Chassis Failures?

[SO_Rider]

I just came across this review from RideADV in Bend and they're reporting that they've have 2 frame failures on the front part of the chassis. Anyone else heard/seen any reports of this? Sounds like both of these occurred in the same place. Good news is that it sounds like the part is fairly easy to replace. Maybe another fix for Cory and the Camel ADV crew?

 

 

[SO_Rider]

Looking at some of the replies on the YouTube thread it looks like these failures were not technically on the stressed member frame but rather the hanger for the radiator and bash plate.

[Windblown]

22 minutes ago, SO_Rider said:

Looking at some of the replies on the YouTube thread it looks like these failures were not technically on the stressed member frame but rather the hanger for the radiator and bash plate.

 

Correct. These are two bolt on pieces that provide a support for the radiator and allow for the skid plate to be mounted to it rather than the motor.  They are not as strong as a true wrap around frame but generally seem to hold up well.  The video doesn't mention running an aftermarket skid plate so one question I would have which could be better answered by looking at the skid plate of one with broken rails is what kind of hit did the bike take and where. Would a stouter skid plate have helped prevent the damage by distributing the forces better?  

 

Given the very limited amount of reports of failures I doubt it's a big deal.  If it becomes a problem someone will likely come out with a heavy duty set as after market replacements. 

 

That said: I suspect if someone bashes these bikes hard enough they will discover Yamaha did not overbuild these bikes to take massive amounts of abuse.  Construction appears well thought out but on the lightweight side to my eye. 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Windblown

[Dougie]

All vehicles bend or break on impacts. Go into the back of a van and your forks are fucked. Flip the bike and the subframe will bend. 
even air portable landrovers designed to be dropped from aircraft pretty much bent the chassis when they did it if it wasn’t a perfect landing. I think 99.9% of us will be fine. I’m not worried. Pol tarres will probably bend something soon looking at the punishment he puts the bike through. 

[williestreet]

We will never know how those bikes were treated to cause this damage.  Could be repeated log or rock crossing with big impacts to the skid plate.  Could be a simple crash that caused an impact in just the right spot to side load the bar and put it under tension and snap the bar.   It could be also caused by how they were transported or worked on in a shop. 

 

How many guys with MX bikes put their bikes on a crate or lift and then jump on top to adjust their controls, bars etc.  Out bikes looks like it has a normal cradle style frame.  It doesn't and this is part of the problem as some treat it that way.  

 

Personally I would bet the holes are there to create a weak point and did exactly what they were designed for.   We want failure on this part so the load is not transferred to the main frame and results in permanent non repairable damage to the frame or engine casting. 

 

I honestly am surprised we haven't seen breaks at the rear mounting point.  The small aluminum bracket off the aluminum side plate that supports the foot peg is not real sturdy looking.  I am a bit concerned every time I put my bike on my lift.  

 

The good thing is this is an easily fixed part.  A few minutes with a welder and you are good to go again.  For those who don't want it welded buy a new one from Yamaha.  If I ever have this issue it will be welded and I will continue with my day.

 

 

[Ray Ride4life]

I checked mine as i ride my bike hard and i don't see any stress signs in those points but that can also because of the Heavy Duty Enduro crashbars.
They are mounted to the same points as that part that broke shown in that video.
I took 2 pictures, hope they are clear enough.
This is the top where it broke, you can see the hole and you can see the top mount of the HD bars.

 

This is the bottom part and you can see the tube coming down in front of the coolant reservoir and you can see the crashbar ending up mounted at the bottom mount of that same tube.
That means the force on that tube is spread to the crashbars reducing the force on the tube.

[AZJW]

Yamaha refers to those as " Side Member Sub-Assy" so calling it a chassis failure is subjective to who is describing it. I'm not sugar coating the failure and I certainly don't want my skid plate mounting points failing, but Yamaha sort of warns owners of the possible fragility of those supports when they state to not use them for lifting the bike for servicing ( pg. 7-36 in Owner's Manual).

 

With 7 holes in the left hand and 4 holes in the right hand side member, I can see how these could be failure points and just inspected mine with no cracks visible to the naked eye.  I might have missed it, but in the video, did he actually state which side(s) failed?  My guess it would've been the left side with more holes, but probably depends more on where the HUGE hit landed to cause the failure.

 

One thought on possible prevention,  since many of us have disabled our side stand switch and associated wiring, if a guy pulls those support members off and welds up the holes, that would probably help in removing a location(s) for a fracture to occur.

 

I'm agreeing with the assessment by @Dougie, if it'll hold up to Pol Tarres and more closer to home, Cory from @Camel ADV, then my riding style won't be causing this type of failure.  

[Hollybrook]

Similar to the Heavy Duty crash bars that @Ray Ride4life mentioned, Hepco-Becker lower bars mount to the same locations that the down tubes mount to.  One of the main reasons I run them on my bike is to avoid frame damage if I slam the skid plate into something solid. 

[Redneckj]

6 hours ago, AZJW said:

 

 

I'm agreeing with the assessment by @Dougie, if it'll hold up to Pol Tarres and more closer to home, Cory from @Camel ADV, then my riding style won't be causing this type of failure.  

When I watched the video, the first thing I thought of was Cory's video of 5 miles of Hell.  Then Pol's videos.   If the T7's chassis will hold up to what those two guys put it through, it will hold up to us "normal riders".   My 2 cents 

[AZJW]

Cory's response to this "alleged" problem. 

https://youtu.be/0R8uTVk4izQ

 

Interesting to note, Eric from Ride Adventures just put this " retraction?" out earlier today. My guess it'll be followed up with more factual information such as they have the  T7's in their fleet equipped with crashbars.  They have a lot of videos showing their T7's with crash bars, which is exactly what Cory was getting at.  I suspect their rental riders " rode it like they stole it" and put those bikes through hell that an owner normally wouldn't even think of trying.

Get the popcorn out folks!

https://youtube.com/shorts/YPXw6Aw3wTE?feature=share

[Hibobb]

My wife always watches those CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) TV shows... Cory could have a second career!

 

fo·ren·sic

/fəˈrenzik/

adjective

1.  

   relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime.

   "they are looking for forensic evidence"

Edited February 21, 2023 by Hibobb

[Hollybrook]

I'm having a hard time imaging the average rental bike rider abusing a T7 as much as Cory does in his videos. 

[kdeleon]

it appears the rental T7s have the outback motortrek crash bars, which mounts on to these rails.  Cory (CamelADV) seems spot on with the side loading

[PNGL]

Cory already made a video talking about this. It's on the Camel Adv youtube channel. Watched it during my lunch break today.