I know I’ve posted before about this little Aermacchi Harley Davidson Spring that Jill bought for me when we were dating. I restored this bike a long time ago and then not leaving things alone; I decided to later repaint it a different color. Upon reassembly I inserted lower engine mount bolt and the engine slipped and the mounting bolt cracked the lower crankcase internally. From that point on it leaked oil and so I stopped riding it. Then we moved to Milwaukee.
It sat in my basement in Milwaukee at which point I decided to crack the cases open to asses the damage to only learn that a huge chuck of the case boss was cracked off. And there it sat….
I moved the bike in pieces when I moved to NC and now eight years later plus a few more years….
I have finally fixed the case. I TIG welded the motor crankcase boss and now I can put this motorcycle back together. Why oh why has this taken me so long? It only took me a few minutes to fix, and yet I have avoided this… or have I been preoccupied… or did I just not think about it enough…or did I not care that it was lying around in pieces…?
No bother…it is fixed now and it can go back together…
Shop Teacher Bob left a comment on Facebook about welding this up. It wasn't too difficult to weld. I thought high zinc content would make it a pain along with being submerged in oil for the last fifty years, but I cleaned it with brake cleaner and then brushed it good. Heating it up before welding always makes a big difference too. Gives things a chance to burn off and gets things prepped so the welder doesn't have to work so hard to get a puddle started. Anyway, it feels good to have this welded.
Also: a quote from Shop Teacher Bob below that has me thinking of the day when I retire from my job:
I like hanging out in the shop. Nice environment and my co-workers are all straight up folks.
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