To keep on keep'in on

[flyde]

I love this "Bodger Fix"!! Straight to the heart of adventure motorcycling!!

Here are a few that kept me going....

1) Top frame bolts snapped on my klr (They were upgraded high tensile??)

Tied the klr frame together with chord and rode it 40km back to a town, standing up, to keep the weight off the back.





The rawness of Chilean backyard mechanics was exposed when the bolts were drilled out on a 30 degree angle.

So we hammered/forced a big bolt right the way through both (now large and obscure) bolt holes and welded it permanently... Touched up with silver paint, It was never going to brake again.

2) Head bolts stripped...

Found a piece of metal that fits over the head of the bolt and then tied it down to anything you can find with wire...



It was fine for two days.

Later the thread on the bolt was just extended by cutting, inserting and soldering, this allowed the use of a good 5mm of normally unused thread at the bottom of the bolt hole.

Otherwise welding on a bolt with a bigger thread and a matching re-thread....

3) Replacing sprockets and brake pads were a problem until...

Something that seems to be done all the time!!!

Is to let someone cut the bolt pattern out of your old sprocket and weld it into a new.

Brakes were the same, they just cut then glue new pads on.

SO EASY, SO CHEAP... I stopped ever trying to find originals.

4) Oh My Favorite!!! Dead dampener in the rear mono-shock... Bouncing like a Roo (kangeroo ) on speed as the southern Mexico boarder was crossed.

After a thorough search of Villa Hermosa for a replacement or repair. I ended up entrusting these three with an idea i was certainly skeptical about!!

They removed the shock from the spring and replaced it with one from a peugeot 207 car.... After a little bit of fabrication they had it the correct length and had the right bolt holes on the top and bottom.

When on the stand, the bike extended a little high and often needed to be parked with the stand facing down the hill.

On the road in was an infinite improvement on bouncing, it rode a little differently but all terrain was conquered easily enough and this little number got me to Deadhorse, Alaska.

Mucho mas gracias amigos...