welding the frame
 

Hi

Stuck in mud hot and bothered i stuck my XR400 on it's stand to try and boot it into life before my own body gave up the ghost, last go and i fall with the stand snapping-what a crap day- rain etc.. anyway got it home and now need to weld the framewhere the stand bolts onto it, if I get an electric welder take off tank, drain carb and take out CDI, is it going to fy anything in the way of electrics etc.. I recall a mate frying his years ago undertaking the same thing and it needed numerous electrical parts. i have a sick bandit and can't afford to mess up the XR too!

any problems?

personally, I'd go with taking off the CDI, but wouldn't worry about the fuel tank. on my XRL, I disconnected the battery, but left the CDI connected - no drama

welding the frame
 

TAKE OFF THE TANK.
And drain the carbs too before you start.
You do not want to set your bike on fire which is a definite possibility with feul vapours coming from the breather tubes or spilled gasoline.
In'96 I broke the rear subframe on my airhead R100 while in El Salvador . A road building project work camp had a welder and they were happy to help. I left the tank on the bike and when the welder was finished I looked down and saw a nice little flame at the bottom end of the tank breather hose down by the swingarm. Quickly snuffed it out with no big fire , but a close call.
Disconnect the battery and place the ground clamp as close to the welding area as possible.

In my view you should disconnect and insulate both battery terminal lead sets.
you are mig welding and not stick welding. they a bit fierce on frame tubes.
tig is also ok, but i prefer mig fro this application. make sure yo well ventilated, and just in case.. do not have the bike between you and your escape route :)

Welding up bikes
 

just a note on welding. I routinely weld with a wire feed welder on four wheelers that have engines like the 660 yamaha. No problem there. I also have stripped down and prepped for welding eight honda GL1800, these have a aluminum frame so I pull the CDI and unbolt and insulate the major gound and both battery connectors and the wires to the alternator. When in doubt do a little extra teardown and isolation of electrical components. It's also nice to have someone standing by with a fire extingisher or a fabric tarp to smoother the flames. Watch the battery vent tube also, even a small battery sounds like a gun shot when it explodes from a welder spark igniting the fumes in the vent tube.....and how do I know that you might ask?

welding
 

all went fine, I drained the carb and took the cdi out also took off the tank and all is now stronger than before