Fort Worth Motorcycle Riders

Just checking to see if you folks have any local recommendations for knowledgeable frame welders/repair providers. Lots of welding available but I'm not so sure where to find someone that actually knows what they are doing and not make the situation worse by bad welding and turning good steel into soft or brittle steel. I have a broken bracket on my Concours 14 subframe and I also have a used subframe coming from fleebay. I'd like to repair/reinforce the old one and reinforce the one I have on the way. I said I have a broken bracket, but really it appears that the frame tube is what has broken all around the edge of the welds. My C14 Dual-Sport ride last August around the Bristi Badlands was probably not a good thing for this. Why, oh why, couldn't I have turned left instead of right?

Duct tape

Real bad idea to weld ON the bike without stripping it down, you can fry electronics

fixxervi6 wrote:Real bad idea to weld ON the bike without stripping it down, you can fry electronics

Understood Rick, I've already determined that I've got a disassembly project ahead of me. I have another one (subframe) on the way but I wanted to have it reinforced before I stick it on there. I don't want to do all that work just to have it happen again.

I can do that for you. Do you want reinforcing material added or just a larger weld? I can do either.

RC30Rider wrote:I can do that for you. Do you want reinforcing material added or just a larger weld? I can do either.

Cool beans!...Well, both really. I have another subframe in transit that I want to reinforce and when the broken one is removed I'd like to repair it and reinforce it if possible.
I have no idea what Kawasaki used for frame material nor do I know much about welding. I've been getting advise from many on another forum and the advice seems to be all over the place.
One says don't MIG weld it because the fill material isn't very good, and I should just have it stick welded because the fill is better quality metal, or even braze it because it will do less damage
(embrittlement?) to the existing tubing. Another says don't overthink it just grind out the old welds and re-weld it. Oy vey!
I can fabricate any reinforcing pieces needed but I have no idea what type of steel I should get, nor do I know how the edge of the piece(s) should be beveled to facilitate welding.

When I have something to show you (subframes in hand) maybe we can get together to discuss it/plan it/pay for it.
Thanks.

fartymarty wrote:JMy C14 Dual-Sport ride last August around the Bristi Badlands was probably not a good thing for this.

LOL! Been there, done that @ C-14 dual-sport rides. No bueno. That was the catalyst to me buying the DR. Did you drop her?

fartymarty wrote:

RC30Rider wrote:I can do that for you. Do you want reinforcing material added or just a larger weld? I can do either.

Cool beans!...Well, both really. I have another subframe in transit that I want to reinforce and when the broken one is removed I'd like to repair it and reinforce it if possible.
I have no idea what Kawasaki used for frame material nor do I know much about welding. I've been getting advise from many on another forum and the advice seems to be all over the place.
One says don't MIG weld it because the fill material isn't very good, and I should just have it stick welded because the fill is better quality metal, or even braze it because it will do less damage
(embrittlement?) to the existing tubing. Another says don't overthink it just grind out the old welds and re-weld it. Oy vey!
I can fabricate any reinforcing pieces needed but I have no idea what type of steel I should get, nor do I know how the edge of the piece(s) should be beveled to facilitate welding.

When I have something to show you (subframes in hand) maybe we can get together to discuss it/plan it/pay for it.
Thanks.

TIG is the only way to do small jobs like this. MIG is messy, stick is worse. I can fab some reinforcing plates and prep the frames as needed. You're welcome to watch, help, or just leave it with me.
PM me when you're ready to get started and I'll send you contact details.

Striple wrote:

fartymarty wrote:JMy C14 Dual-Sport ride last August around the Bristi Badlands was probably not a good thing for this.

LOL! Been there, done that @ C-14 dual-sport rides. No bueno. That was the catalyst to me buying the DR. Did you drop her?

No, not that time, all my left hand drops(3) have been on pavement during or just after parking. The dual sport ride hit some heavy bumps and certainly bottomed out the front twice, I was standing on the pegs, so I'm not sure if I bottomed the back ever. I got sucked in by a gravel road that I thought was going to get better and didn't then I made it worse by turning the wrong way and I ended up in sand, grass and dirt and gully washes. I stopped just short of a four foot drop down to a muddy flats wash that from a distance looked like a concrete parking lot. Hardly any room to turn around and I made about a 40 point turn standing along side the bike trying desperately not to drop it. I wasn't getting good enough cell service to contact the rest of the group so I didn't know that they were still in the area. Broke one of my lower LED lights off the front fender and thought that I got out of that situation fairly good. If I had dropped it down one of the gullies it might have ended up partially upside down so it could have been much worse.

RC30Rider wrote: TIG is the only way to do small jobs like this. MIG is messy, stick is worse. I can fab some reinforcing plates and prep the frames as needed. You're welcome to watch, help, or just leave it with me.
PM me when you're ready to get started and I'll send you contact details.

Thanks Shaun! Will do.

fartymarty wrote:The dual sport ride hit some heavy bumps and certainly bottomed out the front twice, I was standing on the pegs, so I'm not sure if I bottomed the back ever. I got sucked in by a gravel road that I thought was going to get better and didn't then I made it worse by turning the wrong way and I ended up in sand, grass and dirt and gully washes. I stopped just short of a four foot drop down to a muddy flats wash that from a distance looked like a concrete parking lot. Hardly any room to turn around and I made about a 40 point turn standing along side the bike trying desperately not to drop it. I wasn't getting good enough cell service to contact the rest of the group so I didn't know that they were still in the area. Broke one of my lower LED lights off the front fender and thought that I got out of that situation fairly good. If I had dropped it down one of the gullies it might have ended up partially upside down so it could have been much worse.

lol dang man you didn't tell us about THAT part of the adventure

fartymarty wrote:I stopped just short of a four foot drop down to a muddy flats wash that from a distance looked like a concrete parking lot. Hardly any room to turn around and I made about a 40 point turn standing along side the bike trying desperately not to drop it.

But Marty -- where is your sense of adventure? Twist the throttle and end the suspense…

Glad to hear that your C-14 DS ride had a happy ending. I've somehow managed to defy all of the odds and never dropped the C-14 (although I may almost certainly have jinxed that streak by posting this now).