Crack in upper fork cross brace

  • Thread starter Thread starter Q800GS
  • Start date Start date

Q800GS

Guest
Newbie here. Sort of. I've taken a billion tips from the forum, just never got round to posting about my bike and the trip :augie. Read our blog here!

Today I come to you with a problem. . I have a 2009 BMW F800GS, we're 8 months into a 10-month round Middle-East/Europe/South America-trip. We're in Peru right now, in Cuzco, about 1000km away from the nearest BMW dealer, and then I spot this: a crack in the upper fork cross brace. That's number 5 on this page, but see the pics as well. The first one is taken from the dashboard side looking backwards.
20110221%20upper%20fork%20cross%20brace%20%28front%20view%29%20P1020805.jpg


The 2nd is taken from the rider's seat looking forward, you can see the crack is not 'complete'.
20110221%20upper%20fork%20cross%20brace%20%28rear%20view%29%20P1020812.jpg


The 3rd pic is the zoom in of pic 2.
20110221%20upper%20fork%20cross%20brace%20%28rear%20view%20zoomed%20in%29%20P1020812.jpg


The big pics are in the gallery -> here.

What to do?! :blast

Can I continue driving (while monitoring how the crack develops) for another 1000km until I reach the Lima BMW dealership, or should I not drive another meter?
Is there a way of (temporarily) fixing this so it'll hold until I can get my hands on a replacement, or at least until Lima?

Any help, seriously, any help is appreciated!! Thanks :)

(cross posting along the 2 other boards I've been getting lots of info from)
 
Last edited:
OK, so you're f**ked. :mad: But... but... the bike still runs.

If you can find someone who can do aluminium welding, you might be able to put a temporary welding bead on the crack to carry you to the BMW dealer to get it replaced (do phone ahead to get them to order the part if you can).

If you can't get hold of an aluminium welder, there's not much I think you can do. You might be able to drop in some glue of some sort. Super glue, Araldite, etc. It won't do much, but it might stop some vibration that could speed up the cracking.

However, as the crack is lengthwise, you might get away with using ratchet straps.
DSC00513.jpg

If you put a strap holding the fork legs together, you might be able to squeeze the fork legs so that the crack doesn't fail catastrophically if it does.

Other than that, carefully travel towards the BMW dealer, monitoring the crack, avoiding any bumps and travel at low speed (so you don't get killed when the thing breaks). This is however a gamble and a risk, so do it at your own peril.

If you want to be 100% safe, have the BMW dealer send you the part and replace it before riding any further.

Good luck!
 
Have you taken any big impacts on it??

IFAIK, the majority of forces up the forks will be taken by the bottom yoke which is (to the best of my knowledge) steel. The top yoke doesn't need to be so strong as it rigidises the structure and transfers much less force i.e. steering input.

The Joker's idea of strapping the top of the forklegs isn't so bad - it will certainly work as an emergency measure and will help relieve some of the stresses that caused the crack in the first place, but you do need to get it looked at pretty soon because without support, that crack will continue to grow until it gets to the point when it just gives up and breaks. If you can't repalce the top yoke then welding will be your only option - any kind of glue will just fall out because as it is at the moment the tightening effect of the clamp-bolt is actually helping the crack to open further.

When you get it welded, the bottom of the crack - i.e. the outside - needs to be complete otherside it will just begin to propagate again.

HTH

Greg
 
Thank you all for the tips and information.

As it looks now, I will not want to drive the motorcycle. Driving 1000km with 4 passes over 4000m does not sound appealing if the bike can, quite literally, fall apart at any minute. Welding, or any other temporary solution would have been an idea if there were no other options, but there are.

I'm in contact with BMW Lima and they have ordered the part, so most likely I'll put the bike on a truck and ship it there so they can fix it, hopefully under warranty. Fingers crossed. (I need a :aidan )

I'll drop a line when this thing's over, and let you know how it went!
 
That's not a part of the bike I normally pay too much attention to. Mind you, I bet we'll all be checking soon.

Good luck with the repairs, keep us posted.

I hope BMW Lima aren't still busy fixing the 2 F800Gs's with bust engines!
 
If you can borrow a drill make a small 2.5mm hole thro the yolk at the end of the crack. This will slow down and may halt the crack, left alone it will continue to grow.
You could cover the bottom of this hole and pour in super glue. I find it bonds plastics and aluminium very well if clean, the swing arm on the DR350 is in three sections and glued together.
To reduce the pressure on the crack area you could also slacken off the pinch bolt, push a bar down into the gap and re tighten,(See sketch on attached document) this will try to close up the crack.
With gentle riding on road there is not much force on the top yolk, Stay on tarmac and use the brakes as little as possible.If it dose snap through the forks will not fall off or collapse, the steering will become vague and braking juddery.
 
