Frame Break(s)

[Lloydo]

Anyone ever had an issue with the upper frame breaking, right after the seat mount? I had the left side welded about 3 years ago, even had a steel rod put in to "bridge" the crack & strenghten it, then the right side, about 2" further back, almost where the signal mount is, I think it was a year later. ( Dont think the guy put a rod in that one. ) Well, went for a ride today, saw my shadow next to me, & thought "man, my luggage rack seems to be bouncing pretty bad". Sure enough, the frame cracked again, the left side in the same place, clean through, ( I can see the rod ), & the right side, almost all the way, right behind the seat mount. Was my bike made on a monday, or a friday? Just wonder if anyone's had to deal with this, & how it worked out. Thanks

[AlanB]

Hi Lloydo,

There are a few threads on here about this.... Try a search; problem usually comes down to excess weight on the rack/box.

Jap steel is a bit fickle to weld; takes someone pretty special to aviod it breaking again, right next to the original weld. If it has broken THROUGH the original welded repair, the weld was bad.

AlanB

[fredintoon]

You are not alone

Hi Lloydo,
you are not the first. Click "search" at top right and type in "frame break" on the page that will open to read of Rokjok's & others frame failure adventures.

[Lloydo]

Frame Break(s)

I looked back through the search, I saw my previous post. Can't believe I used that monday/friday thought then too! I guess that first weld was bad, 'cause it broke right there. The right side must have been a good one, since it broke again ahead of that. I don't understand why though, no weight on it except the empty luggage rack, which is mounted at the shock, & at the signal mount. Guess I could call a shop I know specializes in older bikes, I'm sure they know of people that can weld this fickle stuff.

[Lloydo]

Just looked at it again, the luggage rack is mounted at the front, at the shock, and at the rear, at the rearmost hole on the frame. The signal is then mounted to a bracket on the rack. I assume that's the standard application for a rack on the XS11? Or is it that configuration that puts undue stress on the rear frame, even with an empty rack, which is the case most of the time.

[DiverRay]

My rack is mounted at a bolt a little ahead of the last one. I think you may be putting a LOT of stress on the frame. I would think about welding a small piece of tube steel underneath from the back of the shock mount to the rear of the frame. That should help with the stress.

[Geezer]

I saw the frame flex when I was testing the strength of my home made rack mounts. I've been meaning to gusset up the frame but I don't have 220v in my garage to run my MIG welder. With any luck I'll prevent the problem.

Geezer