Same thing happened to me a couple of weekends ago. Currently my bike is sitting in pieces at Grand Prix in Denver. They took it all apart and sent the info in to Husky and are currently waiting to hear back. As far as I'm concerned this is a warranty issue and I shouldn't have to pay a dime to get it fixed. If they put it back to the way it was I will definitely be taking some tail-weight reduction measures because it will just happen again otherwise. You definitely aren't the only one.
Has anyone gotten a replacement yet?? Mine broke in January and so far no word from the dealer on a replacement. I pop riveted a aluminum plate over it and super glued it till a replacement shows up.....if it ever does..
Just spoke to the dealer and they're ordering the parts to replace mine today. I'll post when they arrive.
For everyone who has taken steps to reduce weight on the fender/plate bracket, have any of you experienced breakage? I asked because the first thing I did when bringing my Terra home was to remove the steel bracket, reflectors, and trim the plastic to where it is even with the bottom of my tag, and I can't see any signs of stress on the plastic structure, even after hundreds of miles of rough dirt roads and lots of washboards. Just wondering if doing the weight reduction first is enough prevention for the long haul...in my case, it seems to be.
The problem I see with plastic is that it weakens much more over time compared to metal. Load-bearing plastic may work OK for a year two, or three, but eventually the molecules will break down from exposure to the sun's radiation, solvents, etc. Microscopic surface cracks will form and eventually a stressed area will fail. When and where it breaks will be a crap shoot, IMO. This is the first time I've seen plastic used this way other than in some toys, which, of course, aren't designed for a long life. They really need some reinforcement to be reliable in the long term.
Got a call from the dealer this afternoon. They let me know that all the parts they ordered to replace the fender, turn signals, tail light, etc. we're on back order and didn't know when they would arrive. Being the unbelievably awesome guys that they are, they let me know they disassembled the tail section from one of the other bikes they had in stock and used those parts to get mine put back together. I actually picked the bike up this evening and to my surprise found the high windscreen I ordered from them was installed. These guys are great! I've never dealt with such a great dealer before. I can't say enough good things about them. They have a Terra on the floor if anyone is looking for one. Big D Motorsports in Woodland Park, CO. They left the heavy metal bracket off the fender for me which I'm hoping is enough to keep it from breaking again. I think I'm going to trim it up further to eliminate more weight before hitting the trail again.
Mine didn't have a metal bracket. The number plate was put straight on the fender, and in my box of bits with the tool kit, spare key, and manual was a plastic plate that I assume was a number plate bracket which they never installed
I'd say the dealer didn't see the need for it. No idea if they knew about the cracking issue from Husky or not. I'll pass on the info to them anyway
I think the bikes shipped to Australia have a different spec to the USA version. I haven't seen any in Australia that have anything like the big metal plate described by the North American. My dealer also waved the plastic rego backing plate at me before dumping it in the bin.
The parts book shows exactly that. A US version and a AUS version. I suspect the US version is 'special' in the sense that it has a place to mount side reflectors, but I'm just speculating.
Here is my plan. BR Moto side racks that support the stock rear fender, in addition to keeping the metal plate off of it:
Looking around the garage, I found and old license plate from my 93 DR 350. hasn't been in service since 99, so i took a bit off of it so it looked like this: drilled a couple of holes in it and mounted it where the reflector was. then used the existing holes to mount my plate Side view front Feels sturdy enough, and saves quite a bit of weight. I haven't decided if i'm going to cut the rest of the fender off or not. --Chris
FYI, Bill's Motorcycle Plus seemed to figure out that Husky part #800094038 is a good substitute for the metal plate holder. It's another plate holder, but plastic and much lighter. Fits great.
Dremel tool, some black spray paint and about 30 minutes I took the stock plate holder and made a much smaller and lighter plate holder. Very easy and cheap!
