Anyone have a good fix for this?

[Eastcoaster]

I have seen these broken on a few bikes recently anyone ever had this problem any good fixes?

[James England]

The screw holes for the ignition cover? I'd have thought the best method would be aluminium welding, drilling and cutting new threads....

[Eastcoaster]

Here is another one

Yes Is welding possible? something I can stick weld I never tried aluminum welding

[James England]

Alloy welding is a bit of an art that needs proper equipment. The problem with aluminium as far as I understand is that the oxide melts at a higher temperature than the metal, so it can splurge all over when heated. It needs inert gas welding. No doubt someone will come back soon with a more informed response re this.

Looking at your latest pic though, it looks like it's only the one bolt hole at the front that's cracked off?

If it were mine, I'd have alloy welded onto the damaged bolt hole, then drill and cut a thread, then tidy up with a fine file or Dremel to get the weld tidied up, if necessary....

[TomB]

I did one of mine with Devcon aluminium putty (click)

You can drill and tap it once cured, as its a cover you take off occasionally I drilled and tapped for an M6 thread insert. I used the cover as a guide, held in place by the remaining screws, to get the hole positions right, electrical insulation tape wrapped round the drill where it was in the clearance hole of the cover.

My XS1100 engines are black so its easily painted, are the US XS1100 engines painted silver or bare aluminium? you could use a bit of silver paint to cover it. On the black engine its impossible to see the repair and as its thread inserted I even forget when doing maintenance.

[crazy steve]

Welding aluminum can be very tricky. You can't stick weld it, MIG welding is possible but very difficult (you need special wire, gas mixture, and wire gun), TIG is the usual method. Cast aluminum is the worst as the metal (particularly Japanese) isn't always 'homogenous'. Generally not a lo-buck DIY deal...

But there is hope... look at this: http://www.muggyweld.com/

This guy sells some low-temp 'solders' that don't offer the same strength repairs, but it can be done at home with a propane torch. You'd have to build up the missing parts, file to shape, then re-drill/tap the holes. I haven't used this stuff personally, but know of guys who have, most (but not all) with decent success.

JB Weld can be made to work also, with similar results to above although not the same strength.

[TomB]

I got some of those rods Steve, great for doing thin aluminium but I just couldn't get enough heat into the casting, the crank cases are so big they wicked all the heat away.

[crazy steve]

Tom, he also sells some sort of 'heat dam' putty that's supposed to keep the heat where you need it...

[TomB]

Interesting!! hmmmm

I concluded that my torch just wasn't up to it and went for the putty, very pleased with that stuff for that job, but if I needed a bit of strength in the aluminium would prefer the solder

[Eastcoaster]

Seems to be common

Great responses thank you...

What do you think causes this failure and how can we prevent it from happening. I am almost afraid to touch the timing cover screws on any bike anymore?

Gordon

[crazy steve]

This is almost always caused by laying the bike down, with or without 'engine guards'. Most engine guards will bend back, contacting the covers and busting the covers and/or the case screws....

[James England]

This is almost always caused by laying the bike down, with or without 'engine guards'. Most engine guards will bend back, contacting the covers and busting the covers and/or the case screws....

Personally, I dislike engine 'guards'. Especially on something like a CBX1000, where they really detract from the appearance. They are also large levers, like having crowbars on the engine waiting to exert a load of force on vulnerable casings etc. I know people will correct/disagree with me on this but they seem to scream out "look at me, I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to fall off!" A bit like the increasing habit here in the UK where some riders drive along at up to 30mph with their feet 2" from the road as if they think they're not up to avoiding wobbling off at low speed.

There's a market here in the XJR market for 'crash bobbins'..great big cylindrical lumps of plastic at key points. Again, I'm not personally keen on them as they seem to indicate feeling insecure on the bike.

Just my own view, of course. No doubt bars etc have saved some bikes from more serious damage but if I buy a bike with them on, I immediately remove them.......

[James England]

Great responses thank you...

What do you think causes this failure and how can we prevent it from happening. I am almost afraid to touch the timing cover screws on any bike anymore?

Gordon

its probably best not to fall off, I suppose, although that's easier said than done, given some car drivers. At least on use XS, they were fitted with Allen bolts as standard, unlike the soft cross head bolts used by all other manufacturers of the era. No need for an impact driver, chewed up heads, drilling the heads off and getting wenches on the remnants etc. I always use aluminium anti seize when fitting new stainless Allen bolts. That bond between ferrous metal and alloy is fearsome....

[Schming]

Great responses thank you...

What do you think causes this failure and how can we prevent it from happening. I am almost afraid to touch the timing cover screws on any bike anymore?

Gordon

Steve has covered the why, and the shortcomings of the engine gaurds, but in the following link, TomB has built his own version of an engine gaurd you may be interested in:

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40674&highlight=crash+bars&page=2

[Schming]

Personally, I dislike engine 'guards'. Especially on something like a CBX1000, where they really detract from the appearance. They are also large levers, like having crowbars on the engine waiting to exert a load of force on vulnerable casings etc. I know people will correct/disagree with me on this but they seem to scream out "look at me, I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to fall off!" A bit like the increasing habit here in the UK where some riders drive along at up to 30mph with their feet 2" from the road as if they think they're not up to avoiding wobbling off at low speed.

There's a market here in the XJR market for 'crash bobbins'..great big cylindrical lumps of plastic at key points. Again, I'm not personally keen on them as they seem to indicate feeling insecure on the bike.

Just my own view, of course. No doubt bars etc have saved some bikes from more serious damage but if I buy a bike with them on, I immediately remove them.......

I agree James, the only reason they're on my bikes are a place to mount Hi-Way pegs to stretch the legs on LD rides.