Catastrophic Forks Failure

[redbaroness]

Spreading the word so more people are in the know.

Photos from my crash in the Yukon (clear day, bit windy, smooth pavement, and thankfully not much traffic, forks broke and front wheel came off). I was riding a 2002 F650GS.

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/bike1.jpg

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/forks1.jpg

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/wheel1.jpg

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/wheel2.jpg

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/brokenbits.jpg

http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/road1.jpg


Rest of the crash photos: http://red-baroness.net/Motorcycling/images/BrokenBike/

From the ChainGang site: http://faq.f650.com/FAQS/ForksMaintFAQ.htm#GS%20Catastrophic%20Fork%20Failu re

ADVRider thread: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371650

[RJM2096]

Man, I hope you fully recover. Our thoughts are with you.

Do you think the fork was stressed out or was it a defect? Has the front wheel ever been removed and re-installed improperly? Have you done any jumps or rough off roading?

[riderR1150GSAdv]

First off, I hope you fully recover from this accident.

I have never seen a break on a bike like this, but to me it is a failure within the Heat Affected Zone while the forks were made. Aluminium gets brittle when welded and should be pre heated and post heated in these critical area's. I don't think that that happened here.:dunno I am also looking at the massive pitting inside the fork material and this could also be a factor in the failure.

Sidebar here; I used to inspect welds for a living on oilrigs and had certifications in several NDT procedures for Lloyds and ABS.

Please get well soon!!!

[F650624]

One of these failures is too many. Three known failures of this potentially fatal failure should have caused a recall. BMW doesn't actually make these forks, they buy them from Showa. These forks are also found on Aprila and Honda motorcycles. The Better Business Bureau is probably the only agency with enough clout to find out from Showa how many of these failures have actually occured. Checking the axle mounts will now be a mandatory pre-ride inspection for me.
Heal fast, and always look forward.

[jimbob59]

Save all pieces.

A good metallurgical / failure analysis may be in order here!

Move slowly, be careful about what you sign and who you trust!

Do NOT play with the pieces or try "fitting" them back together... this makes the failure analysis more difficult!!!!!

Jim

[108625]

Redbaroness,

Best wishes for a quick & complete recovery, please keep us posted as to how you're doing.
Thank God you had the good sense to wear all of your gear, didn't adventure-travel alone, and chose your companions wisely. This could have been so much worse.
I hope you get back on that horse (with different forks, or even a new horse) again.

Bob

[SIBUD]

Thank God you are alive to talk about it.

Wishing you a very speedy recovery.

Best of luck.

[rinty]

Baroness:

I looked at your site and noticed that you used to ride a Suzuki 650. Did you previously go under the user name of Blue Poof on the ST forum?

Glad you're OK and hope you can sort things out with BMW. That was a really scary accident.

The only activity more expensive than litigating is playing polo.

Rinty

[pffog]

First glad you are OK

Not sure there are any grounds for litigation. Looking at the pictures shows severe pitting, and corrosion on the rim, bolt head and the aluminum. This is not normal, and would indicate some long exposure to caustic substances. Hardly a "defect" IMHO.

[ndjimbo]

First glad you are OK

Not sure there are any grounds for litigation. Looking at the pictures shows severe pitting, and corrosion on the rim, bolt head and the aluminum. This is not normal, and would indicate some long exposure to caustic substances. Hardly a "defect" IMHO.

Yeah, but the pitting looks like it's on the inner diameter of the fork's tube--not something that a user would normally have access to.

My advice: go talk to a lawyer.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Jim

[jimbob59]

Yeah, but the pitting looks like it's on the inner diameter of the fork's tube--not something that a user would normally have access to.

My advice: go talk to a lawyer.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Jim

Jim:

I have not clue which it really is, but I wonder if it is pitting or maybe porosity in the casting?

I can not tell for sure from the picture.... but my eyes are not like they were when I was 20 :blush


If it is truly pitting on the inside ... that would have to imply either introduction of caustic substance to the reservoir, or fork oil gone REAL REAL bad ???

What are your thoughts?

Jim

[jingdog]

First glad you are OK

Not sure there are any grounds for litigation. Looking at the pictures shows severe pitting, and corrosion on the rim, bolt head and the aluminum. This is not normal, and would indicate some long exposure to caustic substances. Hardly a "defect" IMHO.


If I was on a jury and got this case I would give her everything she asked for.

[mrich12000]

So have you gotten the bike and owner to a dealer ?


Hope your ok...

[ndjimbo]

Jim:

I have not clue which it really is, but I wonder if it is pitting or maybe porosity in the casting?

I can not tell for sure from the picture.... but my eyes are not like they were when I was 20 :blush


If it is truly pitting on the inside ... that would have to imply either introduction of caustic substance to the reservoir, or fork oil gone REAL REAL bad ???

What are your thoughts?

