Tubular Stainless Steel Frame

[abraxas]

Thanks for all the input guys!!

Few points:

Whatever may be said for the "official" frame, mine is broken, never had a high speed smash, just fallen over.

This engineering shop does their own race cars, amongst other stuff. I'm a noob, they aren't.

The big up side is that we have a frame, and would be able to accurately measure where all the bits need to go. Jig and welder are both up to it.

I'm looking at this out of desperation, not though any trouble making desires. Either i get something going, or i stop riding the bike i am still paying off.

 

[dblaze]

When you say the frame is broken:
1, Where is it broken?
2, Have you got any pictures to post?
3, Can the frame not be weld repaired?
I know you say you don’t trust the frame I am just interested as what damage has driven you to consider building your own frame.
I would also add that it will be one hell of a task to get right I have my own fabrication company & would not attempt it.

 

[abraxas]

I did have a pic, i'll try dig it up. It's on the right hand side, above the swingarm bolt, on the bend.

A curious addition to my tale. There are no weldings on the frame. At all. 2 halves bolted together, the frame is moulded. This frame alloy was never meant to be welded.

A used frame on ebay would be about R5000 rand. Plus postage. Never bouht on ebay before, really don't know if it's worth buying another frame that has obviously gone down before

05 Yamaha FZ6 FZ 6 Frame 19T: eBay Motors (item 150415282205 end time Jun-17-10 13:18:52 PDT)

 

[dblaze]

I realise the frame is cast aluminium depending in the breakage & location of the breakage it maybe that you could look into it being weld repaired if you do go down that route be careful who you get to do the work as welding aluminium requires much more skill than say stainless steel & mild steel.

 

[Wavex]

Whatever may be said for the "official" frame, mine is broken, never had a high speed smash, just fallen over.

There are thousands of ppl who fell over on their FZ6 and their frame is perfectly fine. Point is, yours may just have had a default to begin with, or (more likely), the fall you mention happened to put too much load on the wrong spot and snapped the frame. Sh*t happens, but I don't think ALL FZ6 frames should be dismissed because of your single example.

This engineering shop does their own race cars, amongst other stuff. I'm a noob, they aren't.

Car and motorcycle frames don't have a lot in common... I'd ask a lot of questions to see what they actually know... Again, this would be a safety concern for me... building a custom frame for a 14,000 rpm engine that will be leaned over at high speeds is tricky business.
Of course I might be totally wrong, and any solidly welded frame may work just fine... that's not what my gut tells me though

I'm looking at this out of desperation, not though any trouble making desires. Either i get something going, or i stop riding the bike i am still paying off.

Getting a used FZ6 frame is your safest/cheapest/easiest option IMHO, even though I'd be really curious to see you move forward with your custom frame project

 

[tweak89]

You're leaving out details about the nature of your fall. I went down doing approx. 45-50mph on my old '05 FZ6 and the only damage to the frame was some rash. So, fears of the frame not being sound are pretty unfounded. After the repairs were done, I rode it for another couple of years. Zero problems or apprehension about it's stability.

By using your logic, would you be inclined to make your own tires if you suffered an unexplained blowout?

 

[abraxas]

Nature of fall:
fall 1: bike climbed off it's sidestand in the driveway (there's a slant)
fall 2: i slipped while exiting a fuel station, was doing a whole 3km/h.
Both on left, crack is on right.

Yamaha says the crack is because i wheelie. I don't.

Wavex, thanks!
So making a frame isn't a great idea, was worth a look though. There's another option we'll try maybe, creating an aluminium support inside the frame, welding that into place and then heat treating it (which is apparently whats needed). It'll be heavy on one side, but i don't think noticeably so.

Wavex, i'm with you about general structural strength of the frame, it works for most. Which is why it's so infuriating when it's my bike thats the one that breaks, and yamaha (or anybody) can't tell me why.
peace

 

[Naykid]

I don't know WHERE in OZ that frame can be repaired.....but it can....no doubt about it. There is no "special aluminum alloy" that cannot be arc welded if the welder knows his stuff.

 

[RJ2112]

Nature of fall:
fall 1: bike climbed off it's sidestand in the driveway (there's a slant)
fall 2: i slipped while exiting a fuel station, was doing a whole 3km/h.
Both on left, crack is on right.

Yamaha says the crack is because i wheelie. I don't.

Wavex, thanks!
So making a frame isn't a great idea, was worth a look though. There's another option we'll try maybe, creating an aluminium support inside the frame, welding that into place and then heat treating it (which is apparently whats needed). It'll be heavy on one side, but i don't think noticeably so.

Wavex, i'm with you about general structural strength of the frame, it works for most. Which is why it's so infuriating when it's my bike thats the one that breaks, and yamaha (or anybody) can't tell me why.
peace

I recall Yamaha telling you something about loose motor mounts setting up a situation where the vibration could 'oil can' the frame. A poor response, in my view. What happened with the follow up?

Did you attempt a repair to that crack already? If not, have that shop take a look at doing the repair for you. They have the stuff to make a good job of it, and might have the experience working with vacuum cast aluminum alloy. (The local kid with a MIG welder would not be my first choice for the repair....)

I agree with the general idea that building a frame from scratch has many pitfalls. If it were going to be a race bike only, it might be worth messing with. Otherwise sourcing a replacement frame section would be the way to go. Then you know it's been engineered for the loads properly, and everything will fit. Far less time consuming.... and time becomes money after a point.