What appears to be a crack in Hub assembly cover

[mdisher]

I think I will go ahead and buy the complete 08 hub assembly with drive shaft. Claims only 8k on it. Photos look good. 200.00 includes shipping. It will look nice on my as seen on tv shelf.

Save your money, or that $200 will buy one that looks just like the one you have.

My factory 06 Pumpkin looks the SAME, as does the 05 (spare) that I have.

If you're hell bent on buying one, shop ebay, they are $99 all you can carry.

-MD

 

[PoundingAssphalt]

Whats 200 for a little false sense of security. (-:

 

[GPRIDER]

I noticed this a long time ago. The pumpkins on my XS1100 and my Venture were similar and nice and smooth. My first (89) Vmax looked nice and smooth. My current 95 max looks good. Then when I bought my 04 FJR I noticed the crack looking marks on the pumpkin. My 08 is the same. The castings are just not as high of quality as they were back in the early days. I'd say quality control has been slowly sliding south over the last decade or so.

GP

 

[garyahouse]

Whats 200 for a little false sense of security. (-:

It's simple really. Ever hear the saying, "It ain't over til the fat lady sings?" Well she just did. Listen to the music, you can trust the FJR wisdom around you. Besides, there are so many new farkles you've just GOT to have...
Gary

darksider #44

 

[wheatonFJR]

One reason that not all bikes look the same is, Yamaha has more than one tool/die to produce this part, or the tool/die was repaired between runs showing different condition of these parts.

^^^^^^ ...Spoken as someone who knows the business.

 

[PoundingAssphalt]

Mine has casting marks, gen2. Save your money for other farkles. Your feejer ain't no rear-end eating BMW.

Will I bought the 08 Hub assembly on Ebay and received it the other day. Had both on the bench at the same time as I was greasing the 06 drive shaft and U joint. You can see a very noticeable difference in the shaft diameter of the 08 compared to the 06. The 08 is noticeably bigger than the 06. The two are interchangeable as the length is the same. Wish I had taken a photo before I reassembled the 06 rear end. Will take photo when I do tire replacement.

Terry

 

[smellthat?]

See it made no sense for you to buy it! Now you're talking about size issues between shafts!! Wait, it's only Tuesday - sorry gang - got a little ahead of myself.

 

[SkooterG]

Wish I had taken a photo before I reassembled the 06 rear end.

So do I. I find it VERY odd that the driveshafts would be any different between any years of Gen II bikes.

Edit: Sure enough! Did some checking and the part number for the driveshaft changed in 08.

06/07 Driveshaft part number: 3P6-46172-00-00

08-11 Driveshaft part number: 3P6-46172-10-00

Sure would like to see a photo of both side by side. Oh, and I still think you are Nuckin ***** to waste $200 on an unnecessary purchase. :blink:

 

[PoundingAssphalt]

I am going to switch to the 08 hub assembly next time and see if it feels any different with the bigger drive shaft. Whats 200 in this great Obama economy ;-)

 

[Salish1300]

Resurrecting this thread as I don't see any newer. I've just noticed on my new 14 that I have several hairline cracks in my rear case as well. They are significant enough to really catch your fingernail and do not appear merely cosmetic. I'm going to visit the dealer to see about a warranty replacement as I don't like the thought of these cracks being there long term. I'll try to post a picture next time I have 45 minutes and no other frustrations.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Salish,

Did you read the whole thread? The wisdom of the FJR community has spoken. You should see the cracks (lines) in my crankcase on my Honda XR. Much worse than what is shown here. It hasn't imploded on me yet. A Hardly shop may know a person that can polish it up to look like chrome I am sure. May cost some dollars though $$$ if it makes you feel any better.

Scooter said it best,

Dave

 

[hppants]

Next week, I should have an extra pumpkin case with no visible cracks/marks for a very low price....

 

[Salish1300]

I did read the whole thread but can't see how folks think it is OK to have cracks in the metal of the gear case. These cracks are not just cosmetic, as I can dig a fingernail into them enough to tell they go into the metal a ways. Like many here, I've been working on engines and machines my whole life and can't say I have ever seen a crack in a vital part that didn't result from problems, or cause problems. Either the metal is too thin, or cheap, or poorly alloyed or stresses exceeded specs. And I know for a fact that stresses have not approached specs.

I'm not doubting that some people ride on gear cases that have spider cracks for many happy thousands of miles. I'm only saying that while my bike is under warranty and with only 3,500 miles I am not comfortable accepting a structural defect in a vital part. Now if I had to pay for it out of pocket, like the OP would have had to do, then I get the argument to leave it alone.

At this point I'm just curious how common this problem might be.

 

[Ignacio]

I did read the whole thread but can't see how folks think it is OK to have cracks in the metal of the gear case. These cracks are not just cosmetic, as I can dig a fingernail into them enough to tell they go into the metal a ways.

Perhaps your situation is different. I've seen many that were the paint only including some that assumed it was in the metal, but after paint removal to confirm...not the metal. Let us know if your is different after you visit the dealer.

 

[jeremyr62]

What has been described in this thread are not cracks. They are just casting defects. They magntude/configuration of the defects change over time as more more castings are made from the tooling, and eventually new (steel) moulds will be made and the process starts again. They arise from wear and thermal fatigue of the gravity die cast tooling (heat cycling of the steel moulds). They are cosmetic as they stand proud of the casting. My 04 has them, and had them from new. The casting itself wont be a highly loaded part. If it was they wouldn't have used an aluminium alloy casting. The mechanical properties of castings are inferior to products made by wrought methods like forging, extrusion, rolling etc. However making the final drive housing that way would be completely uneconomic.

 

[lnewlf]

I noticed that the pumpkin on my '06 is starting to look like hell- appears to be covered with "cracks". I always had a couple but now is spider webbed with them. This is simply paint deterioration. Meebee go anal on it this winter and strip and repaint it...Heat resistant paint this time...

 

[Hornet Pilot]

Perhaps consider carrying a spare drive assembly in one of your side cases just in case and for peace of mind? LOL!

 

[ionbeam]

Perhaps consider carrying a spare drive assembly in one of your side cases just in case and for peace of mind? LOL!

Spoken like a true BMW owner

 

[Old Guy]

Whats 200 for a little false sense of security. (-:

That false sense of security will still be sitting on the shelf when you sell the bike

Maybe the reason it's so cheap is the lack of demand.

 

[majicmaker]

I suggest we let Salish do what he wants and get this out of his system. It'll make him feel better. It's His money.