Broken front aluminum sub frame

[dcarver]

It is actually nice to see that other people had the same problem I did.
My bracket that holds the mirror broke off coming back from Denver two years ago.

I bought a new stay and had a shop reinforce the bracket. Still got to use the same bolts on the mirror without any mods. Time will tell if it is a true fix!

I've now run tens of thousands of miles with the beefed up bracket - I'm confident it's good to go. If something breaks, it will be elsewhere.

 

[Warchild]

I'm feeling badly for youse guys, 'cuz I suppose I am a bit culpable in bringing these lamps to the community to begin with, waaaay back in 2007.

As soon as I felt the Soltek lamp in my hands for the first time, I knew right away they were ill-suited for our use, and for two unrelated reasons: 1) They are simply waaaaaay too fucking large and heavy, and 2) the light output is *so* intense, they cause significant and annoying "flashback" from reflector dots, road signs, other reflective signs, etc. Using them in the presence of prevailing traffic is begging for an incident or LEO stop. Truly, unless you are waaaaay out alone in the desert by yourself, using the Solteks can be problematic.

But it is the heavy weight, and the enormous size, that make them, IMO, marginally-suited for use on the FJR.

So, I immediately decided to stop pursuing this lamp for the FJR community altogether.

Now, I *told* Skyway that if he wanted to take over this project, he would have to design the BEEFIEST of brackets to hold these heinously-heavy bastards. Otherwise, the "moment arm" that would be created from a bracket big enough to both hold the damn thing, and also stand it off far enough so it doesn't strike the bodywork, that moment arm would be enormous and eventually snap off the bracket.

Well, Ian took my words to heart, and designed a bracket that was, in fact, both beefy enough to hold the heavy-ass lamp, and also stand it off sufficiently from the bodywork. When I saw the Skyway bracket for the Solteks for the first time, I was really impressed with what he had done, and could tell right away that the bracket was rock-solid, but I also saw that his design would "transfer" all these moment-arm forces directly to the attach points.... not good, because while our front subframe is pretty strong... it is not *that* strong, not to hold up over time. I knew eventually, at some point, we would be seeing these front sub-frame failures... the Solteks are just too heavy to use without substantial sub-frame reinforcement.

That's why I use the 4GHID lamp nowadays.... vastly superior to the PHID, larger reflector housing, yet is featherweight compared to the Soltek:

 

[RenoJohn]

It is actually nice to see that other people had the same problem I did.
My bracket that holds the mirror broke off coming back from Denver two years ago.

I bought a new stay and had a shop reinforce the bracket. Still got to use the same bolts on the mirror without any mods. Time will tell if it is a true fix!

interesting. As I posted a few weeks back: I thought (after reviewing my brackets and planning to beef them up) that this was isolated to Gen2 bikes. Now I'm not so sure.

Do you have any pics of the failure point? I went to beef my Gen1 brackets up and honestly, after a "visual" didn't think they needed it. If you can show or tell what you did or what you'd suggest I'd be much appreciative.

FYI, here is a pic of the Gen1 bracket (I'm having a hard time believing that it's not strong enough(?).)

and a few posts earlier, a couple of others pics I posted on 28April.

I'm purposely not using Ian's mounts, purposely chose Alex's instead .....because IMO it is a better design to distribute the weight .....but you got me nervous again.

Here is what I"m working on (note: just tacked in place, not aligned or tightened down)

.....not just the weight of the China knock-off, but also a pair of PIAA's So you can see why I want to identify any week points and correct the problem now.

So, if anyone can provide examples of Gen1 failures and/or fixes, please do share.

 

[dcarver]

Something like this - on both sides or one down the center?

 

[RenoJohn]

Something like this - on both sides or one down the center?

Ya, Don, makes sense to me, and certainly no harm. *IF* it is the mount breaking. *IF* it is the weld then you'd need something else

.... I'd sure like to see an example of a Gen1 failing, -to exactly where/how.

I'm still having a hard time believing as that mount sure seems to be strong on the Gen1.

Hopefully some words or pics will be forthcoming to give us a better idea.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

I stand ready for the Fire Sale of these Solteks for my Jeep.

 

[RadioHowie]

Bolt 'em where you'd put TOGs or sliders....if they break THAT frame, then they're REALLY too heavy for a bike! :dribble:

 

[kevinw]

Hmmm, says someone who has been watching Kristas wobble alarmingly on similar mounts. I guess I'd better get the mirror mounts reinforced before they break.

Kevin

 

[dcarver]

Welcome to the club, Kevin!