BENT 09 SUBFRAME

[vetmxer]

I bent my sub frame on my SE when I rode over a downed tree and the carbide dug in and and whipped the bars to the left. they didn't even get tore out of my hands. I noticed the steering got hard so I started looking and low and behold the left side was pushed back. That little plate also has little ripples in it. (one in the front and one in the back of it.) I may see what my dealer says about warranty but I have a friend with the same sled. I may get measurements from his and straighten and reinforce mine. But that will have to wait till the snow melts.

 

[ryetarded]

i am not so sure that the bending is where the gusset plate is if you look where the bottom a arms are mounted to the front of the bulk head( you can see this attachment point if you take your tool bag out) . it seems to me that the two small welds holding everthing togeather is a foolish design . i dont understand why they didnt mount these points to the bulk head with a plate mounted within the bars/pipes of the bulk head instead there mounted adjacent akwardly to a plate . that seems to be a weak design ppoint . i dont have a camara but if asomeone could post a pic that would be great

 

[ryetarded]

in vetmixer case its obvious it is. hmmmmmm. i dont know whats going on

 

[JINXY]

like i said i'm not bashing the sled-i owned one.they have made great improvements in ride control since last year,but they still havent fixed some issues like the subframes/handwarmers.some people may never bend theirs.

 

[northerndoc]

I hit a tree this weekend with my '09 XTX and bent the upper and lower a-arms (lower was pretty bad) and the bumper. Got back to the cottage and took the lower off and beat it back into positon with a 11lb sledge and some 2x4's. Upper didn't have to come off, just bent it back with a board and the sledge. Near as I can tell the subframe didn't bend. Once the a-arms were straightened out, the shock centered up and the sled handled as if nothing had ever happened. I cannot remember seeing any problems with that little plate on the bottom of the subframe (no ripples). The only place I saw deformation was the plates where the lower a-arm mounted up, and it could very well have been imperfections in the paint/powdercoat, because it was so minimal. I consider myself very lucky given the stories I have heard here. Good thing the stock bumper gives so easy...I think it took the majority of the energy of the crash. Either way, it sounds like Yamaha still hasn't gotten the subframe right. I'm with the gentleman above who suggested the Cro-Mo for 2010. I would pay an additional $800 new to cover the cost of it- it'd still be cheaper than a Doo... Sorry to hear about everyone else's problems.

 

[Flatlander SE]

A couple of weeks ago I hit an ice heave @ 45mph with my SE, I ragged dolled off and the sled landed on one ski but stayed on all fours. When I got up I saw that the handle bars were tweaked a bit. Took it to the dealer and there was no damage, just a tweaked tie rod.
I guess it depends on how you hit things.

 

[GP292]

Are you guys saying the 09 sub-frame is weaker than the 08? I heard the 09's were stronger.

 

[SOL]

I can't comment on 08 but the 09 design is crap. The thin metal gusset plates are way to thin.

I heard in 08 they had no plates at all which is scary. I am surprised how many feel this is not a problem, this is a serious flaw imo.
The gusset plates need to be beefed up, that is a quick fix, the long term fix would be to design a smarter and stronger subframe.

08 or 09 I don't think makes much difference. The 09's have only been out for a few months and look how many people are having issues.

Again in any industry, preformance like this would cause any company to lose customers asap. Most industry/brands would fix the problem asap before the point of no return. It is a shame yamaha snowmobile sales account for such a small percentage of Yamaha overall sales, becuase of that maybe they refuse to spend the extra 10 bucks on the subframe manufacturing to fix these problems.

 

[snownutz]

3200 miles on my 08 ride aggressive and alot of off trail. I just can't seem to bend my sub frame either. It always makes me wonder.

 

[Longnecker]

Be careful not to over do the reinforcement bit as the problem may then go to the next weakest link in the frame design that might render the frame scrap with the next harder wack.

The sub is most likely designed to fail prior to the frame. Maybe it only needs another 10 to 15%, not 400%.

As the "A" arms are quite long, they act as a long levers on a fairly narrow connection point, a direct hit will put a major bending load into the sub connection points, the sub yields prior to the frame by design.

Maybe a Chinaman made the part with recycled sardine cans and not some quality high iron content material as was intended by the engineers?

If you look at the doo from the bottom, they have a similar Swiss cheese casting that looks like it is also designed to give prior to the frame. In this case the part might fail as it is a casting, on the Yamie, it bends and you get home.

Longnecker

 

[mach9]

Be careful not to over do the reinforcement bit as the problem may then go to the next weakest link in the frame design that might render the frame scrap with the next harder wack.

The sub is most likely designed to fail prior to the frame. Maybe it only needs another 10 to 15%, not 400%.

As the "A" arms are quite long, they act as a long levers on a fairly narrow connection point, a direct hit will put a major bending load into the sub connection points, the sub yields prior to the frame by design.

Maybe a Chinaman made the part with recycled sardine cans and not some quality high iron content material as was intended by the engineers?

If you look at the doo from the bottom, they have a similar Swiss cheese casting that looks like it is also designed to give prior to the frame. In this case the part might fail as it is a casting, on the Yamie, it bends and you get home.

Longnecker

Very keen insight.
I'd rather limp home than be stuck.

 

[sd5500]

Put me on the list of normal riding and bent sub frame. I rode it today, and it doesn't feel any different. I'll address it after the season and maybe, just maybe, there will be a better replacement sub frame.