very close call

[eat crow]

my bottom headlight bracket snapped the other night when driving my max,it allowed the bottom mount of the headlight cover to interfere with the steering stops,Guess i dont need to mention how scary not being able to steer was.I am machining a new bottom bracket that will not allow this to happin ever again .Im very disappointed with this design as its likely been the cause of many fatalities on bikes like this!!!!

 

[gamorg02]

how did that snap!?!?!? its pretty sturdy?

 

[dannymax]

Sounds like a really scary situation, glad yer OK!

I had kinda the same thing happen 'back in the day' but with the rear wheel! Had a 650 Yammi chopper, long springer front, hardtail....used to carry my lunch or whatever in a USN gas mask bag strapped on the chicken stick....it unravelled and wedged in between the fender and the rear tire! And it slid and slid and slid then started from side to side then finally went down....hard!!

Fuckin' OUCH!! :bang head:

I never drove that bike again...oh, it was green BTW, only green bike I ever owned....or ever will own! unk:

 

[Fire-medic]

Sounds like a really scary situation, glad yer OK!

I had kinda the same thing happen 'back in the day' but with the rear wheel! Had a 650 Yammi chopper, long springer front, hardtail....used to carry my lunch or whatever in a USN gas mask bag strapped on the chicken stick....it unravelled and wedged in between the fender and the rear tire! And it slid and slid and slid then started from side to side then finally went down....hard!!

Fuckin' OUCH!! :bang head:

I never drove that bike again...oh, it was green BTW, only green bike I ever owned....or ever will own! unk:

That's an old Indianapolis Motor Speedway superstition too, no green racecars!

 

[dannymax]

Yeah, there's a connection to military bikes too.

 

[Rollie]

Sounds like a really scary situation, glad yer OK!

I had kinda the same thing happen 'back in the day' but with the rear wheel! Had a 650 Yammi chopper, long springer front, hardtail....used to carry my lunch or whatever in a USN gas mask bag strapped on the chicken stick....it unravelled and wedged in between the fender and the rear tire! And it slid and slid and slid then started from side to side then finally went down....hard!!

Fuckin' OUCH!! :bang head: { QUOTE }



I never drove that bike again...oh, it was green BTW, only green bike I ever owned....or ever will own! unk:

Don't think the color green was the problem , " luggage rack " & gas mask substitute & chopper come to mind . Maybe you should have left it stock . LOL - Just sayin' .

unk: My green '70 XS-650 , mostly stock .

 

[Fire-medic]

Rollie, nice-lookin' 650 twin. When I bought my 360 Enduro new in '72, I thought about getting either a 350 2-stroke twin Yamaha street bike or the 650 4-stroke too. I decided I would have more fun on the dirt bike, and I think I did. Yamaha did a good job on thoe 650's, they were just as pretty as the Triumphs, okay, maybe the Bonneville has a tiny bit of style advantage over the XS650, but functionally, the Yamaha won many fans because it was less maintenance than the Triumph.

One day on the way to college, I switched-off w/my friend who had a Honda 450. By the time we got to campus, I was ready to give it back. I asked him, "do you think you have a broken motor mount or something?"

He said, "no, that's how they run!" Too-much vibration for me! I went back to my 'smooth' H1. I guess the difference was 'high-frequency/low amplitude" vs. "low-frequency/high amplitude."

 

[Rollie]

++ 1 on the Bonnies styling. I went looking for one in '71 but the Triumph shop didn't have one in stock. He told me to look at the Yam but I didn't like the sound of Yams at the time. He said you haven't heard this one I bet. 4 stroke was a helluva lot different than any Yam I had heard. He said it was a trade in from a dude that bought Truimphs every year except last year ( '70 ) , and he came back & traded for a new '71 Yam. Said he didn't do any maintenance in the year he had it and felt it was faster than the Bonnies he had been buying for years. $ 1,050 & it was mine. Never sold it.

 

[Fire-medic]

First, glad the poster emerged OK. Sounds like he is going to come-up with an 'industrial-strength' replacement.

When a headlight bracket cracks, the support for the light becomes increasingly unstable. The result especially on a bike is almost strobe-like. Unless you never ride at night, you would notice the deterioration in the beam stability.

In the 1970's I had a pair of Lucas Flamethrowers, the rectangular ones, solidly mounted to my van. Over time, the point of attachment between the sheet metal light housing and the stamped, heavy-gauge metal mounting post, which was riveted several places, caused the housing to crack right-around the riveted bracket. I noticed it when my light beam (of which I was very proud, it was like driving on a 'carpet of light') started jumping around like I had never seen. Upon inspection, both lights suffered identical failures at the same time.

Rarely, there could be a catastrophic part failure. Actually, this is the first I have heard of for this on a VMax. I would suspect some prior trauma-an accident resulting in a partially-broken part which then failed over time.

Sounds like the rest of the front end should be checked-out thoroughly to see if any other parts are experiencing metal fatigue. SInce it's probably bought used, I suggest the owner go through the entire bike checking for bolt torques, hairline cracks in castings, bearing and bushing condition, swingarm pivots, with particular attention paid to the steering head/handlebar area. If you have to disassemble the bike to do it, think of your peace-of-mind when you reassemble it. Something that old is ready to have its steering head bearings replaced anyway.

 

[eat crow]

Rodger that, ive had the forks serviced ,replaced the front wheel bearings, steering head bearings .I ended up replacing the front wheel (damaged from previous owner) as well as the scalloping metzzler 880 tire.this finally cleared up the shake at 80 km per hour.the bike has been gone over with a torque wrench front to back.
the yamaha label is still on the bike , the top of the bracket however is gone ,still attached to headlight!!!!!! I was always told these bikes were dangerous but comeon ,this could have easily killed me. will post pictures of new bracket shortly

 

[Rollie]

Rodger that, ive had the forks serviced ,replaced the front wheel bearings, steering head bearings .I ended up replacing the front wheel (damaged from previous owner) as well as the scalloping metzzler 880 tire.this finally cleared up the shake at 80 km per hour.the bike has been gone over with a torque wrench front to back.
the yamaha label is still on the bike , the top of the bracket however is gone ,still attached to headlight!!!!!! I was always told these bikes were dangerous but comeon ,this could have easily killed me. will post pictures of new bracket shortly

Damaged front wheel from prevous owner.

 

[Fire-medic]

Rodger that, ive had the forks serviced ,replaced the front wheel bearings, steering head bearings .I ended up replacing the front wheel (damaged from previous owner) as well as the scalloping metzzler 880 tire.this finally cleared up the shake at 80 km per hour.the bike has been gone over with a torque wrench front to back.
the yamaha label is still on the bike , the top of the bracket however is gone ,still attached to headlight!!!!!! I was always told these bikes were dangerous but comeon ,this could have easily killed me. will post pictures of new bracket shortly

Sounds like you did what needed to be done. Musta ben in a helluva accident, maybe your wheelbase is shorter!

I'm leaving So. FL to the belly of the beast, Milwaukee for my brother's birthday this weekend. I recommend the HD Museum if you get the chance. V. Cool! Lotsa bikes for gearheads & see the boardtrack racing display, those guys were brave!