Every once in a while, ya win one.
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 1:33 pm
I have been trying to sell a 2003 BMW K1200RS for Dale the Builder for a couple of seasons now. He decided to have me take care of a couple of issues with the it, hoping to improve the chances of selling it.
One was the rear brake lever. It was severely bent and appeared to be cracked. A new one is well North of $200 (thanks, BMW) but ya gotta do, etc.
I had the bright idea to have it welded. I assumed (and you know where this is going) it was aluminum and I don't have the tools or the talent to weld aluminum so I was going to take it to a local guy that's pretty handy with a TIG torch.
Figured I'd do him a favor and wire brush the area to clean it up to make life easier for him. A few seconds on the wire brush followed by a little touch-up on the belt sander revealed two things:
1) It wasn't cracked, it was just the powder coat flaking off, and
B) It isn't aluminum it's mild steel.
Given that, I popped it in the vise and gently worked it back straight, holding my breath the whole time waiting for that SNAP! of it breaking but I managed to successfully straighten it out.
Less than an hour of my time vs. $235-ish? Don't take a Rocket Surgeon to do that math...
One was the rear brake lever. It was severely bent and appeared to be cracked. A new one is well North of $200 (thanks, BMW) but ya gotta do, etc.
I had the bright idea to have it welded. I assumed (and you know where this is going) it was aluminum and I don't have the tools or the talent to weld aluminum so I was going to take it to a local guy that's pretty handy with a TIG torch.
Figured I'd do him a favor and wire brush the area to clean it up to make life easier for him. A few seconds on the wire brush followed by a little touch-up on the belt sander revealed two things:
1) It wasn't cracked, it was just the powder coat flaking off, and
B) It isn't aluminum it's mild steel.
Given that, I popped it in the vise and gently worked it back straight, holding my breath the whole time waiting for that SNAP! of it breaking but I managed to successfully straighten it out.
Less than an hour of my time vs. $235-ish? Don't take a Rocket Surgeon to do that math...
