Frames Breaking at Foot Pegs

[Kenneth Webb]

Over on ADVrider there is a post about the frames breaking at the foot pegs. Has happened to at least two bikes. I just looked at mine and sure enough the steel around the peg mounting lugs is cracked on the right side! Will have to find a good TIG welder and get this fixed before riding again. If you let this go until the peg fails it will be much more difficult to fix . What is needed is a reinforcement plate and or some way to run the bolts thru to the back of the frame tube. That will be difficult as there is a cross tube at that area. Lots of head scratching around here.

Check your bikes, now!

 

[Cosmokenney]

Terra or TE?

 

[SilverBullet]

I saw that post on Adv as well and immediately inspected my bike. So far so good but worried about the future so was pondering whether it would be smart to lay another weld bead around that area before it develops a crack. Or maybe drop down a washer shaped piece of metal and weld the inner and outer edges 360 degrees around the peg threads to reinforce the area.

 

[johngil]

The Husky design is less than optimal. Keep an eye out on the frame around the welds. It's an easily fixed problem if caught in time.
My problems started with bending the stock bolts, which took the square edge off the already small mounting surface area. No matter how many times the bolts were replaced the rounded edges just kept letting the peg mounts sag. There are a couple of problems here...
Just keep an eye out for trouble and ride on!

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Terra or TE?

It is the TE630. The issue seems to be that the steel gusset that carries the peg mounting bosses is very thin, and the bosses do not go thru to the other side. They just cantilever on that thin steel. You can weld up any cracks (use TIG if at all possible) but the design is poor and I just don't see it holding up long term if you ride the bike the way it wants to be ridden. As Johngil said, there are several issues here. I planned to ride this at Death Valley in a few weeks but don't know if I can find anyone locally that I trust to do the repair. Maybe in Phoenix, or divert to So. Cal. before heading north, but really iffy to find someone to drop what they are doing for this little repair. Bummer!

 

[RDTCU]

No issues yet on my SMS, but I'm not "husky" and I don't spend a whole lot of time on my pegs other than stretching and a bit on some washboards. I don't get into the crazy stuff much on street tires...

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Other than welding up the cracks, I think the thing to do is to fabricate an overlay plate out of 3/16 or 1/4 inch plate with wings that weld to the frame. This will give the bolts and peg bases some bearing area and prevent the bosses from twisting out of the stock frame. Holes for the bolts will have to be very carefully located and drilled so there is no slop. Have to take things apart and see how much space there is, and I know there isn't much. What a pain! Husky is lucky that none of these bikes are still under warranty.

 

[johngil]

While I get what you're proposing, I think it may be more than is necessary.
A wide MIG bead and stronger bolts will most likely be enough.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

While I get what you're proposing, I think it may be more than is necessary.
A wide MIG bead and stronger bolts will most likely be enough.

Hope so! One of the things I noticed while fooling around with my kick stands was that the peg plate mounts ONLY to the surface of the bolt bosses. If there was a way to get some bearing area above and below, the bolts would not want to twist out of the frame. Building up some weld area around the bolts and then filing it flush to the bosses would add a great deal of strength.

 

[WickedWill]

I know this isn't the frame weld
The footpeg bracket gusset weld let go on mine.
Maybe the problem is a bit of hit and miss with welding of the husky.
Some of the welds seem a bit off in purchase between two points.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Ahem, I must make a retraction here. I pulled the pegs off this morning to get a better look at what I thought was a problem and found that the frame is still sound. I was just looking at a very thin line of dirt next to the weld. I tried to brush that area well before initially taking a look, but didn't get it good enough. There is a problem on some bikes for sure, but it has not bitten me yet. I think I will do some preventative work before ala the above before something does happen.

 

[Tinken]

In the event that it does happen,Tig would be better with a mild steel filler. If the back is exposed or cracked all the way through, have the welder place a ceramic backer or flood with argon.

 

[SilverBullet]

Ahem, I must make a retraction here. I pulled the pegs off this morning to get a better look at what I thought was a problem and found that the frame is still sound. I was just looking at a very thin line of dirt next to the weld. I tried to brush that area well before initially taking a look, but didn't get it good enough. There is a problem on some bikes for sure, but it has not bitten me yet. I think I will do some preventative work before ala the above before something does happen.

