BannedCR500Riders.com

Hello everyone , New to this site but not to cr500's . Been riding a 91 steel frame for years...

For my build i am reusing the factory Y piece and bend a new cradle.. But im having a hard time with bending 6061 1" tubing...

I ended up with about 2500' of 1" AL .125" wall with rounded corners . But i think its 5XXX grade stuff, I have already bent up about 3 sets of test cradles till i found what i wanted. I then loaded the bender with the 6061 i bought and i just started the bend and SNAP... It broke, tried another piece and it broke too . Im talking like it didnt even bend 10* before it broke... The other stuff i have bends awesome ... BTW im useing a JD2 model 3 bender ..

So my question is ... How the heck are you guys bending this 6061 stuff? If it needs to be annealed to bend what is the point of using it without heat treating after?

Kodi

BTW both the tubing i already had (lower grade stuff) and the 6061 i bought is .125" wall

T6 is the most common temper for 6061 and it doesn't bend. You have to anneal it first or buy it in a temper that can be bent. It will be fine annealed because it is still very strong when annealed, it is just less stiff. The greatest forces on the cradle happen when you land from a jump which puts the cradle under tension. It doesn't need to be very stiff to handle tension.

It will bend in T6 temper. Warm it a little, and really, just take the chill off it. If you heat it too much, you will affect the temper. I put masking tape on it, and warmed it with either MAPP gas or electric heat gun, but stop before the tape even discolours or curls. Then bend V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y, allowing the material to sit a few seconds between each little push. Use the time to check the tube is still warm, and if it necessary, gently reheat. Each bend took me about 20 or 25 minutes. I broke one, but it was my fault for rushing it !