Broken Frame

MY SON RACES A 400EX AND BROKE HIS STOCK FRAME. SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN 4 OTHERS HAVING BROKEN OR CRACKED STOCK FRAMES. IS THIS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE EX'S? ANOTHER SON HAS A 250R AND HAS FAR LESS PROBLEMS OR EXPENSE. WE GOT A LONESTAR FRAME :eek: BUT NOT SURE IF THAT WAS THE BEST AFTERMARKET ONE.

You must be the best mom in the world to buy your son a new aftermarket frame,,,would you wanna be my mom for a while???

OK all joking aside,,,I know of only one company that is making frames for the 400ex...and that's lonestar,,,maybe call Houser racing, Arens, and Laeger....

I've not heard of many 400ex frames breaking,,,a lot of other things breaking but not the frame...Here's another Idea and it might be A lot cheaper,,a whole lot cheaper,,,call Ken Cornwell at Rocky Ridge Racing,270-259-9604,,located in Leitchfield, KY,,,he specializes in factory frame fabrication,,,Go to the link below and read up on Kens work and give him a call,,good luck..:D

http://www.atving.com/editor/racing/feature/techtip/chassis.htm

[86atc250r]

Where did the frame break at? The front upper shock mount bracket attach points are the only common places I've seen... Easily corrected before it becomes a problem with frequent frame inspections.

Unless you REALLY want an aftermarket chassis, it's probably much more wise to stick with the stock frame and gusset it where necessary.

A brand new Honda frame is approx $400.

BTW, where at in MO are you? MX or XC racing & where?

I race XC in Northwest AR and do some XC in Missouri at times - very little MX anymore.

[Dave400ex]

I would not get a Lonestar. Call houser or Laeger. I think Laeger`s the best, but I don`t know if he makes frames for the 400.

WE ARE IN CLARKSVILLE, MO. MY SONS HAVE A 1986 250R AND A 1999 400EX. THEY NORMALY RACE IN IN HAWK POINT, KAHOKA, AND MOBERLY.

MY YOUNGEST SON IS 15 AND JUST FOUND OUT HE CAN NO LONGER RACE FOR HE IS NOT OLD ENOUGH.:( AMA SAYS HE MUST BE 16 TO RACE A QUAD. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE TO RACE A BIKE. OH WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.

BUT THE YOUNGEST WAS AT A RACE AND AT THE LANDING OF A JUMP THE FRAME SNAPPED AND THE DUAL FRONT BARS COMING DOWN FROM THE SHOCKS FLEW OFF. (WE NEVER FOUND THEM) WE DID BUY THE LONESTAR FRAME BUT HAD MANY PROBLEMS. HAD TO BUY DIFFERENT NERF BARS AND THE STEERING STEM DID NOT LINE UP. AND WE NOW HAVE 3 OTHER RIDERS (FRIENDS) WITH THE SAME PROBLEM OF A CRACED FRAME ALL OF WHICH ARE 400'S.:blah

Thats one of the craziest stories I've ever heard with something going wrong with a 400ex,,,I can't believe the frame did that.:confused:

[86atc250r]

Sounds like the area of the frame I was talking about...

That area needs to be strengthened if you plan on jumping much and bottom the suspension often. More of a bottomming problem than anything. Think of the huge amounts of stress at these points during a "bottommed out" landing.

He's not racing on stock suspension is he? If so, the lower shock mounts on the stock control arms are prone to cracking if consistantly bottommed heavily. Probably worth it to strenthen this area as well (also keep a couple of new control arms on hand as they are very cheap).

Frequent frame inspection is critical, as these spots can be detected before they become a problem. Also check the footpeg areas, swingarm, subframe mounts, upper steering stem mount (especially after a crash), etc... Any points of stress.

Personally, I give my 400 a good "once over" after every motocross session. I know I've abused it, and it's treated me well so far - but I've also corrected a few small problems before they've become big problems - most all of which stem back to my stock shock days.
-----------------------

I'm in Branson... I've raced Kahoka when they have the National HS up there - great place. Unfortunately wasn't able to make it this year.

