I see a lot of posts on here about people who have modified their head pipe in some way or another and most think they have to have them tig welded back together.

The OEM head pipe is made out of hot rolled steel and requires no special method of welding.

Head pipes can be tig, mig, stick or gas welded. All methods require the same amount of heat and there is no one way better than the other.

Tig welding is nothing more than an electrical version of gas welding.

Tig does not spatter as much as the other electrical welding methods but you can spray or smear a little anti spatter on the pipe and eliminate spatter with any of the other methods too.

A good welder can lay a bead as smooth with a stick, mig or gas as they can with a tig...Just sayin

 

tig is the way to go on this application. be kinda tough stick welding it. IMHO


TN

 

I Mig welded mine .. During both cutting and welding I covered the other areas of the pipe with welding blankets ...even the sparks thrown from a cut off wheel on a die grinder can hurt chrome .

 

If you have the pipe off any method will work.

 

I love my wire feed .....

 

I really envy you guys that have the knowledge and ability to weld. I could probably do it but I'm afraid the rear shocks would be permanently bonded to the frame!!!

1HarleyGuy1

 

If you remove the pipe from the bike MIG TIG or stick will work. Although TIG would probably do the best looking job because the welder will have better heat control.

 

I have all three machines. I mig welded mine(OFF THE BIKE) back together, simply because it faster. You can't see any of it behind the heatshield anyways. .....and i'm way better with mig, but no way can people lay down a bead with mig, and look as good as tig! Not if i'm the judge anyways! A nice tig weld is a thing of beauty!!!

 

I would use Tig as well, I would also fill the pipe with argon to protect the back of the weld from the atmosphere. But I was trained by the Air Force and mainly welded jet engine parts so that was the way I always had to do it.

 

I would tig it also, and use argon inside the pipe, but I have the machine to do so.