Jim

Hey Jim. I agree that it looks more like porosity than pitting. However, I don't know how much porosity, if any, is allowed by the applicable standards. I would assume that very little porosity is allowed for such a high-stress member. I would also be curious to know what type of non-destructive testing the manufacturer does on these things before they leave the factory.

Anyway, as you alluded to in your previous message, we're armchair quarterbacking what could be a complicated metallurgical issue. This is something that "the experts" will need to evaluate. Let's just hope that the cause of this failure, whatever it is, is one-in-a-million!!

Jim

[jimbob59]

Hey Jim. I agree that it looks more like porosity than pitting. However, I don't know how much porosity, if any, is allowed by the applicable standards. I would assume that very little porosity is allowed for such a high-stress member. I would also be curious to know what type of non-destructive testing the manufacturer does on these things before they leave the factory.

Anyway, as you alluded to in your previous message, we're armchair quarterbacking what could be a complicated metallurgical issue. This is something that "the experts" will need to evaluate. Let's just hope that the cause of this failure, whatever it is, is one-in-a-million!!

Jim

Jim ... I agree it looks like porosity (arm-chair-qback) ... I have no idea what, if any, NDT is done ... but I would suspect that the permitted level of porosity would be MUCH lower than what we are seeing in those pictures.....

Based on our "free" pseudo-professional opinions I'd sure get an analysis done... It really looks defective to me... but then I've never cross-sectioned any fork tubes either....... :blush

And again... echoing other members ... you were fortunate not to have been killed ... whoa.............. scary bad....
put a few extra coins in the "poor box" ;-)

Jim

[lebenfitti]

Glad you are going to be OK! Many wishes for a speedy recovery.

I agree with jimbob59 that a good metallurgical failure analysis is in order and that the handling of the pieces should be kept to a minimum. Keep the fresh fracture surface intact - don't damage them until they are analyzed properly.

As a degreed metallurgist with 20 years experience, I can tell you that NO ONE can do a failure analysis from posted pictures, nor can they provide proper conclusions as to what caused the failure. Everything is just speculation thus far.

I don't know your next steps, but if you are interested in pursuing an analysis, PM me and I may be able to get you some contact information for doing a proper analysis.

The history of the part (and the bike) will play a large part in this.

[redbaroness]

Just a heads-up that this happened to another rider this week on an '03 Dakar.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371650&page=8.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=187026&stc=1&d=1220589938

[redbaroness]

For those of you not on ADVRider, check out this thread: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393785

[jtussey]

I'm a mechanical engr and have been riding motorcycles for 30 years. Her failure is just like mine. For those who say fluke failures happen, I would respond in agreement. However, these are not fluke failures. Same failure mode on same motorcycle type. A good indication would be to go to a Honda or similar and ask how many shocks they have replaced with flange failures like this. I think you find the answer to be basically none outside of catastrophic crashes.

Go to BMW and ask how many front shocks they have replaced on the f650gs. They won't tell you, because they are ashamed.

The following is from my direct experience. Each should research the topic fully themselves to determine validity.

NHTSA has begun actively investigating these failures. If anyone else has information which could be useful to the investigation, you might be able to help fellow club members. It is easy to contact NHTSA.

My history: I was a past original owner (current ride K1200) of the fun little 2002 f650gs. After 1400 miles the axle flange on the right side suddenly failed and cracked off from the fork. I was on a straight road, and the bike had seen an easy commuter life with never an accident. I hit the pavement as the front rotor jammed in the caliper. ABS doesn't help these moments...

The spill was not ultra serious, but took me out of action for a few months and left me with several permanent reminders.

I contacted BMW and after they reviewed the bike, they said that I caused the crash (on a straight road at 35mph) and then the axle flange broke. Not their issue.

I had witnesses in cars behind me. I was simply traveling on a straight road, but had crossed over some mostly smooth railroad tracks about 200' prior to the failure.

I had a metallurgist qualified in fatigue and casting failures (Detroit, MI area) look at the failure, and he agreed it was not a catastrophic failure resulting from a crash, but stress/fatigue failure that cracked over time. I passed this information on to BMW, but without any response. Posted to Berlin auf Deutsch, but still no response.

I didn't know what else to do, so I went on with life glad I was not doing 70mph when it failed.

In time I've learned others have been hurt like the lady in this post, and now the details are coalescing. I won't go into details but I've learned enough to know that my situation was not singular, at all.

If I owned a F650GS, I would assure that I had the new, updated fork design before I rode further.

If you want to learn more, visit or mail NHTSA. Feel free to contact me.
jim


website: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/index.cfm
Documents may be submitted to:
Office of Defect Investigations
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington DC 20590
Attn: Bob Young, Principal Investigator, PE09-026

[Acejones]

Don't waste your time dealing with your dealer or BMWNA yourself. Thats what attorneys get paid for.

[Rte2Rider]

A woman riding a 2011 G650GS with 95 miles on the clock has reported a fork failure on the AdventureRider site. See: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=700385 Not good news for a bike that is nine years newer than the 2002 in this case - and one with redesigned forks.