Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
General Discussion => Tech Tips => Topic started by: LJRead on February 16, 2008, 06:28:37 pm
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Two days ago, on return from my first ride, and sort of hill climbing up to my shop, my right foot peg came off. Upon examination I found that the weld on it was amazingly thin, no more than a thirty second of an inch, or a millimeter. The footpeg is welded to another piece which is bolted onto the bike. Not only that, but the weld material looked suspect; it appears crystallized. The peg itself has been ground to fit the piece it fits to, but penetration of the weld into the ground part was minimal, if it existed.
So yesterday I did a destruction test on the other foot peg, placing a large block of wood under it and leaning the bike on it with a modest amount of my weight. Foot peg bent off with this relatively small pressure.
Sorry I don't have a camera to file a photo, but I'm glad that I found this problem before it caused any danger, which it certainly could have. I thought to order new foot pegs, but what's the use if they are all made the same? So I'll have both foot pegs welded by a good local welder rather than do it myself (self-taught). Anyway, 1) has anyone had a similar problem?, 2) heads up!
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I kind of thought the non-folding foot pegs would save the engine lower cases in a tip over...
Maybe they won't...
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One other thing that I should mention. After examining the first peg that came off, I was of course shocked at how narrow the weld was. I said a millimeter above, but it is more like half a millimeter. Then I looked at the other foot peg, before testing it, and noticed that there wasn't a normal weld fillet, the radius of the weld was much too small. It looked nice, almost as though it were cast, rather than welded. I don't know enough about welds, but the crystallization to me looks as though the welding material quickly hardened before flowing into the metals to be welded. But it also may be that you can examine your foot pegs and notice the radius and perhaps it will give you an idea of how strongly welded it is. Mine could be a one off flaw, the two pegs being welded at the same time, but I rather doubt it.
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my foot pegs aren't welded on theyr'e bolted
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Yeah Scotty, they are bolted on. But the peg itself is welded to a hollow spindle (like a threadless bolt I suppose)held in place by another bolt. If you take that bolt off, the entire peg should slide off the shaft. My own thinking is that this should have been a cast steel piece, and not a weldment. But since they welded it, they did a piss poor job, on my bike, at least. Also, the bike is nearing five years old, so vibration could have played a role. Thinking of the whole situation today, I'm going to consult with the welder (another relative) and see what he thinks should be done. Perhaps brazing would be better because it could be made to saturate the joint. The rear brade lever, for perhaps that reason, has been brazed.
As to damage to the casing, mentioned by Foggie, the rubber cover is so padded that I don't think it would dent into the casing.
I feel lucky that this small problem has shown itself before it caused any danger.
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I just checked mine on my 06 sixty 5 and they are one piece cast.
Chris
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You could well be right. I would have sworn mine were one piece, cast, as well, the weld was so smooth it appeared that way, but obviously wasn't. It could also be that some changes were made. Mine is a 2003 Thunderbird.
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i'll check mine too after this heads up.. thanks :)
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Had more time today to examine my foot pegs. It was obvious that there had been some previous cracking between the peg itself and the spindle, because the bottom of the peg where it laid against the spindle and most of the broken weld surfaces were covered by old grease. The peg is very easy to remove, just the one bolt on either side, so my suggestion would be to remove them and have a close look. If the paint isn't broken, it may be ok. If there is evidence of cracking, you might be able to grind the joint down a bit, exposing metal, and have the weld fillet built up. It is certainly worth having a look at.
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Thanks for the warning, Larry. It's important to me because my regular route away from home for a ride takes me across a railway level-crossing which is a little bouncy with the sprung saddle, so I tend to STAND UP on the footpegs while going over it.
I'll check mine.
Tom