1 Forging Aluminum (Aluminium) Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:33 pm
Moto Smith
Silver member
I had to straighten out the rear brake pedal as I am starting to put together the bike.
The pedal was obviously bent from the bike falling over as the aftermarket fairing is also cracked.
I've straightened a number of aluminum parts on bikes over the years - once (pre E-bay and such) over a camp fire in Europe somewhere.
You will need a heat source, a means of holding the part (vise grips or pliers) a small wooden stick and a couple of downed branches from the woods to act as a hammer and anvil.
Don't be tempted to try and hold the part by one end as you heat the other - the whole part will get pretty toasty.
Remove any rubber or burnable accessories from the part.
Put a blunt point on the small stick - this will act as your temperature gauge.
Heat part in increments - brush the stick on the part after each successive heating.
At some stage the stick will leave a black, charred mark on the part. The part is at forging temperature - and will be for a while.
IF the black, charred mark goes on and quickly disappears, you're too hot. Allow the piece to cool a little. If the part disappears into a pool of molten aluminum - you're way too hot!
Take the branches and straighten the parts - allow the part to cool slowly.
Re-install and ride on...
Cheers, M
The pedal was obviously bent from the bike falling over as the aftermarket fairing is also cracked.
I've straightened a number of aluminum parts on bikes over the years - once (pre E-bay and such) over a camp fire in Europe somewhere.
You will need a heat source, a means of holding the part (vise grips or pliers) a small wooden stick and a couple of downed branches from the woods to act as a hammer and anvil.
Don't be tempted to try and hold the part by one end as you heat the other - the whole part will get pretty toasty.
Remove any rubber or burnable accessories from the part.
Put a blunt point on the small stick - this will act as your temperature gauge.
Heat part in increments - brush the stick on the part after each successive heating.
At some stage the stick will leave a black, charred mark on the part. The part is at forging temperature - and will be for a while.
IF the black, charred mark goes on and quickly disappears, you're too hot. Allow the piece to cool a little. If the part disappears into a pool of molten aluminum - you're way too hot!
Take the branches and straighten the parts - allow the part to cool slowly.
Re-install and ride on...
Cheers, M