Topic: How to tell aluminum from white metal?

[rhinoracer]

I want to braze into the right control housing (the one that houses the starter button) on the handlebar to make some mods to it. Anybody knows if it's aluminum or if white metal can be brazed?

[oldbiker]

You will be able to do it with 'Lumiweld' if it's aluminium but if its what we know as 'Mazak' or 'Monkey muck' the melting points are very close. An expert may do it OK but it is difficult.
One way to check is to put a small piece of the Lumiweld and a small piece of the parent material onto a steel plate fairly close together and then heat the plate from underneath and note which starts to melt first.

[Steve F]

Check out this link from one of our members that repairs this kind of stuff using a laser welder.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=22490.0

[bryanj]

Its made from crapium which is worse than monkey metal or carb metal, save the agro and get a new or better assembly

[rhinoracer]

Thanks all for replying, I'll see what to do then. It's not a repair or replacement, I need to narrow it to fit in a YZF-R1 clip-on between the brake lever bracket and the throttle.

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and order custom cables from Motion Pro to fit an R1 throttle housing and K1 carbs.

[eurban]

Well the control housings on most of the SOHCs are annodized aluminum.  Quality of this aluminum? I can't say but it is fairly common to see these parts polished up to a bright shiny finish.  Is is a good idea to braze them?  Don't know enough about the subject but they are most certainly not pot metal.  Carb bodies are pot / "monkey metal" . . . . .

[troppo]

I dont know about brazing anodized aluminium, but you cant anneal it to work it due to the anodized layer.