How in the world did this happen? and how do I fix it?

So I was wheeling my bike around to put it in a different part of my driveway and noticed that the steering stem wold rock in the frame when I applied the front brake. I started to take stuff off to investigate the problem and found that the stem lock nut and washer on the top of the assembly was missing. So I bought a new one and ordered new stem bearings just for the heck of it. When i took the stem out of the frame I found that the bottom of the frame where the steering stem goes through is messed up. I have no idea how it got this way and how I am going to fix it, this might be nail in the coffin for this project. I attached some pictures to show what I mean.

Down on the bottom it looks like the side of the tube has been ripped or torn out, the weird thing is that it is painted over so someone thought that it was good enough to work. (don't worry I haven't ridden this bike yet). The lower bearing race is undamaged, but I don't think the dust seal will work at all. Let me know what you guys think. Maybe its fine or maybe it needs to be fixed and if so let me know if there are any ideas of how to fix it without replacing the whole frame.
thanks!

 

:welcome: to the madness
All I can suggest is welding....

 

My first thought is that this bike has been wrecked, and in the process the forks whipped around and the fork stop whammed through the steering housing somehow. I suppose the OP could have screwed it up if/when he tried to replace the steering stem bearings, but that would be some serious ham-fistedness. IMO you need to do some in depth checking around the stem and fork tubes for cracks or other damage that isn't readily apparent. You might want to have the frame checked for straightness too. This area is the last place you want something to fail on you while you're riding.

 

I frame repair would not be cost effective or safe unless done by a professional. I would locate a donor and swap it all over and put it behind you.

 

I'd suggest finding a newer gen of VFR. You haven't even inspected the cam lobes yet ??

 

When I first got the bike I tried to start it but it had a leaky valve in one of the front cylinders, so i rebuilt the front head, and the cam lobes looked fine. I might just end up parting this bike out, because it seems like I find a new thing wrong with it every time I work on it.

 

That sucks dude. Good luck in whatever you do with it.

Do we have one of those smiley-face things that shows a basket case?

 

The wrecked scenario was the fist thing that came to my mind as well.
Toe suggested the more labor intensive plan, Squirrel the lesser intensive.

Only you can choose.
Good luck.

 

The previous owner was probably from New Jersey. otstir:


Rollin

 

Like said before, toast. I had a brand new 6g frame checked by GMD Computrack and the steering head wasn't straight from the factory.....kicked the front axle out 14mm to the left, on a brand new frame. Wasn't pricey to fix, but with manufacturing tolerances, none of them are truly "straight" until checked and adjusted.





.

 

That's due to our man eating potholes. And oh yea - :flip:

Seriously - 14mm? That doesn't even sound like it was even close to meeting any sort of tolerances - that just sounds defective. Or fucked up.

 

just a quick up-date. After some semi-precise measuring, I have come to the conclusion that my frame is straight.... enough. I played around with some string and my calipers and found out that the bike is pretty straight. I was looking at the damaged area again and it occurred to me what probably happened. It looks like somebody was trying to remove the lower stem bearing race and was using the wrong tools. I think they were using something to pry on the race using the lower part of the frame as a tool rest and ended up damaging it. So here is my plan: I'm to grind the bottom of the frame smooth (where the bearing race lands is undamaged), lathe up a new cup to fit the dust seal, and weld it into place. any thoughts?

 

Sounds good. I think you might want to be careful welds do break too. and keep it on 2 wheels... Just my two cents.....

 

You're going to weld a steel bearing cup to an aluminum frame? Is that a good idea considering their different rates of expansion?

 

I'm pretty sure the frame is steel. Someone has painted it silver so i thought it was aluminum as well, but it is magnetic and has rust in a couple spots so im pretty sure it is not aluminum.

 

I see, I thought the frame was aluminum, never even checked. Duh.