Looks nasty, but I wouldn't expect catastrophic failure. The clamp is held together at the rear by the pinch bolt, and the sides are wrapped round the fork legs, so it can't actually crack through and fall off.

As said above, if it did crack through, then you'd feel the bars judder, and move under braking.

Use epoxy glue and the repair will be strong as new - I just attended a presentation on adhesives in the aerospace industry...
 
As per sootys post if you can find a bod to weld it make sure you drill a hole at the end of the crack as this will prevent it travelling further as the heat causes the Ali to expand.

It's most likely been like this for a while and won't get worse .

But get a new one sorted asap .Take it easy and ride safe:thumb2
 
I would not use this bike.:eek:
Do not try to repair it as it will be pointless and BMW will need to see this component in it's failed but not repaired state as there maybe be issues here that require a product recall.....
I would contact you local dealer in your home town. They should be able to source a part as close as possible to where you are and have that dealer Fedex (courier) it to you, so you'll need a hotel address or post office address at your location.

Timpo.
 
Timpo said:
I would not use this bike.:eek:
Do not try to repair it as it will be pointless and BMW will need to see this component in it's failed but not repaired state as there maybe be issues here that require a product recall.....
I would contact you local dealer in your home town. They should be able to source a part as close as possible to where you are and have that dealer Fedex (courier) it to you, so you'll need a hotel address or post office address at your location.

Timpo.
Click to expand...

:thumb

I think the Bede's in Cuzco right now, chill out with him while you wait for a new one:cool
 
A tourniquet or ratchet strap across the top fork bridge / yoke to prevent it splitting any further (use cable ties to make sure it can't slip down while riding) and also another between the handlebar risers to prevent it splitting there or better still a length of threaded bar and a couple of nuts thru the handlebar risers

You would need to go easy but it probably better than my friend Wilson who put his 650 in a truck in china and it ended up in bits by the time they cleared the pass His world trip ended there
 
Looking at the photos and wondering why it has failed.
It's possible the top yoke pinch bolt was over tightened:thumb
 
Update from BMW Lima

Hi Guys, we managed to get the motorcycle to BMW Lima after three truck rides two days ago. Today we called BMW Lima that it was caused by the over-tightening of a bolt, and they said it is not under warranty. But this is very upsetting since so far I have never touched the part, and all the services have been done by BMW service centres. I think BMW Tucuman and/or BMW Sao Paolo could have touched it since the bike was serviced there. Luckily I have kept a record of all the service receipts and forwarded to BMW Lima right away. But it looks like further delay and frustration. :banghead:

Anyone has experience in dealing with BMW service f***ups like this? I definitely do not want to pay for BMW's mistake! Any tips and support would be appreciated!!
 
Usually BMW is quite good with these sort of things. Keep the photos and receipts, then contact BMW directly if the dealer(s) aren't willing to help. Over on AdvRider two guys got their whole engine replaced under good will by BMW Canada due to engine detonating from "bad fuel".
These parts should not break, not even with overtightening, it's either a BMW design fault or BMW servicing has been done wrong.

Don't despair, continue your journey and deal with it when you're back (you might want to start the process with BMW before you set off so that it's "on file").
 
RESOLVED!

It took us two days at BMW, but they replaced both our cracked yoke and the dead battery under warranty (the battery was actually the no-brainer, just 'kinda lucky' it happened at the same time)! Thank you BMW Lima, BMW regional headquarters in Panama and whoever else participated in this venture! We're off driving today again!!

:bounce1:roll

Tips learned from this: keep *all* your receipts, detailing fully what work they did on the bike, so if something happens, you have that as proof in any warranty cases. Also, since we're doing a RTW-trip where road-side assistance isn't an option: watch people do the maintenance on your bike, so you can see what they're doing it (and notice right there in the shop if they f*** it up); *you*'ll be the one on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere if something was not done properly, not them. Also for this RTW-trip, bring proper ratchets to tie down the bike on trucks. Not all trucks have them, and it's just piece-of-mind to have your bike fastened securely (also good for ferry rides...)

Again, thanks all on this forum for helping out!!
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

In search for LOWER FORK CROSS BRACE, please help!
Replies
9
Views
2,317
mrtee43
mrtee43
freelancer2011
Sources Needed for Used Lower Fork Cross Brace, F650GS Twin
Replies
2
Views
1,415
freelancer2011
freelancer2011


Back
Top Bottom