haha, i dunno man, its a very simple device the screw being in it should do anything but clamp it securely to the shaft, mimicing exactly what the vise grips do. Is there a clearance issue? like is the shifter hitting the footpegs or something else before its getting enough rotation to change the gear?

about the metal, okay, so somehow you get the piece red hot then carry it to the bike, metal just doesnt turn to rubber when its hot, itll require some beating and all that to bend it. then once its bent how is that forming any structural integrity to the frame unless you physically make that piece of metal a part of the frame and the only way to do that is to weld it on like its a collar. if you can get a pic of where its broken most likely you may be able to weld it with the tank on the bike, the molten metal isnt going to burn through a piece of sheet metal that the gas tank is made of unless you are damn close to it or welding directly on it. but if you have enough room to think about wrapping a piece of metal around the frame you have enough room to throw a weld on the frame most likely.