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Got almost the exact same crack in my '02 CRF 450 after practice day at Mammoth and I found a local welder in town who did exactly that and it held up for the rest of the season with no issues.
Took it to the dealer yesterday, they looked it over and said they were going to get Yamaha involved in it.
I will update this when I hear something else.
You might want to take it to the dealer where you got it and have them get Yamaha involved.
Here’s the welds on my brand new 23 yz450
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Good luck. I had a 2016 YZ450f with a hairline crack around the steering head that I noticed after 16 hours. Yamaha replaced the frame and covered the labor so I couldn’t ask for anything more in that situation.
Heard back from the dealer today. Yamaha said that the "welds look normal to them, and didn't see any reason for concern at this time." So my question is when is it time for concern, after it breaks and I face plant and possibly end up in the hospital? If it is of no concern, then they should have no problem taking it back in trade on something else. I am kind of disappointed in Yamaha now.
A lot of the aluminum frame yz welds look like your picture, I'm assuming that's why they're not worried about it. Lots of them out there with 100's of hours without issue, I'd just make it part of the cleaning process to look for any cracks around that area, which would be a good idea with any bike
Yeah, I know what you mean, and I have seen a few pics of the same looking welds, but I also have seen a few YZ's break in half. Which is a bit of a concern in my opinion. I am a little pissed about it right now, but will most likely keep the bike as I don't want to lose a lot of money on the deal. I do like the bike though so that makes it tough. If it sucked and I didn't like it, it would have already been gone. I will keep an eye on that area for sure.
I’m the lucky guy in Florida that rode a 22’ yz 450 into the sand thanks to a not so quality frame. Here’s the results, keep in mind I was woods racing.
How many hours on the ‘22 that came apart? Did you hit anything like a big whoop or tree? I take it you were going pretty fast when it failed? Was it obvious the welds had poor penetration after it failed?
15 hours on the bike. Thought I hit something until talking the track officials and medics and revisiting the crash site. It happened on a 4th gear wide open straight.
PulpMX would be telling you to call Arthur Draper.
I’ve had all makes of bikes, I”m not a die hard fan boy of any brand, my loyalty is to riding not a manufacturer. With that said, I had a 450 Ktm FE a few years ago.. maybe 17-18. The frame had some very small stress cracks at the neck area. I called my dealer, they called their rep. They asked for photos, I sent photos. Within 3-4 days, I had a new frame coming for KTM… when I had a shock spring break on a new YZ450F, and it wiped out the shock assy. Yamaha basically told me to pound salt….. I have never owned a Yamaha since….
Did Yamaha warranty it?
Yes, you are one of the reasons I went and started looking at my frame. Also you may be the reason I just go ahead and take a loss on the bike and get something else. I am sure the loss won't be as much as your medical bills from that. Man that sucks, I hate that for you.
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