I love working on my srx

9

98srx6

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It seems like every time i go for a ride something else breaks.

Last friday while loading my sled for the ty ride, my steering column snapped off, had to weld that back on before leaving. Friday night in houghton, went for a little ride and my spark plug cap on the mag side decided to fall apart. It was wonderful fun limping it back to the hotel. Then yesterday, took my sled for the first ride since the ty ride, and found out my w-arm must have snapped off on the previous ride in houghton, once again, limping it home was a blast.

:o|

What I have learned from all of this is that this riding season might not suck if i convince myself that repairing and welding on my sled is fun. :)

Well i guess that made me feel a little bit better.


:yam: :ORC
 
yea thats why god makes new sleds feel the same way keeping 2 98s on the trail not knocking yamys but it gets harder every year at least doos die early good for 2 years than bye new makes you wonder were all the dead sleds go?
 
as a firm believer in preventive maintanence, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. in my stable we are currently running on a regular basis 01 mm, 98 srx(heavily modded to include151"track), 97 sx 600 twin, 91 exiter w/ 136, 86 srv, 83 enticer w/ 121" mod suspension and a 98 mini z. funny part is the mini z breaks on a regular basis. back to the issue at hand, as a ritual, learn to check all bolts for tightness, blah, blah, blah, kinda like the owners manual says to do at certain intervals. also on the steering column there have been several service updates as to the potential of this happening. if you ride hard, wrench harder! of all the cats i've ran, yamaha by far stands out for reliability!
 
It is getting time to say goodbye. Mine was much the same. All the PM in the world wont stop a steering stem from breaking - thats just lots of pounding for the last several years.
 
preventive mantance will keep a steering post from breaking. They Always crack before they break off the rest of the way. Just think about the abuse a sled goes through on a rough trail....Now remember your riding a 7 year old sled. The broken W arm and broken shock is from repeated bottoming so correct set-up would have prevented that. Dont know how many miles are on the sled but you if you plan to keep it I would go through the sled completely. New bearings Everywhere, all loading bearing parts checked for wear or cracks, and a new chain and gears. the motor should be fine but check the wiring harness under the engine and check all coolant hoses to make sure nothing has been slowly rubbing on them and lastly check the power valves and cables. ===SRXSRULE===
 
srxsrule, couldnt have been said better. I have known guys that put a lot of miles on sleds with proper maint. and have had very few problems.
 
Where does it usually break? This way I can keep an eye on mine.
I also am a firm believer of PM. :rockon:
 
preventitive maint. wouldnt keep it from breaking, but if you were looking things over carefully you would notice that it was starting to crack before it actually snapped off. would be able to replace it before it snapped as a preventitive measure :)
 
Depends on your definition of preventive maintenance, ...a good walk around your sled before the next ride is a good rule of thumb. Takes only a few minutes and finding a stressed part sooner rather then later can save you a lot of grief on the trail.
 
exactly my point :) thats why I thaw mine out between rides, grease and check everything over. just good practice
 
98srx6 said:
Rules, how does preventative maintenance keep a steering post from breaking?
Click to expand...

They break off right below the handle bar mount....seen it a dozen times. Like I said, they always crack/bend before they snap off. ===SRXSRULE===
 
LOL, my buddy snapped his off on his 98 srx last year. He cased a jump big time and went over the handlebars, and his leg hit the bars and snapped off the top of the stem. Should he have really been jumping an srx? lol ;):D
 
My steering rod just broke too

My steering rod on a 2000 700SRX broke (just from me just rocking the sled to loosen it up) about an inch below the bracket that fastens the handle bars on. It looks like it was already cracked due to the different colors at the break (dull an shiny parts). Does anyone have any advice for how to fix it? I'd rather not weld it per warnings and liability etc.. I have heard rumors that in order to replace that rod, you have to lift or move the engine to get at where it connects underneath. It is an expensive repair for a dealer due to the labor mostly....again rumors I have heard. Does anyone have input on this for me? Thanks, Hilmee
 
Weld it. But do it right, install an extra steel tube down inside the steering post to add strength. Take it to a welding shop and they will fix it right up for ya. 50-75.00 is my guess if its done right. ===SRXSRULE===
 
you'll need a new steering collom, mine was impossible to fix, tried welding several time, a couple with a hammered in insert. it your insured, have it totaled.
 
Do what RULES said. It will work. My steering column was indestructable after adding the pipe and weld to it.

If you replace it with the same thin wall oem column, there is a good chance that it will just break again.
 
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