Monoshock corrosion issues revisited

[Spyderman]

My Apex RTX now has 2,600 miles on it, and I am seeing the same issues with the monoshock as guys were seeing last year with corrosion at the weld joints.

Has anyone else seen this, and is it a warranty issue? I'm interested in hearing what Yamaha said to those who owned a 2005 RX-1 with the monoshock....

Thanks!

 

[Mighty]

Nasty, looks like a 5 year old skid

 

[welterracer]

Mine looks just as bad..

 

[snowmaaan]

As does my RTX with 1400 miles on it - every weld spot has no paint!!! What a joke!

 

[Mighty]

OK paint experts, what gives.......Did Yamaha not prep the skid properly before they painted it?

 

[ReX]

Everytime mine looked like that if I looked close enough I'd find cracks starting - including on the 06 front pivot arm on my sled and the 06 front pivot arms on two of my riding buddies 2006 Apex's.

Take a close look and catch the cracks before the arms break through. When they break they will take out your track if you keep riding (often there is no sign of problems until it's too late). Yamaha refused to replace mine last season (I had to pay for a new track).

 

[ReX]

OK paint experts, what gives.......Did Yamaha not prep the skid properly before they painted it?

It's the stress and flexing that causes the paint to flake off. You'll notice that the problem is worse on the front pivot arm.

You can also see there are some low stress welds (especially on the rear pivot arm) where the paint stays on fine.

With my riding style it took about 4000 miles (6000 kms) before noticeable cracks formed on the 06 front pivot arm. The paint started flaking off the high stress areas at around 1000 miles.

The two 2006 Apex front pivot arms had visible cracks starting around 3000 miles (4500 kms).

 

[ROCKERDAN]

what is solution to the cracks?..anyone welding these to strengthen them?

dan

 

[ReX]

what is solution to the cracks?..anyone welding these to strengthen them?

dan

Johnson Welding in Ottawa has done a good job reinforcing ours. He first repairs the crack and then adds reinforcements. Unfortunately I have found another small crack just starting after about 9500 kms (6000 miles) on both mine and on one Apex (in an area far away from the current reinforcements - this crack is located in the middle of the picture titled Susp2 that Spyderman posted).

The next step will be to fully box in between the two outer "vertical" tubes, along with the existing additional gussets near the shock mount, reinforcemtents at the rail interfacing "u-brackets", and the boxing in of the two outer "vertical" tubes near the top.

You could probably send your arms to him for the same reinforcements we've had done so far (you'll have to do a little grinding for space for the RA cable unless you ask him to keep the inner gusset lower and a little smaller). He charges $200 if you do it all in one go (ask him for a price - he may charge more or less depending on how much of a pain the job really was). Ask for Bob (Bob Johnson).

BTW Spyderman, you should have a close look where the upper cross tube meets the inner vertical tubes on your front arm. The location where all 3 of our 2006 pivot arms have first cracked is at that rusty spot just above the spring and below the upper mounting nut in your picture.

Another spot that they go early on is where the "u-bracket" that mounts to the rail is welded to the outer tube. On yours you can see rust on the inside of the u-bracket which usually means there is a crack starting to propagate through the metal. The outer 1/2 of the bracket eventually breaks off at the weld.

The rear arm eventually goes where the upper shock mount attaches to the cross tube and where the weight transfer rod mount attaches to the lower cross tube. It lasts much longer than the front pivot arm.

Pictures of these cracks can be seen in this thread:
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=25559

My suspension is relatively corrosion free, but my sled never sees salt, always travels in a covered trailer and normally when I thaw it out I spray down the pivot arms with a little WD 40 or I smear them with a little marine grease.

 

[SledFreak]

Mine looks brandnew and but it only has 1300 miles on it.

 

[craze1cars]

I don't own one yet to compare, but I feel I should share that this rust looks about like any other sled I've owned after a year or two with one difference....normally the steel components of the suspensions are painted black. Black hides rust better. But this light color silver paint really makes rust stand out.

The cosmetic rust wouldn't bother me at all, but the stress cracks people are speaking of would send me back to the dealer for new parts before I spent my time & money on reinforcing welds. But once it's out of warranty and out of my own pocket, I'd agree the reinforcing is going to be a better option than buying new parts that are equally weak. I guess I'm glad I got the 3 year warranty, just in case I have the same issues...and after that expires I guess I'm glad I know how to TIG weld...

 

[FormulaPro]

Are you guys with rusted arms trailering in open trailers?

Just curious as my sleds ride in an enclosed.

Keith M.

 

[jds1000]

All the suspensions I've ever owned have this kind of rust after a season. The only reason you don't see it on the other sleds is because they are black not grey. You guys panic about everything and jump to conclusions all the time. Try owning Arctic Cats for about 14 years, you would have cut your wrists a long time ago. I had a ZR 800 Cross Country in 02. The front A arms were grey instead of the normal black they always were before. The first thing I noticed was the rust at all the weld joints and thought that something was wrong. Did Cat screw up with their paint or welds? No they didn't do anything different other than paint them a lighter color. I then looked at my wife's ZL with the black A arms. They had the same rust as mine except you couldn't see it very well because they were black. Now boys put the razors away and take the guns away from your heads and realax.

 

[ReX]

All the suspensions I've ever owned have this kind of rust after a season. The only reason you don't see it on the other sleds is because they are black not grey. You guys panic about everything and jump to conclusions all the time...

I wasn't panicking until things started breaking last season. I've been sledding for 29 years and have always been a fairly aggressive, high mileage rider. I have never cracked or broken a single suspension arm before and none of the guys I ride with have either (except for one guy - but that was an issue involving a tree...).

Last season I was the only one on a monoshock Yamaha and I was the only one with suspension failures. This is riding the same trails and same conditions. This season there are 4 of us with monoshock skids (3 Apex and my 05 RX-1). 3 of us monoshock riders have cracked our 2006 front pivot arms (and 1 Apex has also had chaincase problems). None of the other guys riding other brands (BRP only this year) have had any suspension problems (engine problems and electrical problems yes, but no suspension problems). The one Apex rider that hasn't had problems has less than 2000 kms on his sled (1200 miles).

These cracks didn't appear at low mileages and the cracks were all caught long before the arms broke - but they all started out with corrosion at the welds and eventually cracks formed right beside or at the welds. The welds that don't see enough stress to flake off the paint simply don't crack.

I know some of you are not finding cracks forming and that's great. Sled breakdowns are a major pain in the a## and really take away from the fun of sledding (not to mention cost a pile of money to us sledders one way or another).

 

[NY_Nytro]

I don't think every spot of rust at the welds indicates a pending failure as every sled I have owned in the 32 years of riding has always shown the first place rust will start is at the welds. But I do agree they do warrant inspection and the rust may actually make it easier to spot a crack.
I think the rust has to do a lot with sloppy prepping of the part prior to painting. Since the welds are typically rough and uneven with nooks and crannys it's difficult to get full paint coverage thus leaving some exposed steel. Also if the weld isn't cleaned properly the paint will have a difficult time bonding to the metal and that to me seems to be the reason the paint flakes at the welds.