[DirtyTwin]

I like this!

Only way I can see that breaking in the manner it did. Is for the axle bolt to have been at full torque while over tightening the adjuster bolt to make a final adjustment perhaps. If it was broke while riding I dought that the piece would have stayed put for 1 and as stated the break wouldn't be clean. I hope this works out to your satisfaction.[/QUOTE

I like this is as close to what happened as we are ever going to hear!, but I didn't think those little adjusting bolts could have ever created enough force to fracture that much aluminum? I would guess you would strip the adjuster, but if it was that, wow, someone skipped the "The bigger the nut the bigger the torque" class,
"hey, where is the 30" breaker? I have another one of those dang Cross Country's on my bench, Oh forget it I got it!"

 

[1stVictory]

Clean metal on the broken end seems suspicious. It looks like it happened recently enough that it was never ridden like that.

Absolutely! I shared this thread with the service manager of a local Vic dealership and asked him if he's ever seen it before. Here's his reply:

I have not seen this before, given the break location there could be a number of causes, one thing to note on the forum were people's speculation that the break looked fresh. Being the part time detective that I occasionally have to be, I would be curious to know if the rear tire was already mounted on the rear wheel? If so it would make me think that the break occurred during the reassembly process.
Thanks for the information, take care.

 

[poptop]

The truth ! You are definitely in for a long pissing match you are likly not going to win! Hopefully Vic will come through! I wish you the best of luck but the remarks here are all conjectures and at the end of the day will not help you pound on the desk for a better deal! I, ll bet though that there ain, t a sole on here that isn, t pulling for you to come out of this in a good way!

 

[Squatch]

Swung by the Dealership and took some pictures myself. They are planning on submitting the Claim Monday, said on average Polaris Warranty responds with 48 hours. Have to see what they say.

Your First picture shows a bit of discoloration on the lower inboard sides of the break. Looks like it might have had a fracture starting. but the real question is why? Squeezing a casting doesn't usually produce a fracture but an offset force will in a minute.

Some thoughts
1) piece that came off, are there any impact marks on it? Possibly fell to the work table, hit with a hammer type marks.
2) piece that came off,are there any marks on the inside ( Wheel spacer side) that might indicate uneven stress?
3) Swing jpg 2 clearly shows discoloration ( Inboard and on the upper part) indicating that this might have been an old fracture.

 

[Gamewarden]

I am not a metallurgist but that looks like a new clean break to me also. I would want possession of the old part in case they refuse to fix it.

 

[poptop]

And so the debate continues agian good luck!

 

[mister-g]

:couch1:we may never know the truth on when and why it happened , but at least it didn't break apart when you were riding it . something tells me :shtf1: you won't be responsible for the full repair, and something doesn't smell right here.

tech ????

 

[nomadsmg]

Your First picture shows a bit of discoloration on the lower inboard sides of the break. Looks like it might have had a fracture starting. but the real question is why? Squeezing a casting doesn't usually produce a fracture but an offset force will in a minute.

Some thoughts
1) piece that came off, are there any impact marks on it? Possibly fell to the work table, hit with a hammer type marks.
2) piece that came off,are there any marks on the inside ( Wheel spacer side) that might indicate uneven stress?
3) Swing jpg 2 clearly shows discoloration ( Inboard and on the upper part) indicating that this might have been an old fracture.

Yes, one of the reasons I wanted to see the break in person.

I've been in the Automotive field around some Garage Monkey's and wanted to insure there were No Impact marks. There was None. Also inspected the Drive Pulley bolts, had seen a mention of loose bolt protruding enough to hit the swing arm, so sign of that either.

No usual wearing that I could see, but the break edges did appear to have some contamination weeping in that would lead me to believe that it had spent some time cracked if not outright broke.

 

[nomadsmg]

Well at this point they have denied the Warranty Claim.

But I do not go quietly into the night.

Contacted Polaris Customer Service and currently challenging it.

Now at the second level as of late this afternoon, the Representative had not seen anything like it either looking at the photo’s sent by the Dealership and told me he was going to contact my Service Advisor and the Tech working on it at my Dealership for further information tomorrow. Hopefully they will give him enough information to agree that this was most likely a simply casting defect that should be covered as a Safety concern.


He seemed knowledgeable, professional and out to ensure I got a fair shake, so guess we’ll see in the next couple days. So Wish me Luck, probably going to need it.

 

[Half_Crazy]

This is why:

1) I keep the bike clean as it gives me a chance to look the bike over closely when detailing it.
2) I do my own maintenance and tires that way if something fails there is no doubt as to why.

