Bollocks - another cracked frame

J

jimbo

New member
Location
Wallington, Surrey
Stripping back some paintwork to touch up various patches of rust, looks like a crack in the usual place. Image a bit blurry. Looks like another RGS could be winging its way to Scotland very soon. All the years I've owned this bike and lived in Scotland I had to come south every time I needed some work done on it, now I'm in the South we have our man in Glasgow :'(. Looks like Lavs are popular up there these days, in all my biking days in Scotland I met 1 Jota on the road and a guy from Aberdeen at the ILOC meet Braintree. Will start inquiries about shipping, and email Keith as I may as well get a few other jobs done as well.
Jim
 

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I don't really see it, but it might just be an old repair, cleaned back to the point of oblivion and all the weld re-enforcement polished off.
CLEM
 
I've had the bike from new so not an old repair. Needs to be done anyway regardless of whether it is cracked, just for peace of mind. Also wife wants to go touring to Italy next summer so I would be checking the frame every time we stopped. may as well get it done over the winter and Covid period, then she's fettled and ready (the bike that is).
Just emailed Keith about repairing it and a list of other jobs. Will try to get a price for shipping once Keith has a slot for me.
 
I also dont see the crack but if you want do some improvment OCT has a set to reinforce the steering had area.
Andre
 
Cheers Andre, good to know, but don't know any welders in the Surrey area who might be capable of doing the job. Photos are a bit blurry but it is  straight line across the frame for about 2 inches. Could be manufacturing defect or just some odd marks on the steel, but it is pretty much where they all seem to crack so I would be paranoid riding it.
Jim
 
Look up crc crick 120. It?s a dye penetrating test kit.  Easy to use.  Will show if it?s a crack or not.  They sell on amazon uk

I use it a lot for work.  Anyone can use it.  No special skills needed.
 
Still on those old motoplatt coils!, Keith will bin those for sure :D Had mine done when Alan (A14RGS) restored my Sprint when I had no garage and bugger all knowledge of Laverdas,Curious thought,is it the due to the strip down why it"s going to KN, a lot quicker welding locally surely.?

Lots of pic on the forum on bracing I seem to recall.
 
Hi Jim,
Are we looking at the stripped-back downtube or the horizontal tube? I see what appears to be a crack on the horizontal tube, but if so that's unusual.
Irrespective whether it's cracked or not, it's certainly a worthwhile job to add the headstock bracing - a straightforward task for a competent welder.
As Shaun says, I stripped and rebuilt his Sprint, using local experts for tasks that I couldn't do. Shout up if you need more info.

Alan :)
 
NOT the usual place... cracks usually develop immediately at the end of the gusset weld, and work their way towards the rear/inside of the tube.  After a while, they become visible on the outside part of the tube, almost gone completely around by then. :D

piet
 
Thanks for all the replies, I have a set of KP03's ready to go on, but lots of jobs to do in between. The main problem with a local welder is Covid-19 as I am currently shielding,  plus KN is my preferred choice for integrity of headstock bearing housing etc, and i need a few other things doing, new ignition, replacement exhaust cam, weeping crank seal ignition side, and get him to service the sprag clutch. They are jobs I can do but may as well get KN to do them when its there (not entirely confident replacing the camshaft).
Jim
 
Hi Jimbo,
Re shipping..I don't know if there is a preferred person or company folks like to use within the forum circle but I can certainly recommend a company called Motomovers Uk. A one man band run by Mike Koptite . He collected my 3CL from Volker in Germany and brought it to the UK for packing  for sea freight. He does a lot for the RD350LC  forum , that's where I first found him. Nice website too.
Cheers
Paul
 
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