Having touble getting my bike to move forwards

[Death85e]

I can positively tell you that is caused by EXTREME metal fatigue...( i.e) hard to extreme abuse. Its not possible to destroy the backbone of our bikes in such a manor without doing something on the scale of jumping or such. Only other explanation is that the tube was cracked from the factory and in which case this would mean that that production run of bikes using this same tubing would in fact be having the same problems...means there would be alot more people that would be reporting failures such as this online and a serious media blast as to the defective parts used in chinese made products.
No media coverage, no web sites complaining, means no other problems of this nature showing up. So i would have to conclude that the only reasonable explanation is the abuse of the product.

[Skip_200gy]

Damn, I did not like those pictures, it makes me worry. Like the others are saying, I'm sure if it was a regular problem, we would have known about it by now.
I'm going to check out mine this weekend, just to make sure.

O, yes, especially for you:
'n Boer maak 'n plan. Weld die ding en ry hom dan as of jy hom gesteel het.
Sterkte

[TeamCheap]

He did put a lot of miles on it but since he couldnt answer a simple question about the engine mounting bolts on it then its all sort of useless whining instead of any real info/help to others.

If it, like many other china bikes has the wrong sized engine mounting bolts then I could see something like this happening.The smaller bolts will allow the engine to move a bit which could in affect help to fatigue the metal.

But even so overall that looks like a less than desirable design.



If it was good quality canadian steel it would most likely still be fine.

[AZ200cc]

Looks like a stress fracture, Could be from a small split in the tube from
the factory or an extreme overload. It's just the place that it broke that really makes no sense....There are at least four other lpaces it should have split before it would ever break at that point. Very odd :?
Good luck on figuring out the rest.

[theENIGMATIC]

looks like someone dropped a lit match in the gas tank......that bike had a hard life for sure man!!!

[TeamCheap]

To me it looks like one of the most likely spots since it is very close to that 3 hole upper bracket and to the rear of that bracket the engine would have been bolted somewhat securely.
So in essence the only thing holding that front end on was the front 4 hole engine bracket.

I suspect they will find(if they look) evidence of the engine having been loose and moving around a bit in the engine mounts which would have lead up to this type of failure.

A good look at the engine mounting bolts and all the associated brackets will tell the story.

I think the design of the engine completing the frame is at fault but mostly because of the bolts used.
If done correclty there would be little problems with that design.

[Death85e]

Just looking at the pics the break happened between sections that would most likely be failure points before the primary tube failure.
You have the 2 mounting points behind the break ...you have the primary stress point reinforcements for the front forks ahead of the break.
Conclusion= Either the factory welds for the engine mounting brackets were heated to hot then rapidly cooled causing the metal to become brittle or the tubing already was cracked or brittle from the manufacture of the tube thus causing the afore mentioned failure or the bike was abused to the point of creating a stress fracture.
The jagged tear in the metal causes me to believe the abuse theory....however i will give the benefit of the doubt and consider that the manufacture process created a weak point in the steel thus creating a failure point.
I hope this gives some clarity to my line of thought as to what may have caused the failure and sheds some light as to why i would lean more toward the thought of abuse. Not meant to offend anyone just giving some sort of linear thought to the reasoning behind my statements.
I am truly sorry that this has happened to a fellow rider of a china bike and would not wish this on anyone.

seems suspicious. I'm glad my bike is an American Lifan and these sorts of issues wont be a problem.

[TeamCheap]

Originally Posted by zapkin

seems suspicious. I'm glad my bike is an American Lifan and these sorts of issues wont be a problem.

ZAPKIN, Is yours put together like our bikes, like the picture I posted of my wifes bike?

If it says "Made in China" on it then none of us are safe from this.

I still say a loose fitting engine was the cause of this.A couple of the pics show what looks like wear in the engine mounts but I cant be sure of just a picture.
The engine doesnt just make VROOM VROOM sounds it moves 400-600 pounds and that puts a lot of stress on things.

[ob1]

So, I say to myself, what electrical problems require the engine to be removed from the frame? Require the valve cover nuts be removed?

What electrical part is so buried that only engine removal can allow service?

Nothing.

[mebigdave]

I agree - To me this is a manufacturing defect.

[mrhyak]

Looks to me like a cheap bike driven hard (beyond normal usage) and he got his money out of it.

[DirtRoadKing]

Look at the grunge on the thing, well maintained? Looks like it was run off a cliff and set on fire. Maybe an extra in the new "Bond" movie... Anything but well maintained!

[katoranger]

I remember only one other member reporting a frame failure. It was a street bike.

Allen

[jdnva]

Originally Posted by ob1

So, I say to myself, what electrical problems require the engine to be removed from the frame? Require the valve cover nuts be removed?

What electrical part is so buried that only engine removal can allow service?

Nothing.

the head gasket was leaking oil, hence they wanted to remove the engine. I took it in for that and an issue with the switching relay.

Had the SA dealers come around with two tech guys to look at the bike: verdict no excessive abuse; abnormal use nor lack of maintenance. Quite simply a manufacturing fault.

They have offered me a new bike which I think I will take and sell.