[Man-in-a-ditch]

 Hi All, I've just knocked off the lockstop which was welded to the frame's headstock. It is a clean break with no damage to either frame or stop. (it appears to be designed to come off with minimal force in order to prevent serious frame damage.) Question is, how do I put it back?  I don't want a major strip down if possible so any ideas please?  I do recall seeing some sort of "magic" plastic weld stuff at one of the classic shows a few years back, could that be of any use, for example?

[Richard230]

If you want to try glue, about the best there is for repairing metal parts is the original JB Weld two-part epoxy. It takes a day or two to completely cure so you will have to find a way to attach the lock stop so that it will not move while the epoxy is curing, but once it does, it should do a pretty good job of fastening the stop back in place. Be sure to follow the instructions when mixing and when preparing the parts to be assembled. If it doesn't work then you will have to try a mechanical solution. But I bet it will good enough to lock the bars in place under normal conditions.

[Bilgemaster]

My hunch is that our esteemed 'Richard230' has provided the best "slapdash fix" for your predicament short of welding, and that the Original JB Weld he recommends is worth a try (but probably not their "ExtremeHeat" or "KwikWeld" flavors). Here's a great little head-to-head test and review from the Project Farm YouTube channel clearly showing how not all epoxies are created equal and vindicating good old JB Weld Original: https://youtu.be/XObmZIbHOzY.

Good preparation and nice clean oil-free surfaces will likely be key to success. A good scrubbing of the mating surfaces with a small wire or tooth brush and some brake cleaner spray should purge those greasies for a good bond.

[tooseevee]

Good preparation and nice clean oil-free surfaces will likely be key to success. A good scrubbing of the mating surfaces with a small wire or tooth brush and some brake cleaner spray should purge those greasies for a good bond.

           If it's a nice clean break & hasn't been fermenting for 6 months I will leave the raw surfaces alone. Not clean them or anything.  Put well mixed Original JB on both surfaces & you will, of course, have spent time prior to this devising a super clever method of clamping those two mating surfaces together. And I would leave it two or three days.

           I'll need to buy new J-B Weld soon & I shudder to think how much more it will be than the last I bought it at Ace Hardware. Even a simple garden hose nozzle is $20 now & they go up from there depending on the bells & whistles. But I digress...

         

         

[Bilgemaster]

When in doubt, what 'tooveesee" advises is probably sound as a pound. I mean, Have you SEEN his cherry AVL?

[Karl Childers]

My two cents, if your not going to arc weld it and it is a part that will take occasional bumps from the triple tree is to drill a hole part way into each surface and make a steel pin that will just fit in each hole and then join it together with JB weld. It should increase the shear strength of the repair. If you have room two pins are better than one.

[axman88]

I sure wouldn't trust epoxy for the stop that prevents over-rotation of the steering head.   Seems like that has to take pretty substantial, and constant stress when the bike is parked on its sidestand.  I wouldn't want to come back and find my bike laying on it's side with cosmetic damage, or have it suddenly pitch over when I'm fueling the tank.  Doesn't over-rotation of the head cause damage to cables and wiring?

I'd think I'd weld or braze, with my trusty Oxy-acetylene rig, or park religiously using only the bike's centerstand. 

The feature that key-locks the steering for security purposes, I'd be less concerned about.  I'd toss that in my parts box, and deal with it someday.

RE's tear down pretty fast and easy, in my opinion.  You didn't say what model or year you have.  Maybe you want post or link to a picture or two of the afflicted feature?