Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus67
Well being a certified welder, should be easy enuf. Find steel tube with correct inner diamete, cut off the old and weld on a new ring
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I was semi-involved in a repair job of this nature a few times in my otherwise mis-spent youth. In the BSA-Honda shop where I worked was a middle aged man from central Baja California named Adelbarte Rodriquez. "The Torch" Rodriquez was his shop name, and it was a nickname of respect.
In those days, district 37 of the AMA put on dirt racing events at Corriganville Movie Ranch, owned by the one time stunt man and movie actor from the thirties and forties, Ray "Crash" Corrigan. Lots of "B" westerns were made there. A lot of scenery in a comparativly small area. Like 3 or 4 square miles. One of its features was a truly terrifying way too steep down hill section, the one you've all seen in westerns where the horses have to slide down. Naturally, the race had to be run over this section. Endo city. The most experienced riders could get down the hill without falling off. The really young ones had a lot of trouble. Our hero, or the goat of this particular race did three endos in his first trip down the hill. He did three endos, the bike? Six or seven. It was done for the day. He dragged it in to the shop for an appraisal of steering problems. It was one of the first all welded frames around. Maybe it was a DOT. Or, perhaps a Cotton. Its headstock looked about like the one in your picture. So The Torch was called over to consult. No problemo, he announced. A piece of heavy tube was found in the junk pile, cut, faced off, and a seat cut for the bearing cup, and bronze welded by The Torch to the headstock, after it had been aligned by the triple trees and the OLD bearings. I operated the second torch, as I was the smallest dog in the fight. I did the rough filing on the bronze weld, then The Torch finished the filing until a longer section of a larger tube slid over. Then I got to work two torches, to keep everything warm while he brazed the outer tube in place. Then the new bearings were put in place, the fork tubes straightened, and off he went....ARH