Oh snap! Final drive eye broken

[CrazyCatman]

As I tried to get the rear wheel off, I had the lower suspension bolt removed but the suspension it self wouldn't bulge: After some work with it, lots of hammering, and wedging it finally said pling and the suspension arm moved forward and the swingarm went down - perfect! Except the top half of the "eye" on the final drive housing also were laying on the ground...

Is there any way to fix that if I don't have access to a MIG welder - or is the only option to try to find a new final drive housing somewhere?

[CrazyCatman]

I have had some ideas of two-component epoxy for metal (should have it's full strength after 24 hour of up to 140 kg/cm² or 1991 pound per square inch) - but I doubt if it actually is strong enough - or if it at least can be used until I can get a new housing for the final drive (which seems to be difficult to find here in Europe).

[Rambozo]

Really should not have taken that kind of force to get it apart, unless something is way out of alignment.
No one local who can TIG weld it for you?
Well the real loading is down and the bolt will have some support from the threads. As a side of the road repair it would probably get you home, but I would want to replace or repair the drive housing.

[Bike...and Dennis]

I've seen that before. I think it's because the little collar (#12) moves in, or out, just enough to keep the lower shock from moving.
I fixed one once by drilling holes in both sides of the break and filling them with drill bits and J.B. Weld. I know it held for a couple thousand miles but haven't seen the bike in a while.

[CrazyCatman]

I've seen that before. I think it's because the little collar (#12) moves in, or out, just enough to keep the lower shock from moving.
I fixed one once by drilling holes in both sides of the break and filling them with drill bits and J.B. Weld. I know it held for a couple thousand miles but haven't seen the bike in a while.

It seems that the bushing that should have been connected to the bolt had come loose, and only being used to Yamaha sports bikes I didn't think that there was such a long bushing being stuck but thought it was a bushing in the eye itself I could see - until it all snapped off and was on the ground...

#19 on the image here. Would it make sense to epoxy the bolt and tube together as one piece again?

Which size drill bit did you use?

[CrazyCatman]

Really should not have taken that kind of force to get it apart, unless something is way out of alignment.
No one local who can TIG weld it for you?
Well the real loading is down and the bolt will have some support from the threads. As a side of the road repair it would probably get you home, but I would want to replace or repair the drive housing.

I completely agree that epoxy would only really be a road side repair but as I can't find a replacement housing at the moment I hoped that it could work for some time while I search for a new housing. If it would be a completely unsafe method then it would not be something I would be doing. The Goldwing won't get much driving the next long period; just me driving a little bit - perhaps to and from work a day or two, because my wife is pregnant so we won't be riding it for quite some time, although she quite miss riding but also don't want to risk the vibrations to hurt the baby. Being half way inn the pregnancy she have begun to develop a bump - but that would not interfere the driving position for me or her as we are both kind of small (I am tall but thin, she is short but not a bit girl around the waist normally either)

[MikeB]

I am not really familiar with the GL1200 but I understand that the final drive from a GL1500 will fit a GL1200. I believe the mounting holes will have to be enlarged slightly where it attaches to the swing arm.

Is the final drive the part that is damaged? Could you post a picture of the damage?

I've added a picture from a service manual and circled the area I think you are talking about. Is that correct? Is it the outer part of the assembly that has broken off? Is the threaded portion of the assembly intact?

The best way to fix it would be to replace it.
The next option would be to have it welded back together.
Another option would be to use JB Weld or Marine-Tex to repair the area. The sides of that area where the bolt goes through doesn't experience a lot of sideways pressure. Most of the pressure is exerted at the bottom of the shock.

[Bike...and Dennis]

Realistically, there's not much stress on that tab. The bolt goes through it, but only to keep the shock aligned. There is no edge on the bolt to hold any force against the tab.

[ksigurdsen]

Are you able to post a picture of the current condition of your bike? The parts diagram appears to show the same bolt that broke on my '84 GL1200A. It was easy to fix. A picture will show if the method I used could work for you.

[Rednaxs60]

Another suggestion. Find a 1500 FD and use it. I have one fitted and installed on my '85 Limited Edition. You will have to drill out the 4 bolt holes in the swinger arm to suit the larger bolts. You may have to trim the plastic dirt cover as well. No other modification to do. The 1200 driven flange will fit the 1500 FD.

[CrazyCatman]

This ain't the best picture but right now it was not possible to really get a good angel (need an extra hand to hold the swinger up):

The "eye" on the outer side is the over broken - the bolt itself might be broken if it is designed to have the tube fitted but the threads and head is fine.

I will try to get a better photo once I have some help to hold it, do I can get the left shock fitted to give me a better angel on the outer side.

I made a graphic using a photo from the internet and cut it (more or less) where the brake is:

[CrazyCatman]

I've added a picture from a service manual and circled the area I think you are talking about. Is that correct? Is it the outer part of the assembly that has broken off? Is the threaded portion of the assembly intact?

The best way to fix it would be to replace it.
The next option would be to have it welded back together.
Another option would be to use JB Weld or Marine-Tex to repair the area. The sides of that area where the bolt goes through doesn't experience a lot of sideways pressure. Most of the pressure is exerted at the bottom of the shock.
GL1200 Final.jpg

It is exactly at the place you point out; it's the outer part (the "ring").
A GL1500 drive could be an option - however drilling and cutting in frame parts isn't legal at all in Denmark and will cause a direct driving ban of the vehicle (I will never ever learn how to spell that word!) if spotted at periodic inspection or road side inspection - but it could be the final chance.

So far I've managed to track down some JB Weld - we don't have this product in Denmark, and the shipping and customs from US made this a very tricky thing to find at a decent price, even inside EU it turned out to be very costly.
One Danish shop had it - USD 55 + shipping (usually around $ 7-10) - but found some now in Sweden for around $ 25 including shipping, so decent priced (from what I could find).

[ksigurdsen]

That's much worse than what I had so I can't offer any advice beyond the suggestion of others to replace the FD.

[Bike...and Dennis]

The one I did was broken much worse than that. We used drill bits for additional strength bonding the two pieces together.
Unfortunately, inserting pics isn't working for me.

[CrazyCatman]

The one I did was broken much worse than that. We used drill bits for additional strength bonding the two pieces together.
Unfortunately, inserting pics isn't working for me.

Just to be sure you mean something like this, am I right?

Of course holes in both the "big" and "small" part and then the drill bit put in and then put together with JB Weld.

Which diamater bit did you use?
How deep holes did you drill in the material?

[Bike...and Dennis]

I don't remember exact details. The bits were smaller than the holes and were there just to add some strength to the J.B.

Look at the bolt that goes through that hole. It puts no pressure on that tab because it doesn't really have a head on it. The shock is held in alignment sideways by the upper bolt and that lower one merely keeps it from moving up and down, or swinging, and the pressure is all on the threads which are on the other end of the bolt.