Welding on a 1200 GSA

**gwbuild** · #1 6 Aug 2006

Just took a bit of a spill on my 1200 GSA. Ended up tearing the passengers foot assembly almost off the frame. Now I've got a couple holes in the frame. I own an offroad equipment manufacturing company so fixing it with a TIG will be no big deal.

QUESTION: Anyone ever welded, or had anyone weld to their GS1200 frame? Disconnecting the battery seem to be the no-brainer. Any other gotchas to watch for? Sure would hate to fry the computer on my one month old bike.

Any experience, rumor, or urban myths on welding the BMW frame would be helpful. Thanks.

**Mr. Ron** · #2 6 Aug 2006

I'm really curious what would happen to the computer. I've never done this on a MC, but i've welded on many cars and have never fried a CPU. Because its steel, you have to weld it wiith DC current, there are no high frequency issues like there are when welding aluminum in AC current. The key is grounding properly and directly next to the area being welded, providing the current the path of least resistance. I'm not saying "go ahead and weld it...let me know how it works out!..." It probably would be a good idea to remove the computers, just to be on the safe side.
BTW...hows it going Mollydog! I haven't seen that part of LWA as of yet, what happened when they welded the frame? Was it Aluminum or steel?

**mollydog** · #3 6 Aug 2006

Oh man, you gotta see that film.

**colebatch** · #4 10 Aug 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mollydog

Hey Ron,

Funny thing was the comments about the 180cc Minsk they got to replace
the dead GS. The dead bike belonged to their Italian cameraman. He loved
the Minsk in the dirt! I think they all realized at that point that the giant
Beemers were not the bike of choice for Mongolian mud, rutted tracks and
squissy meadows.

Cheers,

Patrick

A couple of points: Firstly the Russian bike didnt have to carry any gear. The 60-70 kgs of panniers and luggage that the GSs carried did not have to be carried by Claudio on his "Red Devil". Most of it was stuck on the truck to UB with the bike and other essentials were actually added to what the other two GSs had to carry. I think any unladen bike would be fun across Mongolia. Stick all that luggage on it, and it would be as much of a bitch as the GSs were. Secondly, the Russian bike broke down twice on the ride from Ulaangom to UB, despite being brand new when they bought it. Its not a better choice.

**mollydog** · #5 10 Aug 2006

Sorry, I thought the film said the Cameraman was Italian.

**Margus** · #6 10 Aug 2006

(Off topic a bit, altough most of the topic is about this) Re: Long Way Round. They did it in their way. Peter Forwood goes through a similar mud with a Harley Davidson that weights around a half a ton and two up - he does it in his own way, and for sure it's a lot brighter thing that comes out from the memory in his old age just like the Boorman etc, than to remember an easy going, just like to rember riding a straight american highways on some 125cc KTM two-stroker rather than on a GoldWing. Everyone has his/her own sense or definition of adventure. People are different.

Go do better then, if you can! But stop deciding what's the best for the others, OK?

**petefromberkeley** · #7 11 Aug 2006

As has been said a thousand times, there is no perfect bike to go RTW. The KTM would definiteley be better in Mongolia and be a pain in the *ss for the North America part.

I rode a BMW R-100 GS across Mongolia with a guy who was on a Suzuki Djebel 200. He had a lot more fun in Mongolia, but by the time we got to the never ending straight paved roads of Kazakstan, I was the one living in the lap of luxury.

As a side note, BMW flew mechanics in to repair that Long Way Round bike. I was there at the same time and thought perhaps they could fix my toasted starter motor. How hard could it be to find a famous movie star and his crew in Mongolia? I never did find them and got a Mongolian car mechanic to fix the problem- during which operation he shimmed a bearing with a

can and it lasted all the way till Istanbul!

**gwbuild** · #8 1 Sep 2006

Ended up using a MIG on the frame at my shop as that is what the factory welds appeared to be. Had no problems whatsoever with the computer or electrical afterwards. Puts my mind at ease in case I need a field repair one of these days.

**gwbuild** · #9 1 Sep 2006

Should add as per the dealership's recommendations I removed the power and let is sit about 20 minutes before welding to make sure evertying was completely discharged on the bike...