The axle adjuster would snap off before the swingarm would snap off... It appears that swingarm end was hit HARD from the side and behind the axle.

 

[catwrench59]

It is a interesting break for sure. If there is discoloration as stated and the break appears old. I'll recant my earlier assesment and go with the casting flaw idea. That part of the swing just isn't subject to any real load. Other than keeping the wheel in position. Is there any sign of shifting of the axle bolt. Maybe something went through the belt and put a big shock load forward on the wheel. Outside of a direct hit from something even if the bike was dropped I can't see how anything could contact that part of the swing arm.

 

[Squatch]

I have to agree with Crazy, there was a stress put on the end from the wheel side. Castings are funny when it comes to loading, you can't really tell visually if they have been over stressed or a micro fracture is starting without dye or magnification. I am doing Tires this week and will most definitely do a close inspection on the swing arm after reading this.

A thought, if the machining was not done correctly (not square or parallel this would put a lateral stress on that section possibly creating a fracture.

Another thought is if the axle bolt was driven out with force, left to right possibly stressing the end. but this is all theory and speculation at this point.

In any manufacturing process there is always the errant part or assembly that slips thru Quality Inspection for one reason or another. I hope Ma Vic replaces this on their nickel and makes a happy customer.

 

[DirtyTwin]

Here is your next problem, we are almost into your prime riding season, and unless you tell your dealership, order the part, get it installed, we will fight about paying me back later, your scooter is going to sit in the corner of his shop, until all you're seeing from Ortega Highway is smog, temp inversions and June gloom!

 

[Sutherland]

Break is clean, even on both sides and it looks new, so I except it was over torqued or hit with something
Regards

 

[Bujee1]

I just went through this with my Highball. I brought it in to add a PCV and have it dyno'ed. I noticed one of my sprocket bolts was missing and another was loose. At the time I noticed a small crack in the swing arm above the axle bolt but did not know what I was looking at until after the eventual repair. The mechanic tightened the bolts and replaced the missing bolt and continued wth the tune without incident. When I arrived home, 60 miles later two bolts where missing from my sprocket and my swing arm looked exactly like yours.

Now, There are two possible theories of what could have caused this in my case:
1. A shade tree mechanic ( who took care of the bike before I bought it) did not properly torque the bolts on the sprocket after a tire change. They stripped out, causing enough wobble in the sprocket to break the swing arm.

2. I rolled over some debris in the road that broke my swing arm and the resultant wobble stripped out the bolts on the sprocket.

The cost of the repair was almost $4,000. The insurance company was able to support theory number 2. And my out of pocket cost was my deductible for comprehensive damage done to my bike. I am not saying what happened with your bike is the same as mine but I submit this may be a possibility to be explored.
I'm glad you are ok and I am sorry you are going through this. I spent three long weeks waiting to get my bike back. Either way, expect to wait for the parts to come in to fix your bike. Your dealer probably doesn't have them in stock.

 

[Sutherland]

I like the insurance one and its already an accepted theory
Regards

 

[open1mind]

I had never heard of a swing arm letting go on any bike, until after I bought my hammer. The vmc forum for Hammer owners talks about a number of them cutting loose on early year Hammers, and the thought of it going away at speed is terrifying to me. I check it often.

 

[Squatch]

Nomadsmg,
Interesting thread here on an engine noise. Turns out to be a piece floating within the case possibly a gear tooth or part of one. I wonder if the new machines are having a supplier quality issue?

Sorry Just thinking out loud.

 

[curtdan62]

I am hoping this is not an issue like the Vision fender, where there is a flaw and Ma Vic refuses to acknowledge.

 

[Squatch]

Recalls are expensive and damaging to the manufacture's reputation. If there is a design flaw it is easier to address the production run and the parts department stocking rather than recall and fix an issue that is not safety related. Look at the Honda Gold Wing transmission issue. thousands of GL1800s have gear issues the dogs on the cogs were cast and are beveled. The problem is the bevel is to allow ease of shifting and quiet gear changes, after a time the dogs wear and the bike will jump out of gear or between gears. Only OEM fix is to replace the gears to the tune of $4-4500.00. this doesn't solve the problem and it will happen again after another 40-50,000 miles.

The only lasting fix is to machine the dogs so that they lock together, this makes the transmission a bit more clunky and harder to shift. New machines 13- current do not have this issue anymore... hum product change??



nomadsmg, I hope "they" get you back on the road soon.

Cheers