'06 Reflector cracking

I have been watching cracks developing in the clear polycarbonate of my headlight - I thought it was stone damage, but a friend pointed out that it is developing in a relatively straight line in a narrow band across both reflectors. Looking at it carefully, it appears that it has been working from the inside out - there are a couple of chips missing - but on the inside of the clear platic with NO damage on the outside. It looks like they are stress cracks - and there are cracks at the upper edge of the polycarbonate as well.

OK, the good news is that I have a 5 year warranty. The bike is 17 months old. I have about 21,000 km (about 13,000 miles) on her and she's never been down (in fact only in the rain two or three times). Keep in mind that the riding season is pretty short up here and I have a couple of bikes I have access to.

I've taken a couple of clickable pictures - but they just don't do justice to the problem.



Anyone else suffering from this?

No, I've never seen that on any bike. Stock bulbs? Was bike dropped?

My headlights are all pitted from a sand storm that wasn't that bad, as well as the screen. Paint is perfect, however.

These are the most easily damaged headlights and screen I've ever had, so am not surprised at your damage. What it's puzzling is how it happened. Try to get it replaced under warranty, if still in effect. Good luck.

JC

Yeah, I've seen it. Can't find it on the forum, but remember a picture of severe cracking even more extreme than yours. Something about fuel spraying from the tank onto the reflector, quick evavoration, and then cracking.

Fuel? Spraying on the reflector? How?

Pappy said:

Fuel? Spraying on the reflector? How?

Click to expand...

As I said, I can't find it on the forum. My searching skills are failing me....ugh! But, I do remember the picture vividly.

it seems odd that both lenses are effected in the same area...from the photos it really looks like to me , that someone whacked the front of your bike with a stick or flexible rod of some kind.

Do you think someone is whipping your bike when you are not around?

KM

Knifemaker said:

it seems odd that both lenses are effected in the same area...from the photos it really looks like to me , that someone whacked the front of your bike with a stick or flexible rod of some kind.
Do you think someone is whipping your bike when you are not around?

KM

Click to expand...

Nope. No damage at all to the paint between the two lens halves (except for the occasional stone chip in that ever-so-robust clearcoat that Yamaha uses). And the cracks are on the INSIDE of the lens. It's as though there's pressure on the sides of the reflector that caused the polycarbonate to crack . . .

ELP_JC said:

No, I've never seen that on any bike. Stock bulbs? Was bike dropped?My headlights are all pitted from a sand storm that wasn't that bad, as well as the screen. Paint is perfect, however.

These are the most easily damaged headlights and screen I've ever had, so am not surprised at your damage. What it's puzzling is how it happened. Try to get it replaced under warranty, if still in effect. Good luck.

JC

Click to expand...

Bulbs are 60/55 Blue tinted H4s, but polycarbonate burns, it doesn't melt - and this is nothing like melting. The bike's never been down.

As to the screen on yours - I wonder if the screen from the '08 will retrofit the Gen-II bikes? I want that scratch resistant finish . . . they use it on the touring screen - but that thing is a barn door - I wrote a review of it when I bought mine - sold it after 2 hours on the bike.

Warranty is in effect until May 2011 - I've contacted my dealer and sent him the links to the pictures - he says the Yammy rep is away 'till Wednesday, so I have to wait 'till then - but he's certain they'll replace it.

Its obviously caused by the shock of the front tire hitting the ground on the few occasions you have your bike on two wheels!

bramfrank said:

Knifemaker said:

it seems odd that both lenses are effected in the same area...from the photos it really looks like to me , that someone whacked the front of your bike with a stick or flexible rod of some kind.
Do you think someone is whipping your bike when you are not around?

KM

Click to expand...

Nope. No damage at all to the paint between the two lens halves (except for the occasional stone chip in that ever-so-robust clearcoat that Yamaha uses). And the cracks are on the INSIDE of the lens. It's as though there's pressure oin the sides of the reflector that caused the polycarbonate to crack . . .

Click to expand...

Not sure what the cause is..but you can have cracks on the inside from a "blunt trauma" blow to the outside. The soft paint would be of course pliable and may not show any marks. Think of an impact from a inch thick piece of wet rope being whipped across the front of the bike...it could compress the plastic lens inward, and cracks would crop up where the plastic had to expand... on the inside.

If the lens were being squeezed in from the sides, you would expect the plastic to start cracking on the outside.

Knifemaker said:

If the lens were being squeezed in from the sides, you would expect the plastic to start cracking on the outside.

Click to expand...

Hmm - interesting observation - but if the tension were to separate the lens (pulling it outward) the stress would be on the inside edge.

Never hit a rope, chain or other item and the machine is parked indoors 99.9% of the time except when actually being ridden.

