yamajammer76
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2005
- Messages
- 625
- Location
- Black Hills, SD
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2024 Arctic Cat Riot 600 1.75
I just returned from my Christmas trip to Dubois, WY and the snow and riding was great! We rode about 300 miles. The snow was soft so I spent most of my time on the trails. I ventured off of the beaten path a couple of times and just my luck I came in contact with a nice big old rock. After the impact, I pulled over with that empty feeling in my stomach and upon intial inspection everything looked fine except for a few little scrapes on the bottom of the A-arm and on my skid plate.
At that point I probably should have stopped looking. The arm from the swaybar made contact with the rock and broke the frame around it. I guess I never gave it much thought, but the swarbar arms do hang down a lot lower then the rest of the suspension. The big kicker is that the swaybar mount is part of the front bulkhead. It is all one nice big piece of aluminum. Tonight on my way back from the ride I dropped it off at the dealer and he said they would look at it. The round swaybar hole that the swaybar runs through is still intact, but it is cracked and broke around it. He said, they possibly could get it welded if it is not too bad since there is not a lot of stress on that area or if things look too bad...GASP...they will have to replace the whole bulkhead. $$$ I do have insurance, but I hate making claims. I rode the sled about 150 miles after I broke it and honestly you could never tell it was broke, but I know it needs to be fixed because the swaybar is out of position and slightly loose on the broke side.
Has anyone else had this happen and how did you fix it? I love my Rage, it just seems the engineers should have realized the mounting is in a bad location and if you are going to take it off the trail you should probably pull the swaybar. Maybe there is a way to make it break away before it takes out the bulkhead. Plastic arms? The swaybar arms are made of steel and the steel wins over the aluminum. I guess my luck was just crappy this ride.
At that point I probably should have stopped looking. The arm from the swaybar made contact with the rock and broke the frame around it. I guess I never gave it much thought, but the swarbar arms do hang down a lot lower then the rest of the suspension. The big kicker is that the swaybar mount is part of the front bulkhead. It is all one nice big piece of aluminum. Tonight on my way back from the ride I dropped it off at the dealer and he said they would look at it. The round swaybar hole that the swaybar runs through is still intact, but it is cracked and broke around it. He said, they possibly could get it welded if it is not too bad since there is not a lot of stress on that area or if things look too bad...GASP...they will have to replace the whole bulkhead. $$$ I do have insurance, but I hate making claims. I rode the sled about 150 miles after I broke it and honestly you could never tell it was broke, but I know it needs to be fixed because the swaybar is out of position and slightly loose on the broke side.
Has anyone else had this happen and how did you fix it? I love my Rage, it just seems the engineers should have realized the mounting is in a bad location and if you are going to take it off the trail you should probably pull the swaybar. Maybe there is a way to make it break away before it takes out the bulkhead. Plastic arms? The swaybar arms are made of steel and the steel wins over the aluminum. I guess my luck was just crappy this ride.
Engineered obsolescence... designed to break?
yamajammer76
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2005
- Messages
- 625
- Location
- Black Hills, SD
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2024 Arctic Cat Riot 600 1.75
bjowett said:
Well I don't think they designed it to break, but they sure did not design a simple way to fix it. It seems like a shame if the bulkhead does have to be replaced though, because the break is so minor. I wish I had a picture of it but I don't. On each side there are two small round brackets that are molded from the bulkhead to hold the swaybar and they have bushings inside of them. Anyhow one of those broke off. The swaybar still functions, but it is loose and pushed up about 1/2 inch on one side.
It just seems like they hang in a bad place and if they are going to hang down maybe make the arms of plastic or something like that so they break and not the bulkhead if it takes an impact. The rest of the front end is perfect, nothing else is bent. There are a few small scratches under the bottom A-arm and on my skidplate, but so minor that it looks like you drove over a twig.
Anyhow I guess my question is about welding this piece. I have done a search on here about welding bulkheads and I can see a lot of mixed opinions. I would say replacement for sure if the break was in a major stress area like the A-arm mounts, etc., but the swaybar can't have a huge load on it. Right?
The swaybar does recieve a considerable load at times, which is why the steel part is used... I am a fan of replacement, and not for the same reason all the manufacturers do, because it places more money in their pockets. In today's day and age, there is no reason for bulkheads to be cracking at mounting points from a load that transfers through the supported part. 
Unless the load is unusually extreme, the part should fail first... Yamaha knows their sleds will be bumping stumps and rocks. You are right, a plastic arm or ? would prevent the break of the expensive and time cosuming to replace part.... engineered obsolescence.
Unless the load is unusually extreme, the part should fail first... Yamaha knows their sleds will be bumping stumps and rocks. You are right, a plastic arm or ? would prevent the break of the expensive and time cosuming to replace part.... engineered obsolescence.
yamajammer76
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2005
- Messages
- 625
- Location
- Black Hills, SD
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2024 Arctic Cat Riot 600 1.75
bjowett said:
I just got off the phone with my dealer and after looking at it he recommended replacement of the front bulkhead. He quoted about $1,600 for replacement so I guess I will pay my $200 deductible on the insurance and get the work done right. I have never made an insurance claim in my life, so I guess it is about time to get a little of my money back. Still it does not change my opinion that the design is poor and that the swaybar should not cause the bulkhead to break. Tuck it up under the A-arms or make it something that will break-away. Even with some minor glitches however I still love my Yamaha and would never trade it for anything!!!
novarossi
Extreme
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2005
- Messages
- 94
Those links hanging down worry me too. Most of my riding is off trail. I was wondering if they could point up instead of down, but I would think Yamaha would have done that if they could.
LazyBastard
TY 4 Stroke God
Just weld it, its not a big deal. The dealer recommends replacement because he gets to do the labor. Just take it all apart, get someone to weld it full, then drill out a new hole.
chefbry
Newbie
hey , i just had my bulkhead replaced on my 05 vector! hit a concrete drain pipe which F@#@ed up my whole front under carriage. I have pic of the whole process. let me tell you it is the biggest job my shop has ever done. cost about $2300
I bashed a rock hard with mine and ownly slightly bent mine last winter.
Just dropped mine in this morning for the same problem. Not even sure what I hit but it's broken loose. Waiting to get a quote from the dealer as to how to fix this. This does seem to be a poor design though as they are awfully exposed and apparently break rather easily. Does anyone have a skid plate on their vector which would protect these? Just looking at the factory skid plates they don't seem to help here. I never knew this was broke until the next morning checking over the sled. Seems like this could be a common problem. Any one else having this trouble?
tembro
Newbie
Yes, I have an 05 RS Rage in my shop now with this same problem. We are tempted to try to weld it back together... anyone else try this?
RSVECTORFREAK
Lifetime Member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2004
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- 1,151
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- 54
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- Chassell Michigan
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- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2005 RS Vector ER
That swaybar mount is the worst thought out part on the sled. Or at least it ranks right up there with the tunnel crinkling, pivot arms, and rear shock. I am really surprised no one at yamaha thought that would be a problem. I kind of agree with lazy bastard with welding it. You can actaully make the mount stronger than stock was. For $1600 I would have welded it for sure, my insurance rates are high enough with no claims. It only a matter of time and your gonna run into something with it hanging that far below the a-arms. Sorry to hear it happened but their are gonna be alot more in the shop for the same reason.
