Author Topic: Cracked frame at shock  (Read 26656 times)

Offline connie_rider

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #80 on: November 17, 2018, 11:24:38 AM »
If this was caused by a manufacturing problem, would be good to know vin number of the machine?
Others can look to see if they have a bike made at the same approximate time.

Ride safe, Ted

Offline just gone

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #81 on: November 17, 2018, 12:11:13 PM »
In the 2nd photo, when I enlarged it I still could not make out what the white "substance" is that's beside the weld. It looks like caulk to me.
Any explanation?

That is just the color of the alloy, "enhanced" some by the exposure.

To be clear, "exposure" means photographic exposure or in this case over exposure, not exposure to the elements. The frame being painted/powder coated black contrasts with the revealed unpainted aluminum enough that the aluminum looks white and pasty instead of silver/gray. Looking at the photo you can see that the aluminum displayed is an angled break going back under the welding bead and not a straight through crack at 90 degrees to the surface. The attached manipulated photo may or may not make it clearer.

Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #82 on: November 17, 2018, 12:44:14 PM »
So in response to the conversations about the photos. The white in the crack is the clean alloy illuminated because I had to use flash in the dark service area in order to take the picture. I agree with the comment about the frame being a bit of an oddity in that this is rare and unheard of on these bikes. The local service manager and the service manager from the dealership where the bike was purchased have never seen or heard of this ever. The local service manager said he has only seen this kind of damage on a totaled bike where bad things happened to the rider. This bike has never been down, bumped and most importantly wrecked. All of the damage followed the welded areas so what caused it, who knows but it still isn't a bad idea to inspect these areas as your life could depend on it. Also thanks again to Kawasaki for doing what is right even though technically they weren't obligated to replace it at no cost to me. It speaks highly of the company.

Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #83 on: November 17, 2018, 12:47:28 PM »
In response to the Saddleman seat. I love it. Comfortable. Great improvement over the factory seat. No numb butt.

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #84 on: November 17, 2018, 02:38:23 PM »
It seems to me to be an amazing amount of damage for a bike/frame that has not been in an accident.  I'd hope that Kawasaki's rational for fixing this out-of-warranty is a combination of goodwill as well as genuine interest in having the broken frame back for analysis.  As others have noted, this is a very rare happening even for a crashed bike.  I know if I was an engineer at Kawasaki I would want to know what happened here.  Was it bad materials, bad manufacturing, or something that happened to the bike after it left the factory.

What you note above, is EXACTLY why Kaw was interested in covering this repair, they are a very complete and technically astute company.
As a Mechanical engineer myself, that has worked in both the consumer product industry, and also Military, Nuclear and Defense Industry, and extensive welding and fabricating processes, I can say without a doubt the first issue Kaw want's to address, is going back thru records of all the parts and assembly, with special regard to all automated welding that occurred, and the materials used during the period of manufacture. This stuff, even tho most don't realize or believe, is extremely well documented within the manufacturing infrastructure. Raw materials, both used in cast parts, and machined parts, spools of welding wire, etc., along with periodic non destructive testing that they actually do, is all recorded, and each part fabricated has a paper trail, or should I say a bar coded electronic record trail within their system.
Even something as 'invisible' as a malfunction on the automated welder, if the 'shield gas' was not present due to a malfunctioning valve... would have popped up on the controls, and been corrected; so there would be a record of that occurrence.

I mention that particular part of the welding process, because I have seen this happen before, when incorrect or lack of correct "shielding gas" was not present during the welding process, which resulted in structurally unsound welds, even tho visually (via UV Mag-Flux), and ultrasonically(no porosity contaminants seen) the welds appeared fine. But during microscopic analysis of the cross section of the weld, and chemical composition, the grain structures of the weld components could be seen as root cause

Now, they will do in depth NDT, Ultrasonic, X-ray, and chemical analysis, of that particular failure; and determine the root cause.  Been there, and done that myself, when I worked in defense critical products and structural analysis.

It's all for good tho, and behind the scenes, they will compile a "list' of all the possibly effected units in the field, and issue 'silently' send a notification to those possibly effected (like the bike produced from that week prior, and after) the suspect part was installed on.

I'm just glad the dealership actually took this seriously, and persistence resulted in a good outcome for all concerned.

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline just gone

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #85 on: November 17, 2018, 07:16:34 PM »
I'm just glad the dealership actually took this seriously, and persistence resulted in a good outcome for all concerned.
Hear Hear!

Yes indeed, Kudos to the dealer for sure. Especially since (if I have followed Dreedo's posts correctly) the repair (Waco TX?) wasn't done at the dealership of purchase (Plano TX?).
Certainly a dealership's service department to remember in a good way (Barger's Allsport in Waco?).

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #86 on: November 18, 2018, 03:27:22 PM »
Hear Hear!

Yes indeed, Kudos to the dealer for sure. Especially since (if I have followed Dreedo's posts correctly) the repair (Waco TX?) wasn't done at the dealership of purchase (Plano TX?).
Certainly a dealership's service department to remember in a good way (Barger's Allsport in Waco?).

that one totally went over my head.... :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
any relation to famous "Sonny"... :rotflmao: :yikes: :rotflmao:   just kidding...

