear bracket, let everything set up in place, exactly where I wanted it, let it dry overnight. Removed the pipe from the bike, then tacked welded everything. Refitted the pipe to make sure everything was just the way I liked it then welded it up.

The neat thing about the JB Weld. The heat from the tack welds "softened" up the JB Weld and I was able to "Peel" it off. The JB Weld actually acted like a "etcher" and really cleaned up the metal for welding.

I used one of these cheapy 110 wire feed mig welders and it welded up pretty nice.

Post a pick of the pipe.

G

[Churchkey]

Make a few pipe clamps: Cut exhaust tube in half down the length in various lengths. Clamp them to each piece of butted exhaust with worm drive hose clamps & tack the exhaust pieces together. (not the clamps)
I have several that I cut a window out of back side to get a 3rd tack weld on the pipe joint. 3 tacks on exhaust tube will hold the joint properly. Home made tube clamps eliminate the "helper" when building headers + the joints will always be butted properly.

I have welded on the bike with the battery disconnected without issue.

For the fender: one method is to weld a piece of rod to the bottom inside edge. 1/8" gas or tig welding rod works well. If a bigger roll (larger diameter) is required 3/16, 1/4 steel brake line works well.

[alanh]

FYI, disconnecting the ECU is nothing more than unplugging the device from the main harness under seat. There is one tab that needs to be depressed firmly and the task doesn't require tools

Originally Posted by timoken

well, i finally did it and chopped a spare-rearfender that i got off ebay. i watched a lot of warriors in the gallery here and decided to go with the straight-cut. but i wanted some details a bit different:

a) i like the taillight and licenseplate where it belongs: under the fender. so no sidemounted plate and no taillight on top of the fender
b) i want it to have a perfect finish and not just cut it. it shall look like a stock-part.
c) i still need the possibility to get passenger and luggage with me
d) it should look warrior-like

that's what i did:
1) cut the fender to remove the bump at the tip of the fender and create a straight line to the frame of the bike
2) removed the rest of yamahas border crimping
3) attached my own border crimping all over the whole fender
4) created a support-frame for taillight and licenseplate that doesn't hit the tire
5) attach a micro-led-taillight with e-approval
6) modify an old licenseplate-bracket to make it work with the small taillight

so all i have to do now is get it to a paintshop and put on my licenseplate.

i have a baron's lowering kit and installed a limiter that reduces wheeltravel by around 50% at the end. tire clearance to taillight is between 70 and 80mm

what do you guys think?

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crimping

Originally Posted by timoken

well, i took a piece of steel and added a slice with my dremel. Then you slide this steel over the edge of the fender and just bend it down.

I bended it every time about 30 degree (3 times to reach 90 degrees) and placed the steel in 5mm distances. Well, it takes time...

[Churchkey]

Another way to roll an edge is with a bead roll machine & a set of 3 Hem dies.

[Warrior_uk]

If you're using TIG, glasses won't do, you need a proper welding shield.

Glasses are designed for brazing and flame work.

Believe me, you don't want ARC eye


Nick

[jarv]

I think he means he had dodgy minces - and needed glasses to be able to see properly when welding.
His eyes were so bad, he couldn't see where he left the welding mask!

I would say disconnecting the battery would be fine.... but as Alan has pointed out, if disconnecting the ECU takes only a minute - a little "belt and braces" never hurts!

Keep the earth clamp as close as possible to where you are welding.

I'll be honest, I didn't roll my edges, I left them for Caledonian Warrior to do them when he painted my fender.

[Stellmon]

Something to keep in mind since you say you're TIG welding... Keeping the ground/work clamp close to where you're welding should prevent any damage from the welding current, but you also have the high frequency from the arc start, which can be very damaging to electronics. Instead of using high frequency start, use lift-arc if your machine can do that

[WickedWild]

Coming from a shop where we would modify frames and make custom bodies daily. It is procedure to disconnect the positive and ground of the battery as well as disconnect the ecu. It's something that takes only a couple minutes and removes the opportunity to loose hundreds.

[Andy W]

Ha ha, Jarv is right Nick, it is indeed the old mince pies I was referring to, I should have written spectacles for clarity ('scuse the pun).
Isn't Arc Eye something they say in Scotland?

Thanks guys, lots of great advice from those who know!

I will def. unplug ECU & disconnect battery for extra insurance.
I presume the ECU "remembers" all it's data?

Woody's clamps sound great for the straight parts at least, although I can't picture in my head how they would work on bends. If I have spare pipe I'll make up a few clamps.

Great call on the HF start Stellmon, I hadn't even considered that, thanks a lot. Luckily my machine does has lift arc.

My feeble brain may be missing something but I just can not work out timoken's description on his edge forming, maybe it made more sense before the pics. went away!

Andy.