Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Triumph bulletin board Footrest break - T140V

I took the footrests and rear engine plates off for paint, just to freshen things up and I found this crack/break in the corner of the left footrest.

In that the material is cast, would I be able to braze this after heating, bending back and weld prepping or is it best to replace the peg...?

I am actually glad that I removed the peg rubbers and discovered this...!

Thanks,
Rob

Hello, you can weld it with cast electrodes for arc or weld with electrode for oxy acetylene. The traction strength would be between 75000-85000psi

That's strange. I've straightened at least a dozen of them.

I've seen many of them bent, but never a cracked one.

They are fairly malleable, so heating them with a torch usually allows them to be straightened.

Good to know. I'll go look for the stick foe Oxy.

I assume this should be heated and pulled back...?

Thanks,
Rob

They are forged, I think?
They are also fairly cheap

Malleable cast iron, first cast but then heat soaked to drive off the carbon so the carbon drops to steel levels. This means it then takes nearer the physical properties of steel than cast iron and so is bendable. So heat red hot to bend back to shape and then weld the crack. Your welder will know what stick to use on malleable cast iron, should not be far off than for steel.

They show up on U.S. EBAY site all the time, and at cycle flea markets (swap meets) on a regular basis also.
And usually for a lot lower price than the one shown above.

Mild Steel stamping EN3A.

Same here...
I have not done a dozen, I recently straightened the T160 and I have straightened a couple of others but this break/separation surprised me.

I'll pay a visit to a local welder to see if I should weld prep the break and pull it back or him to weld for me. I can weld but I don't want to experiment on the peg.

Rob

I've welded them before, using an Oxy and Hytest rods, no special rods needed.

Hytest rods are copper coated looking rods and are mainly for for mild steel.
Like this:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111522903717?hash=item19f74876a5:g:HmkAAOSwmBNhzaOI

They're not cast, they're forged, and usually can take quite a bit of bending & straightening. Shouldn't be any problem to weld?

Most such Britbike rests are malleable castings.

I've never seen one broken but I sure have bent a few. I have a two foot long piece of pipe just for straitening footrests.

I've just looked into this - malleable cast iron is a lot more malleable, and a lot stronger, than I'd known. Quite amazing properties in fact. I've learned something today!

In the foundry where I once worked, malleable iron castings was our primary product.

Once the new castings left the pouring room, they were placed in heat-treating ovens for 24 hours. When removed and cooled, we inspected them for flaws.
A few had blow-holes that needed to be welded shut but that didn't make them any less "malleable."

Burglar-proof bases for Duncan parting meters was one such product: The die-cast meter would be mounted on top, the coins folling through a slot into the cast iron base. A round locked "door," also cast iron, gained access for the parking cop collector to the money inside.

We young guys were skeptical that the malleable iron base wouldn't crack, so our boss brought out a sledge hammer, dropped a meter base that already had a small crack on one edge on the floor, and invited us to hammer away on it.

We smashed it FLAT, yet that crack never expanded. Proof enough of malleable iron's durability for me.

I made a half-hearted attempt at straightening the footrest, heating the area with just a small torch, not the high heat of acetylene. Early on it was evident that the wound would not heal well, even if I could pull the gap closed accurately.

Shortly after I found a good, used footrest and it arrived today. I will maybe get back to try and pull the gap closed and weld but for now it is a great paper weight.


Thanks,
Rob