Repair on a Honda XR 400 motorcycle frame (rotten sidestand)

R

RobertHaas

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A friend has a unhealthy affection for this Honda XR 400 and through the years I have done several upgrades and repairs on it. This might be my most ambitious.

These frames have small holes in them to let any water to leak out, problem is the inside of the frame is not painted and Honda does not use corrosion resistant alloys in the steel frames they build. So when these holes get plugged up, (Almost every XR I have ever seen has the drain holes full of mud) So if they are plugged the frame holds water and it will rust out from the inside at the lowest point for the main frame rails. Once rusted enough the sidestand will just tear out of the frame. leaving this.



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So I thought I would just chuck the frame into the Kurt vise and go at it.

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well of course that won't work so I go busy with some 123 blocks and a bunch of hold downs and got it locked in place

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Always thinked this bike was made with solid bars, not tubes.
Maybe it was filled with water from factory.
All that weight must be hidden somewhere...
 
Old timey scooter trash is nervous about repairing, especially welding, a frame. There is consideribly more stress on the lower frame than what is generated by the engine. With a dirt bike, much more so than my road bikes were. I have repaired a broken frame with a chunk of pipe and a few screwdriver clamps, BUT just to get a few miles up the road to a more solid fix. That being a split piece of rigid conduit with a handfull of "U" bolt clamps. Welding on a frame, not on your life! My sled was a Moto Guzzi 850 ex-police bike, not a lightweight by a long stretch. But the fix held up for a year or two after. Derusting, sure. But avoid welding, it requires serious heat treating. Without that, dangerous would be an understatement.
 
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