Changing the oil today and noticed this.

[clouseau]

I'm fairly certain it has been like this since I've owned it.  I'm on my 3rd oil change now.  
Could be a common thing for all I know.  
How detrimental is it, is my concern?  
From the looks of it, the engine needs to be pulled to weld the bracket on the inside seam.
Anyone been through this?  Should I not ride it until it's fixed?
I suppose I could implement a bailing wire (wrap around) temp fix.

[montmil]

Well, excuse me! I'm not seeing any broken weld joint at all. Just a nice tidy gap that needs to be closed. A bit of surface rust. Wonder if this job was missed as the frame worked its way down the assembly line. Likely a Monday morning production lot. You know that old tale...

A TIG welder could access almost all the frame and bracket perimeter as this type equipment has a small working tip and doesn't throw an open flame around the area.

You and the welder guy will need to rig some sort of clamping action to draw the arced bracket into contact with the frame member.

If the weld has been detached for some time and you've noticed nothing wrong during normal ops, I would not hesitate to ride the scooter to the machine shop, clamp it, get it welded and ride back home. Repaint at your convenience.

My [smiley=2cents.gif] and worth every penny.

Monte

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Scary freaky!  Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Check the other side before riding it to the welders.

[clouseau]

Freaky indeed!  From the look of the corrosion, it's been this way for some time.

The other side is fit as a fiddle.  

I figure I can have a welder hit it from the front, back and outside and leave it at that.  That's more than the factory did (or tried to do) and should hold just fine.

[Justin B.]

It's almost like they missed (or barely caught the edge) the mount as the bead was laid down!  Very strange...

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

At least you have a VIN sticker in good condition!  Try and keep it that way.  They can be worth a lot, in some states!

[montmil]

It's almost like they missed (or barely caught the edge) the mount as the bead was laid down!  Very strange...

I noticed that straight bead on the chassis tube. Wondered if it might be a previously applied alignment point for the badly hung-over motor mount welder. If it's not, torch boy completely missed the mark.

Monte

[nhmaf]

I'd say that was a Monday morning (or Friday afternoon) weld job, for certain!    I agree that you 've been riding it this long, so riding it to a machine shop to be welded is OK - just don't go riding Deal's Gap along the way!   It certainly cannot help with frame stiffness, and is causing alot of extra stress on the other engine mount on opposite side.

So much for German Quality Control!

[clouseau]

My other question now is will welding on the bike cause any harm to the  electrical system?  
Should I disconnect the negative to the battery or leave it connected?

[Bob_Roller]

I would remove the leads from the battery, as well as the 'ganged' ground around the relays, it's a bunch of brown wires all crimped together, then secured to the frame with one bolt .

Just remembered, there is a ground wire on one of the transmission attach bolts on the left side, I think it's for the oil pressure warning light and the neutral light .

[nhmaf]

+1 Disconnect the battery and all the grounds and chances are it will be fine.  No sense in including your bikes electrics in the ~150 Amp circuit created while MIG/TIG welding.

[clouseau]

OK, thanks for the help!  Time to find a welder...

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I posted your pictures and a description on Boxerworks, just so folks would be aware of the problem.
You might want to read some of the replies.  I can vouch for the robtg fellow (Bob Grauer) - he is a good guy that knows his stuff (without the ego problems that plague so much of Boxerworks...).

http://boxerworks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=154&start=10

[tvrla]

I've heard that the rubber engine isolators can cause something like this, and that would be my guess. I doubt there was any quality control issue from the factory.

Just re-do the welds that are there and VERY DEFINITLY do NOT weld around the tube, only parallel to it. If you look, you'll notice that none of the tubing is welded around, only longitudinally. Welding around it will weaken it severely!

It may be difficult welding between the engine and frame tube where, I'm sure, there was another bead - so it may be necessary to remove the engine to get the job done properly. But, hey, the splines probably need lubing anyway and pulling an engine isn't a big deal.