If I didn't have bad luck....

[Fred W]

Yeah, good luck with that one. Using an aftermarket top box and mounting system, I don't think you are going to get much sympathy from Yamaha.

Yes, that one picture in the lower left is out of place.
I believe that SHAD actually makes some sort of a Givi-like support frame for the FJR now. Probably after reports like yours.

FYI... The Yamaha accessories web site shows a different Shad mounting system with some side support rails.

 

[gixxerjasen]

FYI... The Yamaha accessories web site shows a different Shad mounting system with some side support rails.

Looks like they show pics of all their various Yamaha mounts on that page and you select your model. If I switch among 2009 models it defaults to one of the displayed pictures. The one with the rails is default for the Zuma 125. Looks like lazy web programming to me. However, if they did change the mount that would prove interesting.

 

[Fred W]

Oh yeah... I see what you're saying.

 

[FJR Scout]

Well, it could have been worse...I was following along thinking " I wonder if he knows that box if flopping around like a wet noodle? " and " If that thing comes off, I'm going to have to play dodge the trunk!" figured it would be easier to just let him know...lol.

 

[gixxerjasen]

These photos taken for a local board for the folks not familiar with the "Naughty bits" of a naked FJR. Also good here for anyone who has only maybe just removed their passenger seat and poked around.

I'll keep these threads updated with the teardown and reassembly process. Subframe from ebay on order.

Back end...

Up closer

Me holding the broken off part in place.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Also, for the record...I don't have the top box loaded full most of the time. Did the campout before the pie run last year but most of my gear was strapped to the seat ahead of the break area. Weight limit is 11 lbs, just weighed my laptop bag with my work laptop and my personal laptop that sometimes goes with me. 15 lbs. So, yea, overloaded, but really...

 

[rbentnail]

Also, for the record...I don't have the top box loaded full most of the time. Did the campout before the pie run last year but most of my gear was strapped to the seat ahead of the break area. Weight limit is 11 lbs, just weighed my laptop bag with my work laptop and my personal laptop that sometimes goes with me. 15 lbs. So, yea, overloaded, but really...

Sorry to see the damage but it sounds like you're well on your way to repair after the initial shock.

This breakage is exactly why I never use a top box unless I'm on a trip. I've always figured that the cumulative effects of bouncing and wind pressure over time cause this. Maybe I'm just being too cautious but I notice a dramatic parachute effect riding with a top box and an empty passenger seat. I can count on one hand the times I done that, I usually have a Nelson Rigg bag bungied to the pass. seat to take up the space and reduce the turbulence between me and the top box.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

gixxerjasen,

Sorry for your damage!I watch the thread as i have read and other threads about fjr's broken subframes.My opinion without to mean that it is surely right,the damage become first,from a really bad design in this area from mama Yamaha!I see in the pictures that in this broken area,they do not make some properly reinforcements!I really don't know why the mama Yamaha all these years does not improved their subframes..??!!Also i don't believe that the overload can cause the damage!Many fjr riders have overloaded their oem top boxes for years without broken subframes!Especially in Europe i have never read or listen for a broken subframe!Nor one..!I really don't know again why?The most fjr in Europe have the oem top box.Also the most of broken subframes not come from the oem top boxes.Now,what cause the damage..My opinion is as i wrote previous,1)The bad design in this area,2)The unfiltered hits from the top box with some heavy things inside not properly installed without a foam or a like this in the bottom,in combination with some heavy bumps from a bad asphalt or a gravel road and a passenger where leaves all his weight on the top box.But,but..if the subframe it was well designed there would be no problem!!!The aluminium can withstand weight very well to a point,but can't withstand some heavy unfiltered hits..In my other bike XTZ 750 Super Tenere,for 19 years now i overloaded the top box every day with 15,20kg!!About 30lb!!And all this weight some times in gravel roads for 10,20,30 miles trip,vacation,weekends..For 19 years without any problem in the subframe..But,the subframe is made from iron pipes...Not from aluminium.My last words:

''A REALLY BAD DESIGN IN SUBFRAMES FROM MAMA YAMAHA''!!!

Ought to have constructed to withstand a top box without a damage!!

Broken subframes in a so expensive bike is ''UNACCEPTABLE''!!!

Also,especially for those that they use their oem top boxes,and they have a broken subframe,should make recall for new subframes!!

Or better to construct improved subframes!!

Wish you a quick repair for your bike!

 

[gixxerjasen]

Thanks for the support guys.

Well, the part of this I was dreading happened last night. After stripping off the tail plastics I figured I'd get it over with and dragged the wife out so she could see the extent of the damage. Then she uttered the words I was hoping not to hear.

"So the frame is broken, how much is this going to cost? How is this going to impact our savings?"

I put on my salesman's hat and told her how if I ordered OEM that it'd be $640 for the subframe but that I found one for $200, that the rack would be about $160 and the brace another hundred plus whatever I can find online for the plastics. I can see her mental calculator going in her head.

I cringe....

"Oh...I thought this was going to cost thousands of dollars."

On the one hand....WHEW!!! On the other hand, maybe I should have tacked on some extras for some farkles like a new seat, you know, because the old seat won't work with the new bracket.

