Welding question...

A friend wants me to lower her bike but am concerned about the side stand
then keeping the bike too upright. If I can't grind enough off the stop, can
I cut the ( cast iron) leg and get it re-welded a bit shorter or does cast
iron not weld ? Does anyone do steel / weldable side stands ? Centre stand
is ? mild steel so assume that is OK to cut / weld up and re-paint ?

Thanks,

Nick

 

Cast iron is notoriously hard to weld...

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Nick

Are you sure that the side stand is cast *iron*?

 

I don't know of any bike with a cast iron stand, cast steel maybe, but
not iron.

 

No - not sure - it looks "cast" so assumed it was "Cast Iron".

Its definitely not welded up mild steel

(Its a 2002 Fazer FZS600 Fox-Eye)

Thanks,

Nick

 

It's cast steel

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Lozzo

Thought so.

So, over to this lot:

Engineering types! What's the story on welding cast steel? It's the side
stand on a motorbike that'll need shortening, so the foot wants cutting
off and reattaching.

I've seen it done on an old Kawasaki that I owned. How hard it is?

 

Personally (being a crap welder) I would cut off the foot, try to find a bit
of tube that fits well over the remaining section, and forge a new foot on
that. Attach the tube by brazing, friction, or even araldite (if you have a
good overlap).

 

Easiest thing is to design the change so that it is not dependent
on a perfect joint.

e.g. saw it off a bit above the bottom, use a bit of
mild steel tube to go over the bits and braze it.
As long as the stuff is iron-ish then not much ot go wrong there.
Obviously for brazing metal must be bright and clean.
Even crap welding will likely do the business too.

 

Everybody makes such a fuss of a little carbon these days

 

Yes - thanks for the tip - I'll go and look for the hack-saw

Thanks again,

Nick

 

Paging Bonwi...

Oh, never mind.

 

I should hope so, unless Brunel had a hand in designing it.
Cast steel should weld ok if a mig is waved at it, even in a shite
fashion.

 

That's a good idea.

 

Thanks guys,
It seems its cast steel and is easily weldable with a MIG.

I'll weld a slightly bigger footprint plate than it currently has, as it
just sinks into soft tarmac on even a warm day.

Nick