This is Part 3 in a three part story:  Part 1 or Part 2 of this drama.

The final installment is that I had my subframe repaired and it didn’t even cost $6,000,000. It cost 80 bucks via welder Greg Brott of Kennewick and is signicantly improved!

Greg basically added a 1/4 plate on the back, cut some windows out to make sure the wires from the tail lights wouldn’t rub against the metal as well as gusseting it.


A back view shows the plate and at the bottom there are additional “tabs” that roll over and span a 1/4″ gap that also adds more structural integrity.

Greg said, “I had to weld it three times. Each time I’d heat it up……the metal impurities would sweat out of it. The cast piece is not the best metal.”

So, perhaps in hindsight I could have Yamaha give me a new subframe, but I wouldn’t be assured it wouldn’t be another subframe from the same production run. For $80 this was the best option for my piece of mind.

Next issues was the way I had my plate mounted. In the past I removed the rear rack, tied an aluminum plate straight to 3 points on subframe, and called it good. This time I took a longer, closer look at the existing rack and since it’s tied into 5 different points I decided Yamaha engineers had already done a good bit of the design for me and attach my plate to the rack. It’s not much to look at and has seen some hard life with bungees on my previous rear storage bag….so I drilled some holes in the beefy plastic.

Then I redrilled some holes in the alumnium plate after moving the affair as far forward as I could and still have the Pelican not interfere with the auxilliary fuel tank. It’s about an inch farther forward than it was before…and a tiny bit crooked. Fasteners at bottom are the pigtail for a CB anteannae I’m adding in a near-term project.

Most of my effort was driving around my hometown trying to find some very specific fasteners. 6mm x 50mm, stainless steel, recessed head screws are hard to find! While I was there I found some nylon washers that should help putting the metal through the plastic of the rack.


Mounted all up the bike is taking on it’s heavy-weight rally shape for the 2007 season. The case will hold my camera, a set of maps, laptop, various cables, and extra storage for my GPS when not mounted on the bike. I also got a padlock and cable to secure my helmet.