Oh well, at least there's some good news in all of this, I get to sleep in the house instead of with the bike.

 

[Fred W]

Also, for the record...I don't have the top box loaded full most of the time. Did the campout before the pie run last year but most of my gear was strapped to the seat ahead of the break area. Weight limit is 11 lbs, just weighed my laptop bag with my work laptop and my personal laptop that sometimes goes with me. 15 lbs. So, yea, overloaded, but really...

Don't forget the weight of the top box itself and mounting plate. All of that weight gets subtracted from that 15 lbs."rear carrier" capacity too.

It's the main reasons I ditched my OEM Yamaha top box and mounted a Givi SR Rack and Givi V46 top box. On occasion I have put far more weight than what you have been carrying in my Givi setup, driven down fairly rough, often unpaved, New England roads with a pillion leaning back against the box, and (knock on wood) no subframe cracks to date.

When you get the Givi rack supporting your trunk you'll be much better off, with or without a Garauld stiffy kit.

.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Don't forget the weight of the top box itself and mounting plate. All of that weight gets subtracted from that 15 lbs."rear carrier" capacity too.

See, that's where I see some confusion. Can't find it in my owners manual so maybe it comes in documentation with the Yamaha trunk, but from what I've read, the capacity of the box is 11 lbs, which would lead me to believe that the max weight back there is the box + 11 lbs.

Whatever though, it's odd how Yamaha has designed such a fantastic bullet proof bike that has a few chinks in the armor that haven't been addressed really in any of the updates over the years. It is a sport TOURING bike, so we need to carry our crap with us, right?

 

[Fred W]

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Yeah, good luck with that one. Using an aftermarket top box and mounting system, I don't think you are going to get much sympathy from Yamaha.

Yes, that one picture in the lower left is out of place.
I believe that SHAD actually makes some sort of a Givi-like support frame for the FJR now. Probably after reports like yours.

FYI... The Yamaha accessories web site shows a different Shad mounting system with some side support rails.

Yeah, but it happens with YAMAHA'S top case too doesn't it??

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

My opinion without to mean that it is surely right,the damage become first,from a really bad design in this area from mama Yamaha!I see in the pictures that in this broken area,they do not make some properly reinforcements!I really don't know why the mama Yamaha all these years does not improved their subframes..??!!Also i don't believe that the overload can cause the damage!Many fjr riders have overloaded their oem top boxes for years without broken subframes!
''A REALLY BAD DESIGN IN SUBFRAMES FROM MAMA YAMAHA''!!!

Ought to have constructed to withstand a top box without a damage!!

Broken subframes in a so expensive bike is ''UNACCEPTABLE''!!!

EXACTLEY!!

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, good luck with that one. Using an aftermarket top box and mounting system, I don't think you are going to get much sympathy from Yamaha.

Yes, that one picture in the lower left is out of place.
I believe that SHAD actually makes some sort of a Givi-like support frame for the FJR now. Probably after reports like yours.

FYI... The Yamaha accessories web site shows a different Shad mounting system with some side support rails.

Yeah, but it happens with YAMAHA'S top case too doesn't it??

Not if you don't overload it. And yes the max load capacity is silly low.

Most of the broken sub-frame castings have involved using larger aftermarket trunks and mounts that do not help support the added load.

 

[RaYzerman19]

My subframe has taken lots of abuse also from overloading, rough NE roads, etc. I think part of the reason Yamma recommends very low weights is because their OEM top box is a piece of crap too. There was a recall to add a stiffener plate to the bottom, but mine cracked the entire underside anyway. Prolly saved my sub-frame. Got the Givi rack now. I'm hoping Mama Yama upgraded the sub-frame for '13+....... but in their quest to reduce weight, it's doubtful in my mind.

And that Goldwing thing..... it was a robotic welding thing. It was the welds that cracked not the sub-frame.

 

[Intech]

I have a Givi rack and top box that I know I have overloaded. I added the rack on the top and have strapped shit to that too. It is also Spanky's backrest and I have had no issues.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I have a Givi rack and top box that I know I have overloaded. I added the rack on the top and have strapped shit to that too. It is also Spanky's backrest and I have had no issues.

Yep, that's one of my next purchases before the box goes back on the bike. Thanks for the added reassurance.

 

[Intech]

I have a Givi rack and top box that I know I have overloaded. I added the rack on the top and have strapped shit to that too. It is also Spanky's backrest and I have had no issues.

Yep, that's one of my next purchases before the box goes back on the bike. Thanks for the added reassurance.

We did 7500 miles loaded like that for NAFO 2012 in BC. Both side bags were pretty well jammed. The top box took over flow and then a bag with footwear and rain gear strapped to the rack on top. It was pretty funny watching the reactions when we loaded a luggage cart at the hotels. I had one guy stand and watch me load one morning. He said he never would have believed I got all that stuff on the bike had he not witnessed it himself.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Petey gets all his travelling gear in two ziplock sandwich bags. That way he doesn't have to bring the side bags along. He doesn't want that extra weight on the suspension...and slowing him down in the curves.