[PredatorBlood]

I recently had a chain roller come loose and fall off. Thankfully I noticed it pretty quickly and there was minimal damage from chain rub on the frame of the bike. While I was looking for damage I did notice that the bracket my suspension linkage attaches to had a decent size section of the triangular support section of the bracket broken off. It does not look like new damage, and I ride the bike all the time. My question is this – is it safe to ride the bike around town until I get it fixed? Does it need to be fixed? For safety I assume yes, but I will not hold anyone liable if you say otherwise and I end up getting hurt. I am well aware this a major problem that should be dealt with.

Picture 1 – side by side comparison from underneath the bike:


Picture 2 – close up shot side by side:


Picture 3 – close up of damage:


Picture 4 – side shot of damage:


Picture 5 – Shot of unbroken side for comparison:

 

[Ash]

As long as you're not flogging and jumping the bike it should hold just fine. Doesn't look like the integrity of that bracket is compromised, but I'd definitely get it fixed.

 

[PredatorBlood]

As long as you're not flogging and jumping the bike it should hold just fine. Doesn't look like the integrity of that bracket is compromised, but I'd definitely get it fixed.

Any ideas how this could have happened? I don't remember any jarring impacts occurring - could it have been hit my something getting roosted off the road and hitting it directly? My other thought was maybe when the chain roller came off the chain made contact and snapped it off?

I plan on taking it to get welded up pretty soon.

-T

 

[wilddave]

What kind of bike is it? Looks like there is a pretty good impact on the frame in front of the linkage.(Above the arrow in the 1st picture.) Maybe it happened then?

 

[PredatorBlood]

What kind of bike is it? Looks like there is a pretty good impact on the frame in front of the linkage.(Above the arrow in the 1st picture.) Maybe it happened then?

Its a '07 Husky SMR 510 . Good point on the impact - I have no idea how it happened. :headscrat

 

[PredatorBlood]

What kind of bike is it? Looks like there is a pretty good impact on the frame in front of the linkage.(Above the arrow in the 1st picture.) Maybe it happened then?

Actually I looked at it, that's not an impact, that's where the frame scrapes on the trailer as we roll the bikes off it - the frame has numerous breaks in the coating as is from road debris roosting into it so these areas with no coating are growing as the trailer edge (plywood) accelerates the process. BUT - My immediate thought when I saw the broken tab was it must have broken when the bike was being offloaded because of the impact that happens each time. We always roll the bikes straight off the back trailer though (one of those harbor freight ones, only about 1-1.5 foot drop) and my buddy was quick to point out, if it was an impact from offloading, the edge of the trailer surely would have sheared off the nipple seen below the cracked tab in the photo. When the bike is free standing, the nipple is definitely the lowest point. I still have my suspicions that unloading like this may have been what caused it, but at the same time the metal tab is super beefy and the drop is low enough (and onto plywood) that I have serious doubts this could have caused it.

I am the second owner of this bike - it is a distinct possibility that the bike was damaged before I even got it and somehow I have overlooked this for the last year and a half. When I did spot the crack, it took me a minute to even realize it was broken because of the coloring of the metal, and its hard to see location. I was thinking to myself, what kind of metal work is this? Angular and somewhat slanted - shoddy workmanship? ...hmmmm... OH $%@&!!!!!!! I usually work on the bike in my garage and proper lighting has been a problem so maybe it just never stood out.