repair/bending back foot peg mounts with out breaking it

[thumper2146]

two of my superhawks have bent footpeg brackets what is the best way to bend them back streight? heat them up forst and bend back or try it cold?

thanks
James

[cyclon36]

I'm thinking the brackets are aluminum. Either way, they're very brittle. I don't see you bending them back without a good amount of heat. I think there's a cheap set on ebay right now as well.

[cknight]

I've had about a 50% success rate by heating the cast aluminum brackets on a gas grill (high setting, for about 20 minutes), supporting the bracket on wood, and using a hammer against another piece of wood to straighten at the bent area. Not enough heat, and too big a hammer will crack the aluminum. The wood will dampen the shock from the hammer. Allow to cool gradually (don't put it in water). Be patient, it may take a number of straightening cycles to complete the process, and don't try to remove too much of the bend at once. If it's a really sharp bend, or if the bracket is already cracked, chances of success are minimal. Use heavy gloves, eye protection, etc. I could say "Don't try this at home", but that's what we're here for. Regards, Chase

[flathead]

These things are a PITA to straighten and a bigger pain to weld if you get a crack in them trying to push them back into shape. The material is some type of aluminum alloy and has what appears to be a lot of porosity and/or sand inclusions that will blow out when you apply the filler rod (4043,5356,or 1100) to the puddle in a TIG weld. The last set that I fixed I ground a Vee in the outside "flange", the thick portion at the edge, to relieve the stretch on the outside of the bend and compression on the inside of the bend. I did not grind any of the "web" of the bracket and I made sure that the Vee had a generous radius at the bottom and there was no cracks left visable. I heated them up to around 400F and pressed them back flat with an arbor press. When I attempted to weld the Vees up is when I encountered the alloy/sand problems. This is some nasty stuff even though it looks really clean. Kinda gives the impression that it's an aluminum sponge, really porous. So what I did was just fill up the grooves with JB Weld and sanded back down smooth. You can see the JB seam as I didn't paint or blast after I finished. Haven't had any problems so far but I'm not running Passenger pegs on this bike. I'll get a try to get closeup pic and post this weekend.

Mark