Another "You Can Guess What Happens Next" Trail 90 Thread

The CL ad was brief. A single wildly off-center and out-of-focus photo of a rusty yellow frame in a dark and cluttered shed accompanied the text, "Doesn't run. Semi taken apart. No title. Make offer." I immediately imagined myself ripping through the southwest in a 3/4 shell and flannel shirt with my boombox strapped to the generous rear rack, and I knew this was the opportunity I could not miss.

(Cue the bass intro from N.I.B.)

"OH YEAH!"

"Rough riding made easy". How hard can it be? You got this thing licked.

Thanks for the morale boost, Jimbo. Hopefully my enthusiasm will outpace my propensity to screw things up and I will live up to your words.

I've started pulling this thing apart. So far not too many unpleasant surprises, but I noticed the swingarm is tweaked:





(See the bottom of the right side rear, which is in the upper left of the first photo.) The result is about a 1/8" flare at the axle. I don't think I can repair that. A decent replacement will probably only cost $30-40, but if I replace every janky part I might as well just buy myself a new KTM. What do you guys think? Can I rely on the axle nut to pull the swingarm into shape or is that extra stress not OK?

Nice! Not sure how I missed this one, but signing up now.

I would venture to say that the swingarm will be OK, but if the steel is collapsed then you may want to repair or replace it. Hard to tell the extent of the damage from the photo.

i have a spare good red one sorry no color match

Thanks, advCo. My photos do suck. Here's a better attempt:





(By the way, if you right-click and select "view image" on any of these, they will expand a bit.)

Here's a shot of the same section on a good one on eBay:

cxman said:

i have a spare good red one sorry no color match

Click to expand...

Thanks, cxman! I may take you up on it.

Could I drill and tap a hole in the dent, brace the opposite side, and thread a bolt through to pop it back into shape?

Meanwhile, I have no idea what was going on here:



I wanted to pretend I never saw it. But then:



Damn. Maybe I should have bought a two-smoke. Hmmm... 20 hours! Wonder if either of those are still available. Oh, wait:

Ha! That's a weird spot to stuff a newspaper.

Idk, the swinger looks like it could be repaired and used but its your call. If cxman has a good one you may take him up on it.

Bye, bye, dent!



I surely made some mistakes. I don't even know if I went about any of this the right way. But the end result will do for Trail 90 purposes.



There wasn't a single cathartic "pop" as I hammered through from the back side (which is kind of how my naive self imagined it'd go), but I was able to slowly work the dent out.





The arm is straight now, too.

Before I tried welding up the punch holes I practiced on scrap 16 gauge sheet using short lengths of round rod as filler. After a half dozen attempts it was going pretty well, so I cut a piece of rod flush with the surface of the first hole, struck an arc, and INSTANTLY blew through the swingarm. Whoops. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I turned down the amps and eventually got it patched up.



I also welded the seam near the axle, which separated either as the result of my work or when the farm kids initially bent it out of shape. That went surprisingly easily so it was a nice to end on.



Then I filled in my handiwork. It's more-or-less as smooth as the rest of the machine, which is to say, adequate for a rescue Trail 90.



I still have to decide what to do about the broken buddy peg mounts, but I'm anxious to move to another part of the bike for now.

I have to say, every time I create chaos with my little welder it really makes me appreciate all the amazing work I see everyone else posting here.

I have a 66 that I found in a field. The picture makes it look much better than it actually was. I started working on a moderate restoration for my wife several years ago but after a great start it stalled. I did NOS rims and spokes from an Ebay vendor in Florida and finished rebuilding the wheels. My motor needs to be rebuilt, but will probably get a Lifan or similar clone 125 sometime this year. Looks like you are off to a great start!

Looks like yours even has the original mirrors and what appears to be an M60 holster. Pretty outrageous. Those earlier CT are cool.

My plan is pretty much the same. Moderate restore, Lifan, girlfriend. Wheels are next up, though I'm hoping mine are for the most part salvageable. I may try my hand at plating the spokes.

Looks like ya done good! On to the next battle.

Thanks. I'll be happy so long as it doesn't fold on me exiting turn one at Laguna.

Re: Another "You Can Guess What Happens Next" Trail 90 Thread

iatethepeach said:

Thanks. I'll be happy so long as it doesn't fold on me exiting turn one at Laguna.

Click to expand...

Carrying a case, two pizzas, and a folding chair? Should make the run, no problem!

Here's a bad thing I discovered today:



It's out about 0.150".

The other tube is relatively straight. Unfortunately,



Why am I not surprised the one without pitting is the one that's bent?

You can fix that, if you don't want to replace it. Nothing a good vice or press won't cure.