This pic comes from a 883 that had been laid down. I had crash bars on it a the time. Looks like there might be a crack in the frame close to where they mounted. Maybe it's just dirt.

 

Talking about the yellow circled area? It looks like the crossmember yielded a little. In the process it cracked the powdercoat on the frame. It appears that it is okay, and probably is just a little dinged (only enough to break the coating), but not much more.

You could cut it and re-weld it, but I'm not sure there is much point unless you are worried about reduced structural strength on that mount, the downtube (the load carrying member) appears to be alright. The crossmember is just there to prevent bending of those tubes in or out, and will probably do its job in the condition it is in unless you ride really really hard or abuse it.

 

Mine cracked there when I wrecked. They said I needed a new frame but a second opinion outside of the dealer said no big deal just a weld will fix it. Gotta touch up with paint though. But before I get blasted for saying no big deal, listen to someone who knows more than me.

 

The dealer is going to say it needs a new frame, but I feel if that is all that is wrong with the frame a good welder could touch that up real quick and it would be just fine, but again it's your bike so do what makes you feel safe. It's always harder to tell by pix.

 

What you can do is remove the paint with some paint stripper and look at the weld joint and the surrounding area. If it is just the weld that is cracked you can have it repaired i.e. Grind out the old weld and then weld the area.

What we do in the aircraft industry is clean off the paint, with stripper, and perform a "Dye penetrant" inspection. This uses a spray on three part treatment that will show you the surface cracks in the area. You can check with some of your local airport aircraft repair facilities and find out how much they would charge to do this for you or you can go online at Aircraft Spruce and Specialties and order yourself the Dye penetrant kit they have for $163.95.

You can always use the kit to check other items in the future.

You might also want to check the other weld locations on the frame to make sure that the stresses from the crash did not transfer along the tubes and crack the frame welds at those locations. Look for cracks in the paint as these are showing surface stretching or compression of the steel.

If you find these paint cracks do the Dye penetrant inspection of that area.

After all this is done make sure to clean off the dye penetrant and prime and paint the affected areas.

Hope this helps.

 

Looks like a bad weld.

 

thanks for all the info/advice. I think I'll just pass on buying this one and keep looking for one that hasn't been laid down. thanks