My '06 FJR with 14,000 miles, purchased new in August of last year, has some similar cracks. It's hard to take a photo of them but......



Both covers over the headlights have similar cracks. They are about 3/4" long, and very close to each other spanning a few inches along the tops of the covers. They are not too bad right now, but I fear that the headlight covers are weakened and now subject to more cracking.

I have the Yamaha YES extended service plan. I wonder if it applies to this?

The bike is always garaged, except obviously when it's on a trip. As far as I know, the headlights have not been subject to any abuse from flying objects. There are no obvious chips, holes, or major scratches. And no, I have not dropped the bike violently. Well, I admit that once while stopped and trying to turn around on a gravel road, my left foot slipped in the gravel, and the bike eased over on the left side slowly as I fought a losing battle to keep it upright. But this did not affect the headlights.

It's funny Iggy mentioned fuel spraying on the bike. A couple of months ago while getting gas, I put in the credit card, took the gas nozzle in my hand, and lifted the black lever below where the gas nozzle rests. Right after that, gas started gushing out of the nozzle BEFORE I had a chance to squeeze the nozzle valve/grip or put the nozzle in the bike's gas tank. Some gas got on the front of the bike. I flushed it off quickly with windshield washer fluid. This situation was caused by the person who got fuel before me. The dufus left the nozzle locked open... as soon as the pump came on, so did the gas... all over the place.

I know that windshield glass will crack if there's a sudden change of only a few degrees temperature on either the outside or inside surface of the glass. Maybe the plastic headlight covers will crack if evaporating gas causes the outside surface to be suddenly much colder than the inside surface.

I have those on the upper edges of my lens as well.

But mine has never come in contact with gasoline - not to mention that the materials used openly on Motorcycles should not be able to damage the vehicle - at the very least there ought to have been a warning if it could . . . such as we see about brake fluid.

However the cracking on mine would imply that the gasoline was INSIDE the reflector - and what yours (and mine) look like are stress cracks. That rapid temperature change would have been on the OUTSIDE.

[Gibberish] The pattern on your Lexan lens is a form of crazing. Stress crazing will typically look like alligatoring. This type of crazing is often intentionally done to ceramics to create a crackle finish. Your pattern looks like a chemical induced crazing where the ¿chemical? was a solvent/fume that got into the polymer chains which caused the the molecular bonds to rupture along crystalline lines. <_< [/Gibberish]

Your headlight lenses appear to have had some kind of chemical attack, not mechanical stress. As mentioned earlier, gasoline could cause this problem, perhaps exacerbated by additives in the gas. The headlight lenses are vented so it is possible that fumes did get in. There is also the possibility that some kind of cleaning agent or unfortunate combination of agents caused the crazing too.

This type of crazing will stabilize once the offending chemical(s) have been cleaned off or neutralized.

aha...so now it's time to list everything that anyone with the crazing has used on their bikes as a wash and find the common culprit. Could it be chemical that is put on the roads in cold climates? I know some places lay down a chemical to melt ice.

OrangevaleFJR said:

aha...so now it's time to list everything that anyone with the crazing has used on their bikes as a wash and find the common culprit. Could it be chemical that is put on the roads in cold climates? I know some places lay down a chemical to melt ice.

Click to expand...

And it could be enviromental. Not sure if the chemicals used to melt ice would do this, but even exhaust vapors from cars/trucks can contain unburnt fuel, and a host of other chemicals. Add in UV rays, heat/cold, and the fact that many plastics are suseptable to a host of componds found in our atmosphere, and you'd have a pretty big search area.

It is also possible that the plastic was contaminated before they even owned the bikes, and the cracking only is showing up now.

KM

Knifemaker said:

OrangevaleFJR said:

aha...so now it's time to list everything that anyone with the crazing has used on their bikes as a wash and find the common culprit. Could it be chemical that is put on the roads in cold climates? I know some places lay down a chemical to melt ice.

Click to expand...

And it could be enviromental. Not sure if the chemicals used to melt ice would do this, but even exhaust vapors from cars/trucks can contain unburnt fuel, and a host of other chemicals. Add in UV rays, heat/cold, and the fact that many plastics are suseptable to a host of componds found in our atmosphere, and you'd have a pretty big search area.

It is also possible that the plastic was contaminated before they even owned the bikes, and the cracking only is showing up now.

KM

Click to expand...

In that case it should be easy to track down the culprit :blink:

I guess some things Yamaha just has to figure out by themselves.

Cyanoacrylate adhesives; aromatics such as benzene; xylene, a component in many brake cleaners and acetone are a some of the chemicals that can craze polycarbonate resin products. Cleaner/wax products can contain some of these chemicals. Just as likely are the bug/tar removers. Any substance that causes crazing will result in damage almost immediately.

That's the crazingest thing I've ever heard of?