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline tbanzer

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #87 on: November 19, 2018, 01:13:53 PM »
As Mentioned previously, other than bike being hauled on a long rough ride on the center stand I couldn't see how any normal operation of the bike could cause this.

Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #88 on: November 22, 2018, 06:51:52 PM »
As I've already said the bike has never been hauled on the center stand. Been hauled twice in it's life,first when purchased and second when taken to the dealership for these repairs. Both times restrained with no stands down and was using the Canyon Dancer System to secure the bike.

Offline jwh20

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #89 on: November 22, 2018, 07:33:03 PM »
As I've already said the bike has never been hauled on the center stand. Been hauled twice in it's life,first when purchased and second when taken to the dealership for these repairs. Both times restrained with no stands down and was using the Canyon Dancer System to secure the bike.

Even if it was, I Just can't imagine that the frame itself would be the "weakest link" in the system.  Something else on the bike would almost certainly give way first.  I'm going to speculate that it was a defect in either the frame casting or the welding as opposed to an environmental factor after it left the factory.  But we'll likely never know for sure unless there is a Kawasaki safety recall in the near future on frame cracks.

Offline tbanzer

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #90 on: November 26, 2018, 09:44:35 AM »
As I've already said the bike has never been hauled on the center stand. Been hauled twice in it's life,first when purchased and second when taken to the dealership for these repairs. Both times restrained with no stands down and was using the Canyon Dancer System to secure the bike.
Sorry I though you bought the bike used.

Offline lather

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #91 on: November 27, 2018, 09:17:00 AM »
Sorry I though you bought the bike used.
He did buy it used:
"Bought it with 200 miles on it as a consignment from Plano Kawasaki."
Nothing worse than having your balls go missing.

Offline JhVenezuela

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #92 on: April 07, 2019, 02:29:54 PM »
Another Cracked Frame

Concours 2008  28,000 miles.
After an inspection,  i discovered this.
After read this post, IMO this have to be a MAMA Kawa problem

I'm not in USA and here in my country, we don't have Kawa Dealer,
but definitely i have to find the way to replace the frame.

Comments ...




Offline gPink

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #93 on: April 07, 2019, 02:58:12 PM »
damn JH.  looks like ebay if you can get someone to ship. good luck.

Offline route66tc

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #94 on: April 07, 2019, 04:23:17 PM »
I'd be sending an email to mama kaw asap.

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #95 on: April 07, 2019, 05:33:09 PM »
Another Cracked Frame

Concours 2008  28,000 miles.
After an inspection,  i discovered this.
After read this post, IMO this have to be a MAMA Kawa problem

I'm not in USA and here in my country, we don't have Kawa Dealer,
but definitely i have to find the way to replace the frame.

Comments ...

ok.... don't start a panic....

your report is on an '08, (NOTE; I modified my response, and it is on the frame, sorry...) and looks like it WAS from some "abuse" of said bracket portion, like a fall, or over stressed/impact situation....

the original post here, WAS a frame issue, and a singular one at that, that had no explanation for it's occurrence... also it was on a 2013 model... not an '08...

so far we have seen no other repeat... and sooner or later, if this did happen to more than one bike... they would have ended up here "asking", (here also includes the actual COG forum, which I am watching daily also...)

so everyone cool out, go back and examine the original post/failure, and let this be something that can be accounted for as "different".....?

so the sky is not falling folks... chill....


46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline JhVenezuela

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #96 on: April 07, 2019, 05:43:22 PM »
ok.... don't start a panic....

your report is on an '08, and it isn't the "Main Frame", it's a bracket...kick stand bracket to clarify... and a replaceable part... not like a completed frame... and looks like it WAS from some "abuse" of said bracket, like a fall, or over stressed/impact situation....

the original post here, WAS a frame issue, and a singular one at that, that had no explanation for it's occurrence... also it was on a 2013 model... not an '08...

so far we have seen no other repeat... and sooner or later, if this did happen to more than one bike... they would have ended up here "asking", (here also includes the actual COG forum, which I am watching daily also...)

so everyone cool out, go back and examine the original post/failure, and let this be something that can be accounted for as "different".....

so the sky is not falling folks... chill....


Sorry, but that part has no bracket at all
Is the frame

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #97 on: April 07, 2019, 05:45:57 PM »

Sorry, but that part has no bracket at all
Is the frame

yes... I corrected my post, sorry...

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline Freddy

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #98 on: April 07, 2019, 05:47:35 PM »
What's the p/n of the failed part MOB?  Answered above I now see.
The best substitute for brains is .............what?

Offline route66tc

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #99 on: April 07, 2019, 05:55:13 PM »
My only reason for contacting mama kaw is to see if they would pay for it, not because it's the tip of the iceberg kind of thing.  Hopefully the kaw rep that deals with it would decide to cover it as a "policy adjustment".  They may or may not pay, but if'n that was mine, I wouldn't hesitate to ask.  Sometimes you get pleasantly surprised.  Also if you don't ask, there is no chance for reimbursement.