Front Bulkhead repair

RedRX1

RedRX1

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Has anyone had any luck trying to straighten their front bulkhead.

My 05 RX1 had a mild encounter with a swail in a groomed trail. I wasn't even jarred. The left ski now sits about 3" back further than the other. I thought it was the a-arms so I purchased the Pioneer Performance wide kit to change out the a-arms. Still had the offset. I can't see any damage or cracks, the bulkhead must be bent.

I am wondering if anyone has tried to use frame machine or hydraulics to pull the a-arms back into alignment.
 
Once you bend those............Their Toast.

Yes you can Painfully spend a lot of time CUTTING, STRAIGHTENING & WELDING it back up. But if you Dye Pen or X-Ray that bulkhead you will see all the FRACTURES. You wouldn't want to Jeopardize your own safety while riding at WOT.

Just my own opinion, as I had to change mine out last winter.
 
You've got a good point. I should have thought of that as i spent a few years developing aluminum and almag castings for applications requiring high strength and corrosion resistance.

This whole problem makes me mad, They should be capable of way harder hits than I had. To make matters worse, I think ice build up in the tunnel caused the whole thing. My track locked up causing me to slide into the swail kinda sidways. The front heat exchager caved in and cracked, the top of the tunnel caved and broke open, and the track lost a bunch of lugs as well. There were no scratches or dings at all. My dealer and Yamaha reps. thought I caught a chunk of steel in the trail, but I think there should be some scratches.

The only thing left to fix is the bulkhead. I am not looking forward to tearing this thing apart again!!
 
Mesure it to be sure becuase my sled when looked at from above looks like one ride sits back quite a bit. It's just the angle of them but if yours is bent you have a problem. I have saw A cracked broken buldhead before. seeing the metal is cast it's probally not very easy to bend back.
 
I measured from the exhaust caps to the top of the spindle and it was off about 1". It looks more like 3" if you are sitting on the sled. There is no effect on handling that I can feel anyway. I need to come up with a better way to reference the spindle positions.
 
Not sure what you should do, I dont know how much a new bulkhead is but I hear it's alot of work to change one.

I figured you should mesure it to check becuase they look really belt sometimes when they are actually just fine.
 
RedRX1 said:
I measured from the exhaust caps to the top of the spindle and it was off about 1". It looks more like 3" if you are sitting on the sled. There is no effect on handling that I can feel anyway. I need to come up with a better way to reference the spindle positions.
Click to expand...

I would try measuring from the bolt that holds the rear supension wheel to the bracket at the rear of the tunnel. This would tell you more or less if the machine is square. Check the height of the front suspension first to make sure the front is level or that could flaw your measurement.
 
I'm wonder how sucessfully cast alluminum can be welded?
 
If it is still under warranty, or if you have the extended, you might be able to have it covered. Mine broke last year on my 03, and my dealer got it repaired under the extended warranty. He said since there were no obvious marks on it like it had hit a rock or something, they had to cover it. Anyway, I was happy cause no way I wanted to do all that work to replace it.
 
yamahey said:
If it is still under warranty, or if you have the extended, you might be able to have it covered. Mine broke last year on my 03, and my dealer got it repaired under the extended warranty. He said since there were no obvious marks on it like it had hit a rock or something, they had to cover it. Anyway, I was happy cause no way I wanted to do all that work to replace it.
Click to expand...
No its not like that...I hit a stump and cracked it but not in a bad area that affects anything, but there is a crack that I want to mend shut.
 
Well... A year later, I'm still riding with the warped bulkhead. The skis are offset a couple of inches but there is no noticeable effect on handling and it hasn't become any worse. I would love to figure out how to straighten it though.
 
RedRX1 said:
Well... A year later, I'm still riding with the warped bulkhead. The skis are offset a couple of inches but there is no noticeable effect on handling and it hasn't become any worse. I would love to figure out how to straighten it though.
Click to expand...
Maybe you can loosen some bolts and drill out some rivets and just try to knock it back straight then rebolt it and rivet? again??
 
I can not see where it is bent, It is just too minor. It could have been that way from new for all I know. I didn't look that close until I bent my A-arms on one side. I just went out and bought a wide kit from Pioneer at that point.
 
Before welding
 

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