Check my webpage linked below to see some pics of of what my 400 has been thru (only a small portion). Also have a
dune jumping video (http://www.parade-homes.com/gabe/3.mpg) online (5mb download).

I race cross country anymore, easier on my body, bike and wallet. Once I raced an event, I also decided it was more fun and equally, if not more demanding. Of course, I'm a woods rider from way back...

Missouri has an excellent XC series with some GNCC 250A riders attending and even a GNCC Pro every now and then. Never been to a MO race with less than 100 quads racing.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by racermom


BUT THE YOUNGEST WAS AT A RACE AND AT THE LANDING OF A JUMP THE FRAME SNAPPED AND THE DUAL FRONT BARS COMING DOWN FROM THE SHOCKS FLEW OFF. (WE NEVER FOUND THEM)

rotflmao

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by Pappy
rotflmao



seriously :eek2:............ i've heard of them cracking but never flying off :huh

[KY Woods Rider]

I cracked my frame about a year or so ago. I'll try to explain where it cracked, but my explanation will probably sound pretty stupid:o. Okay, you know the big cross tube that the rear shock linkage attaches to? Well, on the left side (shifter side) of that tube where it connects to the main frame tube (near the footpeg), it cracked along the edge of the weld.

Being the meticulous person that I am, I always thoroughly inspect my quad after each ride and I spotted the crack while it was still small. I had it welded and so far it has held up fine. If it breaks again, I'm just going to buy another stock frame because they're not that expensive.

The cause for the crack (I'm assuming anyway) was aggressive woods riding with stock shocks:rolleyes:.

[Fitzy]

has any1 heard anything good about LRD frames?
www.lrdperformace.com

[Bill Fuller]

I have seen this excact problem(but we did find them).Hey what can you say it's a 5 year old fram and it's been racing MX even expensive aftermarket frames break.It sounds like the frame hasn't been properly gusseted or reguraly inspected.You never did say what kind of suspension you were riding?Common places for the frames to break/crack are shock mounts,front down tubes and foot peg area.It has been my experiance that all frames break/crack no matter how much they cost.The reason why none of the parts line up or will transfer to the Lonestar is they want you to spend more money on thier product.You would have been better off buying a new 400 frame and sending it off to be gusseted and take the rest of the money and buy some quality shocks.

[SnellCRP]

Originally posted by racermom
WE ARE IN CLARKSVILLE, MO. MY SONS HAVE A 1986 250R AND A 1999 400EX. THEY NORMALY RACE IN IN HAWK POINT, KAHOKA, AND MOBERLY.

MY YOUNGEST SON IS 15 AND JUST FOUND OUT HE CAN NO LONGER RACE FOR HE IS NOT OLD ENOUGH.:( AMA SAYS HE MUST BE 16 TO RACE A QUAD. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE TO RACE A BIKE. OH WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.

BUT THE YOUNGEST WAS AT A RACE AND AT THE LANDING OF A JUMP THE FRAME SNAPPED AND THE DUAL FRONT BARS COMING DOWN FROM THE SHOCKS FLEW OFF. (WE NEVER FOUND THEM) WE DID BUY THE LONESTAR FRAME BUT HAD MANY PROBLEMS. HAD TO BUY DIFFERENT NERF BARS AND THE STEERING STEM DID NOT LINE UP. AND WE NOW HAVE 3 OTHER RIDERS (FRIENDS) WITH THE SAME PROBLEM OF A CRACED FRAME ALL OF WHICH ARE 400'S.:blah

I would like to see the broken EX frame. I also have raced some at Kahoka. Could you e-mail me I would like to see some pics. SnellCRP@hotmail.com. Thanks.

[250rider]

my friends 400ex did the same thing, he got it welded, out of the 4 stock welds, 3 of them broke and one of the mounts went through his plastics. lucky it didnt go through him!