From: "M. Featherstonhaugh" I have recently noticed that there is a crack in the back right faring, just above the passenger peg. It's about 3" long and it looks as though it has cracked from stress. I am quite sure that it wasn't vandalized or hit. Has anyone else had this problem?? Maxine ---------------------------------------------------- Hi Maxine: Yes. I had that happened to me three weeks after I bought the bike. On the right side above the passenger's peg. I took it off and re-glued it. You can still see the crack, but down the road I will have the bike repainted. I did not bother showing it to the dealer, because I am sure he would have said that something hit it. Now that you have the same problem, maybe I should call YAMAHA directly. I will let you know if I get any results. John Berard ---------------------------------------------------- Welcome back. :) I have notice one point where there appears to be a stress related cracks on my GTS. This point is on the front right side. Not being the first owner however, I don't really know what caused the cracks. The cracks are about 1/2" long, and go out in a starburst from one of the bolts. :( Oh well, anyone know of a techique to weld ABS plastic? Or a good alternative? Louis Tweed ---------------------------------------------------- When I replaced all the bodywork a couple of months ago, the first replacement was cracked in the same spot as you described! Maybe there is a weak spot there!? BTW, nice to hear from you again! Bob Taylor ---------------------------------------------------- Not long after I got my 93 model, I noticed stress cracks radiating from the forward mounting bolt on both side panels. I thought that possibly the bolt had been too tight from the factory. My dealer was nice enough to replace both panels, and I was very careful not to over tighten the mounting bolt. They cracked again a few months later and I asked the dealer to check with Yamaha to see if this has been a common problem. Yamaha claims this hasn't been a recurring complaint and wouldn't replace them a second time. The cracks are hidden by the seat, so I've just removed the bolts. No panel vibration noise, and the cracks haven't traveled. When I feel ambitious I might bend up a thin aluminum backing plate and glue it behind the panel bolt hole to reinforce the area. I do have the Krauser bags on the bike, which could have aggravated the stress on the panel. Anybody else with the same problem? Steve Litscher ---------------------------------------------------- From: CubbyS@webtv.net (Bob Smith) Glue a piece of rubber on the in side of the cracked faring,so it will insulate the vibrations that transfer. approx3/16 thick put some atv sealant on the screw threads. don't overtighten let the atv act as a locktite. ---------------------------------------------------- From: Bobgts2@aol.com i have had both panels crack at the mounting screw hole as has mike coan. i am just having both panels replaced under warrenty. i ttried to have the left panel repaired but was told it could not be welded because the plastic has a fiber in it. several glues and epoxy were tried but did not work. ---------------------------------------------------- From: "Lou Kallery" Where, exactly, are the rear panels cracking? It sounds as though Maxine's damage is in a different spot from Bob's. I'd like to take preventative steps as mine has not cracked yet. From all the recent chat regarding wobbles, shorts, cracks, oil consumption and surging, one almost gets the impression that that GTS suffers from premature superannuation akin to humans reaching that crux whereafter all systems, external and internal, begin rapidly to fade. I hope that's a false analogy since I've never ridden a bike more comfortable or stable over a ton. ---------------------------------------------------- Louis, I'm not sure which cowling you're talking about and I'd like to know. A suggestion, though, from my own history with plastic fairings. A little kid, climbing on my fully faired Seca, broke sections out of the left side lowers. I roughed the inside of the broken pieces, and, using a resin that I was told was compatible with plastic and some glass mat, managed to repair the damage. I think I laid three courses of glass. I rode the machine for an additional 13K and there were no signs of cracking. I've repaired bodywork on other bikes since then, using the same procedure. Seems to work, even for restructuring bolt holes. I think the marine goop (Marine Tex?) is epoxy -- strong, but it might be brittle. I've used it on sailboats for hair line cracks likely to seep, places where the underlying structure is sound, but not for structural (tensile)strength. I sure hope these cracks we're hearing about aren't endemic to the GTS exoskeleton. Hold on. I've gotta check the spelling on endemic. Bryan Harris might read this. He's got a dictionary -- and he uses it. OK. Now that I think about it, I may have gotten that first repair package at NAPA. If you do end up using the repair, let me know how it works. Lou ---------------------------------------------------- From: Louis Tweed The cowling in question is the cowling that surrounds the headlamp. The Fiberglass repair you are talking about would be nice but I don't think I have the room to build up the mat on the backside. ---------------------------------------------------- From: Spearsall@aol.com Body shops can plastic weld these things had my Intrepid fender fixed that way, two winters, no problems ---------------------------------------------------- From: Bobgts2@aol.com both myself and mike coan have had success with the dealer replacing the cracked panels under warrenty. i am told that yamaha backs up their product better than anybody else. you just have to convince the dealer to go after it. i have tried welding the abs without success. if all of that fails mail order the parts from one of the businesses that advertise in the back of the magazines at a discount. and shop the advertisers for best price, they all have 800 numbers. i have ordered oem parts this way at a huge savings. ---------------------------------------------------- From: "Lou Kallery" The crack must be in the corner, then, where a hex-drive bolt holds the forward corner of the fairning. I've repaired corners that were broken away, edges that had fallen away, even with bolt holes. I'm not stumping the frix, though; if you have access, it sounds as though Shawn's idea is best. ---------------------------------------------------- From: "whitez" Forget the dealer. They are all rip-offs! Call Competition Accessories at 1-800-343-0167. You will get a better price.