Whoa, I just checked mine and sure enough there is a small crack.

 

yeah, cracks are very common in the frame of this model. I have this bike as well and it too has a crack. you could always drill a whole at the tip of the crack to keep it from spreading, at least until you can get it welded

 

The frame cracks on the left side because of the chain pulling the engine and rear wheel closer together. The stress on the rear motor mount makes the alu spacers wear out.

Even with the correct torque on my rear bolts the engine clearly moved backwards when pressing hard on the chain towards the swingarm. I made a new lower spacer from steel instead.

 

You are a genius! I bet that's it! Unfortunately I can't check my bike because its in storage - for more than the next few months.

G

 

Just checked mine 88 cane 34,000 no cracks everythings all good, this bike has been babied the past 20 years though.

 

Great observation cwr! I'll bet your theory has merit...the hole in the spacers do become oblong.

 

THanks for posting about this, I havent bothered to learn wheelies yet but I hadnt considered the added stresses either...I suppose some people can control them better than others. y bike has 44k on it and is a bit rough...unknown year suzuki tail hacked onto it lol still need to find a seat that fits it. .. It would be interesting to know if they are built near the same time or something.

 

Just checked my 87, and it is cracked as well!

 

My '87 has this prob as well.


It's not as bad as it looks. I'm a competent welder and I can tell you it's not a super hard fix guys.

 

crap! mine's got it too, and all i have is a flux core mig. damn