Has anyone ever had this break on their DFT?


This is a picture of my left, rear section of the control arm. 5/16" steel thickness and it snapped clean.

zoood

 

We have had our DFT for 5-6 years with no problems. Did the weld break? I will have a closer look at mine but again, we haven't had any problems.

 

The weld didnt break. It snapped clean right after the gusset! This was without warning and at 70 mph. Ive owned mine since 2008.

zoood/RJ

 

That is an odd thing to happen. We live a 1/2 mile down a washboard gravel road and I know it has been shaken very hard without experiencing any problems.

How did the trike behave when it broke? Did you have any control problems?

Have you went back to DFT to see if they will send you replacement parts? I would think they would want to make this right with you.

 

Yes. I contacted DFT and they sent replacement control arms. Though I did need a new shock as well. But I had to purchase that. I needed new bearings too and I replaced those with Timkens instead of with Chinese ones that they had in there.

Since I had to take the back end apart to replace the control arms. It was then that I noticed the condition of the bearings and their races. They were cracked, pitted and rusty.
I had also noticed how the control arms were assembled to the rear and I was surprised that there were no bearing grease seals. All there was. Was a rubber "O" ring as a seal. Which didnt work like it was hoped. It allowed seepage from within the grease chamber and it also allowed road grime and water to enter the bearings from the outside.







The part of the control arm that snapped was just beyond the gusset. The picture below is of where the unit snapped, but is of where we had it welded while on the road.



The new revisions that DFT supplied me. I requested them to extend the gussets. As seen in the following pictures.





Since the part that broke was 5/16's of an inch thick. I wasnt satisfied with DFT only extending the gussets around the curves. There was one more place that needed attention. Because, quite frankly I now have a fear of trusting my trike. But since Ive so much invested in it. I welded in another gusset on each control arm. These are pointed out by my fingers in the next picture.



Now I know my control arms are strong. Way stronger than factory.

When the control arm broke. We, my wife and I were traveling on an interstate at 70 mph and in a straight line. When it let go. There was a very loud boom. The tire slammed against the inner wheel well. Scaring the crap out of us. If I didnt have deep wheel wells or a body on the trike rear at the time. The wheel could easily have flopped on it's side or steered the tire in another direction. Causing at that speed a very bad, and even a fatal accident. I managed to get the trike on to the shoulder and then nursed it off an exit ramp for a road side fix. Luckily there was a shop at the end of the exit that had a welder.

Even though I hated the fact that this happened to us at all and on the interstate. We were heading for a trike meet in the Smokey Mountains. And if that defect happened while we were riding in the mountains. There would not be any way of proving that the the failure of the control arm was the cause of an accident and more than likely over-looked with records stating that the wreck was caused by the operator of the trike and not by a defect.

This is why Im asking if any one else had this experience. God forbid there were any accidents that went unannounced or unknown by this problem. Because I would have never thought that something so thick and made of steel. Would snap without any warning of any kind. Personally, I dont think a visual inspection by you of yours will show any future problems. My snap was clean. There wasnt any rust or tell tale signs that it's on it's way out. I feel only an ex-ray would show metal fatigue or hair-line fractures within the steel.

zoood/RJ

 

Thanks for the great detail explanation of this problem and the pictures. Did DFT own up to anyone else having this problem? I wonder if they have had this failure before what with them having already redesigned the control arm or was the redesign just for your situation????

I am so happy you were able to control this beast when it broke. Scarey situation!!

 

Dave, email me your phone number. rjsoriginals@bizland.com

zoood/RJ