Windshield Arm Broken

[ThreeWheels]

If you want you can skip all this and go right to the solution
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ld-Arm-with-Billet-Aluminum-one SKS 10-8-2014


Tonight on the way home from work, the arm that raises the windshield broke in two. One piece is still connected to the mechanism inside the dash, the other is still connected to the pivot on the windshield support frame.

I glued the pieces together and also glued some additional metal to the arm so it has additional reinforcement. I have no idea how long it will hold.

Of course, it's under warranty, and my dealer will surely replace it.

Has this happened to anyone else ?

Does anyone know if there has been a redesign of this arm, or is the only design the new 2011 windshield. I'm wondering if there was more to the windsheild redesign then simply increasing gas mileage. A smaller windshield will also put less stress on this arm.

I just want to make sure I don't replace a faulty design with one exactly the same.

 

[SC92]

Mine has broken as well

My windscreen control arm also broke last weekend at 25,000K's (15,500 miles).
I know of two others that have had the same happen.

A friend of mine (SPYYDRMAN) on this forum broke his at 12,000K's (7000 miles) when he was visiting me and as he was 500 miles from home we pulled it out and welded it back together. Much stronger now.

On both his and mine you could see where it had been cracked for a while before it broke. The other end had cracks forming in it as well.

I took mine to my dealer to show the break and he has ordered me a new arm. In the mean time I have welded the broken one, both ends, and when I get the new part I will probably put it in the bottom of the trunk just in case, but I believe the welded one will last as it is now much stronger.
Cheers
Bob :2thumbs:

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Do you guys recall hitting anything that might have given that system a nasty shock load?
Would switching over to the smaller (and lighter) 2011 windshield reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure of these parts??

 

[NancysToy]

Sounds like metal fatigue from the constant shaking and buffeting to me. If there was a flaw in the casting at a stress point, the effects would be greater. Looks like a good thing to inspect carefully. Any pictures showing the exact location would be appreciated. I'm gonna add this to my pre-ride inspections.

 

[GeoffCee]

That's a substantial chunk of metal to fracture like that. It's one more thing to worry about. A picture or diagram of where on the arm the break occurred would be immensely useful. Never heard of such a thing happening on BeeEmm screens and their mounts and rise and fall mechanisms are more slender. :dontknow:

 

[Lamonster]

Wow, first I've heard of that. :shocked:

 

[ThreeWheels]

Sounds like metal fatigue from the constant shaking and buffeting to me. If there was a flaw in the casting at a stress point, the effects would be greater. Looks like a good thing to inspect carefully. Any pictures showing the exact location would be appreciated. I'm gonna add this to my pre-ride inspections.

That's a substantial chunk of metal to fracture like that. It's one more thing to worry about. A picture or diagram of where on the arm the break occurred would be immensely useful. Never heard of such a thing happening on BeeEmm screens and their mounts and rise and fall mechanisms are more slender. :dontknow:

My arm broke about 3/8" away from the mount to the windshield support.

 

[NancysToy]

Thanks!

 

[SC92]

Link to photos

I did't take a photo of my broken arm but I have inserted a link to an Aussie Spyder forum that shows photos of one that has broken.
Cheers
Bob

http://www.ozspyderryders.com/index.php?topic=883.msg5114#msg5114

 

[ThreeWheels]

For what it's worth, evidently the new part replacing the broken arm has a new part number,

I don't know if that means the new part is different, or if it is just some inventory change.

 

[GeoffCee]

If there is a new part number it is likely that there is a new arm design to replace the previous one. BRP will know how many screen arms have broken by the number they've been asked to replace.

I looked carefully at the photos of the Australian arm that fractured and it was clear that there had been a crack in the arm some time before the actual break. Of course, the natural thing to do was to immediately go and examine the arm on my own machine in case there was any hint that a similar thing was about to happen. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

I couldn't see anything untoward. My 2011 RT has a smaller screen and holding it at the lower centre I couldn't detect any play or looseness that would allow it to shake or rattle. It was obvious from the photos that the Oz arm had been shaking a lot prior to breaking, which may be relevant to its failure if metal fatigue was the cause. It follows that the forces operating on the arm will be less now that the screen height has been reduced.

The condition of the arm is something to bear in mind and keep a watchful eye on... :shocked::hun:

 

[eddieshep999]

I have a 2010 Spyder RT- S SES Model

My Windsheild bottom arm has just broken in the same place as ThreeWheels posted #7

Have e mailed my dealer to sort out a warranty replacement

Anyone know if they will just replace the broken bracket or the whole arm and are the newer brackets fitted
stronger than the orginal ones

Ive posted some pictures to show the bracket

Eddie Sheppard
Reading UK

 

[docdoru]

Can you guys slow down a bit ...

 

[ThreeWheels]

When mine broke, the entire assembly was replaced, including the motor, not simply the broken arm.
The new assembly seems a bit tighter, but nothing I would say is a design difference.

I traded my oversized 2010 windshield with someone who had a smaller 2011 windshield, and that has cut down on the shaking quite a lot.

 

[CyncySpyder]

add us to the list

 

[CyncySpyder]

Here's our temporary fix

 

[Dudley]

View attachment 37784

What size clamp?

 

[ThreeWheels]

View attachment 37784

So much for the theory "They redesigned it in 2011 to make it better"......................

 

[CyncySpyder]

What size clamp?

Honestly, I have no clue. We went with a larger than needed clamp, & I cut off the excess after we tightened it as tight as we could get it, & just to be safe, we put a small piece of tape over the end that we cut off, just to make sure it doesn't scratch the black plastic of the top dash, in case I did adjust it all the way down. Used it today going to work in a heavy downpour & I couldn't tell it was broke. Worked like a charm. Sorry I don't know the exact size to tell you, but it just needs to be large enough to fit over the entire metal mechanism. It takes a little bending a wiggling to get it in there just right, but once you do, tighten it, then cut off the excess & tape the end, your good to go.

So much for the theory "They redesigned it in 2011 to make it better"......................

Teds Red Sled IS a 2011 model, that is true. Someone posted that the part #'s are different, so I'm not sure why they would be different if they didn't change them :dontknow: Unless they meant that the part #'s are different for the wind-shield itself, cause as we all know, the shields ARE different. I'm not so sure about the metal adjustment mechanism in question tho :dontknow: & after looking at mine closer, it actually has another crack in it, besides the one that has broken through
You see it towards the top there, its cracked, looks like an old crack, half way thru :banghead:

 

[ARtraveler]

opcorn: Interesting. This is the first I have seen this problem mentioned--but it sounds like there may be a flaw in the design. The problem seems to be happening on a few machines.

I am going to check mine since I am getting near that 25,000 miles point.