Cracked Rear Rack bracket

[Varooom]

Anyone else had their rear rack bracket (that originally holds the tool box) crack at the bolts on them? My 2022 Trail with 2K miles had this break from normal street commuting. My warranty just ended and the dealer won’t replace. Definitely surprised this cracked from vibration. Picture added.

 

[Kritou]

Apart from the oem toolbox have you fastened anything else to the bracket?

 

[Varooom]

I have an OEM auxiliary tank from a Trail 90 I used to have back in the 70’s. It stays empty and only there to look vintage.
The tank and bracket weight is less than 5lbs. Solid mount and no vibration(so I thought). Didn’t think it was a problem because I see almost all others mounting a huge jerry can and travel bags there going off road, camping etc.

 

[Kritou]

Inmho it’s not so much the load or vibrations that fractures these brackets but the lateral flexing overtime. A steadying connection to the rear reflector seems to help but local reinforcement appears to be the long term solution

 

[Varooom]

I wanted to know or hear about more people having the same issue with this particular bracket and or other support parts from Honda. This should not have cracked.

 

[oldskool]

I wanted to know or hear about more people having the same issue with this particular bracket and or other support parts from Honda. This should not have cracked.

Disappointing but small issue. Remove the rack and take it to a welder if you do not have those skills. Have him beef it up with a plate rather than just run a bead to repair the crack. A little Krylon ...good to go, Doubt it will cost more than $20 and a little time.

 

[dmonkey]

I believe Ang / SomeGuyRides on YouTube had his break there as it's been mentioned in other threads to be careful about adding weight to that mount without additional bracing or contact points. It originally only holds the small and light tool kit.

Once you get it repaired or replaced, there are mounts with more contact points available for hanging a fuel container:

SP TAKEGAWA : Helmet holder (tinkering prevention bolt attached) [09-11-0424]

 

[Tchap]

In my opinion, that bracket should not have cracked. That’s steel, right? You should be able to hang the bike from that point (if you wanted to for some strange reason). I think that it’s a defect in the steel. I double what old school and dmonkey said for solutions.

 

[Cpd419]

I’m going to have to check mine. I carry fuel sometimes.

 

[dmonkey]

It is not a very substantial mount, just thin metal attached by some small welds, and with the weight of whatever you attach hanging from the weld nuts. Other parts of the rear rack are doubled up in material or boxed to reinforce the strength of the overall rack and its attachment to the CT.

 

[Tchap]

Yeah, I know. And those pictures help me to put things in perspective. I’ve never had the rear cargo plate off before. The fault seems to have occurred in the bracket of steel itself, rather than the weld nuts or the bolts. I just think it’s a fault of the steel. In the manufacturing process, I mean. My theory is that the generous dimensions of the bolts, welds and thickness of steel should, hypothetically, be able to carry the full weight of the bike as a point-load. But that’s just for example. The critical factor regarding stringth of the steel bracket itself should be thickness of the steel, times distance from the hole to the edge. With a factor for the resistance of steel in tension and shear. That number is going to be relatively high in this application. This piece of steel broke…along a line of weakness, without any evidence of undue stress. I can’t really tell if it was tension or shear, because there is no evidence of any significant forces applied to this bracket. No deformation whatsoever. Just a crack.

 

[m in sc]

no, its the weight swinging around there, even as light as it is. Thats bracket was designed to hold a small plastic tool box thats maybe 4" long? (down) That's a long weight on a fulcrum with no damping. There's a reason all the other side carriers have a side brace. get it welded up and use rubber isolator grommets and spacers on the can mount so it can move a little bit. Or use machine isolator mounts, they do make them in 6mm thread.

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[NMCoyote]

If the bottom of the tank wasn’t anchored or stabilized I would fully expect it to fatigue and crack like it did for reasons mentioned above. Any movement will eventually cause a fatigue issue.

 

[Varooom]

Look, I work in automotive engineering and fabrication and this bracket should not have failed even if you put on a 5-7lb item. I understand the stress, vibration aspect but this is Honda. There should be a warning on the bike on things to do, hang on what or something. They are selling it as a rugged, trail riding off roader for camping etc…
I was not expecting this after 1 yr of normal commuter rides. This bike is babied and taken care of like my vintage vehicles.

 

[dmonkey]

AFAIK Honda do not have any OEM accessories that attach to it, so it wasn't meant for that use. If they did they'd likely specify a weight limit for it like they do the rear carrier or the side rack that attaches to Japanese and Canadian market models. Those models also have reinforcements welded on for attaching the side rack.

 

[m in sc]

well then go to honda if you think you are right and demand a warranty repair... with full disclosure on hanging that can off of there & see what they say.

fwiw, this is the oem mount on the old cts for that fuel can. note the side hole mounts for the bracket support.

also, please tell me who you work for.

 

[Varooom]

Warranty expired. Not looking for ‘free’ fixes from Honda. Please read my posts. All I’m asking if there are others here with this kind of a crack or fatigue issues from their experiences. That’s it.
Just letting the community know this happened to mine with NO fuel in the OEM auxiliary tank ever and a precision mounted bracket by me. Total weight of the add on is barely 6.5 lbs. I only mounted this for a recent Honda event and removed about 3 months later. Weekly 12 mile commute on flat, straight Los Angeles roads. Never off road or abusive riding.

90% of owners on here have some sort of ‘aftermarket’ part added to their bikes. Go check all your mounts, add ons etc. They heavily promote to add things on to the Trail125, go out and enjoy it on any terrain or weather conditions.

 

[KYtrailfan]

Unless the bracket failed holding the original toolbox and "toolkit" I see no issue with the design or workmanship. The moment you decide to "modify", you own the results.
My first thought when reading the initial post was " I wonder what was bolted on there?"

 

[vintagegarage]

I agree with many above, that it's not an issue with weight, but rather continual flexing while you ride because of no triangulation in the mount. Just a guess, but I bet that fuel can noticeably vibrated as the wind passed over it while you were riding and also flexed on every bump you hit. IMHO, definably not a repair that should be covered under warranty.

 

[Varooom]

Thanks to all the great responses! If you bolt anything on these bikes original or aftermarket, please remember this is not the Honda from the past. Reliability yes, but fit/ finish, pot metal brackets(not steel) are used.
I own a few vintage Honda/ Suzuki trails and the metal will not fail regardless of what I bolt on within reason of physics as I did with my empty, oem 3lb tank.

Cheers!