Restoring & Modifying 1971 OIF TR120

So, I got most of the OEM butting removed, together with the unbelievably cruddy 'repair' that the broker did. On that front, if ever someone is poised to buy a bike from a private broker who works out of his garage in Santa Fe and whose name is Mark (or Marc?), beware... he actually slathered silicon over his ridiculous excuse for a weld before painting!

But I digress...

First image shows angle of the OEM lug, here just shoved back into its nest of welding wire and silicon. The bike was propped up at a reasonably vertical angle before his 'repair' failed--though I do not know if it was correct (see below request).

Second image shows how, as you grind (and then sand as you get closer to the frame's O.D.) the lug--after knocking back its torn edge a bit with a cold chisel--a margin appears, indicated by the arrow. The lug turns blue along this margin as it gets paper thin and heats up, before basically disintegrating as you continue around the circumference, as it's welded on at the fore and aft ends and there are no through-holes or pins welded to connect the butt to the frame tube. A pleasant surprise, as I've never done this sort of repair before.

Third image demonstrates that I'm getting closer to being able to adjust the coping of the new combo butt/lug and weld it on--after practicing on the DOM tubing that should arrive soon.

However, I think the angle needs to be a bit more obtuse to get closer to correct, so I'm shifting over to a flapper sanding wheel in the angle grinder--and then perhaps even to a Dremel sanding drum--to continue removing the butt a few more degrees around while staying away from the engine case.

What I think I'll do is remove the tank and use my engine hoist to tilt the bike at what seems like a good angle, then finalize the angle of the butt/lug and mark it and the frame for welding.

Oh - and looking at the extended angle of this kickstand in a fore-aft plane (if I don't try to adapt the OEM lever), it looks like I can definitely add a reinforcing gusset to the forward edge without interfering with deployment. I can't think of a reason not to do that, in order to essentially eliminate the butt-to-lug area as the weak link in this style of kickstand attachment. Can anyone else...?

REQUEST FOR HELP: Could someone please put their late '60s or '70s Triumph on the side stand, and help me confirm what the appropriate angle of lean is?

OR just lay a straight edge across the bottom cradle tubes and take an angle from the lug extending down and out from that plane...?

I can guesstimate but would appreciate some data if possible.
 

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Okay, good day's work (and only nearly lit my hair on fire once from the sparks before thinking to put on my welder's rag cap thingy)...

As you can see in the first photo, the new heavy duty butt/lug has a smaller pivot hole that is too close to its edge to drill out for the much larger pivot bolt on the OEM kickstand lever. Ah, well... the internal spring retention is kind of neato anyway. So, yet another good used OEM part up for sale!

Per the subsequent photos, I think this coping adjustment is about as good as I can get it with my ingenue skill set and crude tools. I've stripped away additional paint so my MIG ground clamp can make a good contact. (Have to remember to disconnect the BB ignition, fuse to the alternator, and battery...)

As you can see, rotating the butt/lug outward nearly as far as it will go while still allowing room for a bead of weld in the groove between the new part and the remaining OEM butt would put the kickstand in a reasonably tucked up position.

Now, the position of the tip can be adjusted--as well as it's length, as we've discussed--because I'll be making up a new lower end out of 1018 5/8" steel rod lying around for a once-and-future sissy bar project (for the '51 FL), which appears to match the diameter of the new kickstand coming out of the flared upper end.

AMENDMENT TO EARLIER REQUEST FOR DATA: I will not need the angle of the lug's protrusion from the frame; just the lean angle of a Bonneville from vertical or from a level surface like a garage floor. This is because I'll just affix the new part to the frame for best alignment of the retracted lever--and then simply elongate the kickstand lever's bottom end I'll make up, until it rests on the ground with the bike at [x] lean angle.

To avoid two welds in the kickstand lever, I'll use the nifty HF bar bender I got for the sissy bar project to bend the tip to provide a nice, long 'foot' that will spread pressure out on the ground, and then balance its angle on the ground against best tuck alongside the exhaust--while still being able to operate it without melting the sole of my boot.
 

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Okay, I've been out of town for several days and the steel tubing got here to practice welding, so I don't blow through my frame.

In the meantime, I am listing the front TLS front wheel, complete with new cable, spring, and hardware on the buy/sell page (if I can find it). It's actually in decent shape, bearings turn freely, no damage to rim, etc.
 
i went down to the muffler shop and traded a big bag of chocolates and a 12-pack of pepsi for a bucket of tube ends for practice when i needed to build my first exhaust system.
 
i went down to the muffler shop and traded a big bag of chocolates and a 12-pack of pepsi for a bucket of tube ends for practice when i needed to build my first exhaust system.

That's hilarious! Now, why didn't I think of that? The guy at Route 66 Muffler here in ABQ is a motorcycle guy, too!
 
All right, not much time to tinker today but at least I got the test DOM tubing unpacked and inspected, coped, and stripped for welding.

The only way I could think of to cope it with my stone tools and lack of experience was to use a bimetal hole saw--and I just happened to have a 1-1/4" one lying around from some project. Worked out fine. Here are some pics of the test pieces ready for practice...

I am hoping before the weekend to get time to practice--and I must say that if my admittedly scanty research is right and the OIF downtubes are indeed this wall thickness, I shouldn't have too much of a problem with this repair.

My plan is to tack the parts together, then just do small increments alternating sides to avoid overheating and burning through the steel. On the 'real world' repair, in addition to that using that method, I will use tiny looping motions that are elliptical and leave the electrode over the far thicker kickstand butt for longer than over the frame's tubing.

Oh - and I need to decide whether to reinforce the butt/lug as discussed earlier. Frankly, since it's designed for choppers with Harley big twins in them--which have no center stands and are invariably started on the side stands--I don't think it's necessary. But at least a little reinforcement would presumably net an over-engineered part that would never fail again.
 

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