cosmetic frame damage repair?
 

My 98 SH has what appears to be two hammer dents right in the shinny part of the frame below the tank. I know I could fill and paint, but would rather polish the frame. Does anyone know how to fill, so they could be ground and polished out?

There is no easy paint or filler that will polish back out to match.... You could grind on your frame, lay a stack weld (you would need an aluminum welder), grind it down, sand it smo0th then repolish it.

I would not recommend doing that. Your frame is heat treated so welding on it particularly on the tubing part of the frame will anneal it in what welders call the "heat affected zone." So depending on the size of the dents and their location, and how good of a welder you find to do it could result in a 2 to 3 inch diameter soft spot on your frame. I used to weld bike aluminum bike frames and we would weld them up before heat treatment. If you dropped a tube accidentally it would crush the end or dent the side. Once heated you had to hit it pretty hard with a hammer to get the same result. So heat treatment makes a huge difference. This is why frame damage totals motorcycles. There isn't really any great way to fix it.

In Australia, damage like that would mean an automatic statutary write off - compliance plate removed so that the bike can never be repaired and re-registered. (for exactly the reasons outlined by cornandp)

Same here, as long as it's reported or when it comes in for the semi-annual testing... But it's entirely possible that it wasn't in this case reported in any way...

there is no law I am familiar with that says that in the US for us. If it was reported though the bike would be a total, and would then have a branded title. The dent left alone doesn't inherently mean the bike is unsafe. I would just suggest filling it in and painting it if you can't stand the way it looks. I have a paint I use that looks exactly like the cast aluminum bits if that is your cup of tea.

Right now there are small stickers covering them looks O.K. But this is NOT crash damage just superficial like a pissed off girlfriend hit it (there was a matching dent in the tank) just half moon maybe 1/64" deep, just can't polish as they would stick out. So I can't understand how you guys say it should be totaled. New bike, one hammer whak, parts bike???

no I didn't say it should not be used, I said it would be totaled because it would. An insurance company would look at the frame damage the figure the cost to replace it, and all the labor, so it would total the bike easy. Thats all you can ride it with no issue but if you where to try and weld fill it in I would not trust it anymore.

assuming were talking about a ding and not a buckle
i wasnt saying to grind a hole in the frame.... simply scuff it up where its dented the weld right on top of the ding.....using the aluminum from the spool gun like body filler.

then use a DA to smooth your weld down ........ and repolish


BTW... it would be stronger right where the weld is.


On the bike before my superhawk i weld the front brake lever back together and polished it. Never once thought that the handle would come apart ..... and you couldnt tell where my weld was.

Yes and No... Word of caution here...

Right where the weld is it would indeed be stronger with more material at the right hardness because of the weld...

But an inch or so (possibly larger) in a circle around the weld, where you only have the original material, now affected with heat from welding it will be severely weakened just like corn said...

Exactly how much you will never know until you either hit it with a hammer to know (yeah, like you will that right?) or until it causes an accident...

I'd leave well enough alone and just use filler and paint...