Glad to hear this Ken. Do keep us updated on any PM you do for this potential issue. My bike is clean thus far also but dont want to be stubborn again like I was with the subframe and learn another hard lesson. Probably a hit or miss welding issue at the factory causing this but better to be safe than sorry.

I rode my TE very hard and fast last week in the desert. I pounded rocks and jumped much more aggressively than I ever had previously due to my subframe concerns completely gone. Since I have the subframe strengthened now and FI tweeked for an additional 10hp, I really let loose and the bike did great. Pegs held up fine also but I did blow out my rear shock hitting one section of jumps way way too fast. Didn't drop the bike but it was very ugly, even broke a rear turn signal with my boot in the process so that tells you how far out of control I was.

_

 

[Kyle Tarry]

I did blow out my rear shock hitting one section of jumps way way too fast.

Hitting a jump too fast shouldn't blow up a shock, if it did let go it was going to anyway and you just helped it along.

It's an excuse to have it revalved and refreshed, anyway!

 

[RDTCU]

even broke a rear turn signal with my boot in the process so that tells you how far out of control I was.

_

Sounds graceful

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Probably a hit or miss welding issue at the factory causing this but better to be safe than sorry.

Dave, I believe it is a design flaw as the threaded bosses do not attach to the back side of the frame. They are just cantilevered off one side. It is possible for the peg to twist the bosses and tear out the metal to which they are welded. I think Johngil has it right; we need to get some bearing area below the bosses so that the peg plate can't twist. Then as long as they can resist the shear and pull-out all will be good. I will do this some time in the future, maybe when it's time for a rebuild and the motor comes out, although that wouldn't be needed for the fix.

 

[SilverBullet]

Hitting a jump too fast shouldn't blow up a shock, if it did let go it was going to anyway and you just helped it along.

It's an excuse to have it revalved and refreshed, anyway!

It was more a result of "not hitting" the jump and by going too fast I couldn't react (bunny hop over) in time. I think I cased the bike on the trailing side of the jump (actually a four foot wide, four foot deep wash out with equal height rocky edges). I believe the trailing edge hit right at the swingarm/linkage area and really gave a hard blow to the rear suspension. It actually didn't blow out the shock per se like you normally associate but broke the lower spring retainer. The Husky parts fiche calls it a "fondelo" and is only $23.50 so I hope that is all that is wrong. But seriously thnking about finally ditching the too stiff stock spring at the same time and maybe revalving also like you suggest. Bike will sit for a short while first though as Vintage MX season has started and next couple months of rides are on the V-Strom.

One thing I know is I never want to hear that sound again that the bike made when it landed, very scary. I knew already that the rear shock was fubar in some way. When I stopped I half expected to see the frame cracked in half. But it did all hold together and I was able to limp out and back to town 65 miles with my rear spring sitting on top of the swingarm. Very glad I trailered out and didn't have to ride the bike 650 miles home like I did the last time I rode there.

_

 

[SilverBullet]

Dave, I believe it is a design flaw as the threaded bosses do not attach to the back side of the frame. They are just cantilevered off one side. It is possible for the peg to twist the bosses and tear out the metal to which they are welded. I think Johngil has it right; we need to get some bearing area below the bosses so that the peg plate can't twist. Then as long as they can resist the shear and pull-out all will be good. I will do this some time in the future, maybe when it's time for a rebuild and the motor comes out, although that wouldn't be needed for the fix.

I went back and looked at the photos on ADV again and now I understand the problem better. I'm not a fabricator or welder so will follow your lead and others on the fix. For now I will just inspect more frequently and get back on my diet to reduce the footpeg force. haha

_

 

[Xcuvator]

I really think at least part of the problem is that the foot peg flanges aren't flat which due to the rocking motion puts extra strain on the frame mounting points and bolts.
One of the first things I did to both of my 610s was to surface the mounting surfaces on a belt sander and I haven't even had a bolt loosen up.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Yep! I used a flat file on mine. Still there isn't enough bearing area.