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Cruiser
Posts: 146
| I just returned from a 3000 mile road trip and the front half of my front fender cracked (the holes where the driving lights are mounted) and one of my PIAA's popped right off and was dangling for several miles before I realised what had happened. I remember hearing a clank sound when I hit a bump in the road in Mena, AR and it kind of concerned me but I was close to my destination so I let it go. Before I got to my destination I kept hearing a pinging sound so I pulled over and walked to the front of my bike to discover that the clank was the left side of my front fender cracking and the bolts popping out. The pinging was my poor dangling left PIAA light. Which does not work now by the way. Has anyone else had this particular issue with the front half of the front fender?? |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | Lone Ranger - 2013-08-12 12:28 PM The one on my '08 recently broke away from the side bolts as well. It is still secured at the top of the fender, but there is enough play in it that it occasionally hangs on the lip of the fairing behind it. I thought it was the head bearings jamming up the first time it did this, until I looked and saw the fender was jammed into the fairing. That's what happened to me too. The fender flies up and into the lower part of the fairing making steering impossible. I've told my dealer to order me a new one because I have a few long trips planned. Hopefully we can convince Victory that the design is faulty and they need to come up with a more dependable and safer fender. I would prefer metal. Maybe there's a legitimate reason it wasn't metal in the first place, but I'd like to hear what it was. When you can't steer a 900 pound motorcycle, it gets seriously intensive very fast. |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area |
XRsteve - 2013-08-12 6:57 PM Thanks for the warning, just checked mine..........Nothing yet. You will not get a warning. The plastic will fracture or wear through and if your speed is high enough, the bottom of the fender will fly up and into the lower jaw/maw of the fairing. Then you can't steer. |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | marcparnes - 2013-08-12 7:00 PM You have to look really close with the fender removed in order to see the starting of a crack. Its very faint at first. It starts near the screw head radiating out of the hole. You need good light to catch it. With the first fender I thought it was fine till I removed it and took it outside to inspect it and there it was on both holes. BTW, its very easy to remove without disturbing the front half. A 5 mm allan wrench will do it. Just fish it in from the opposite side of the wheel from underneath the lip of the fender. Of course you have to pull the snap connections apart that connect the front to the rear. If you use a flat head screwdriver on one side and your fingernail on the other side they come right up. Marc Great advice and perfect directions for the removal and inspection of the bottom half of the front fender. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | This could turn in to a Catch 22. The only to really check to see if the rear of the fender is cracked is to remove it. If it's cracked (or cracks later on), the first thing the dealer/MaVic will ask is whether the rear of the fender was ever removed and if so, was it reinstalled "properly". If it's been removed more than once, the dealer/MaVic will claim the removing/reinstalling is the cause of the crack(s).
The only time MaVic can be sure (in their lawyers minds, anyway) the break (and resulting accident) wasn't the owners fault is if it's never been removed and then you won't know it's a problem and can't avoid it. You can see the vicious circle.
There's enough "evidence" by now for MaVic to see that this is an ongoing (and potentially deadly) issue. There are a lot of TV stations that do some "problem solving" things. I wonder if it would help to bring this issue to their attention or if it would cause MaVic to back off more than they already are? |
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Tourer
Posts: 447
Cleveland, GA | I called my dealer today to order a replacement piece. The part is a bit over $90. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | I'll check mine during front tire replacement. I currently have 14761 miles on my 2011 Vision and seems to be no cracks emanating from the two fender mounting holes at this time...
I plan to to reinforce it (as others have repaired it) with metal strips on each side of the inside and additional bolts to firmly attach the metal strips. Painting the heads of the bolt(s) flat black (someone here in the thread did that as well) will adequately blend the bolts in; that back portion of the fender is not readily visible anyway.
The reason why I am doing this; is because I'm not holding my breath that Ma Vic is going to come out with a recall or fix for this. Repairing it/reinforcing it yourself is way cheaper than a new one piece fender, and is something I can do NOW.
All motorcycles have faults and manufacturing glitches and weaknesses; I'm pretty much in the habit of dealing with the issues when they pop up. Motorcycles are man made and man made is frequently without flaws. So instead of whining about it... fix it!!! (I say that in a friendly way...) |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | willtill - 2013-08-14 6:11 AM
So instead of whining about it... fix it!!!
Um, no. The whole point is that this is a SAFETY flaw. If a design flaw caused window regulators to fail early (like the late '90s Pontiac Grand Ams), that's a concern and something that should be dealt with but if Pontiac wouldn't fix the issue (they did on the next generation), it's more of an annoyance than anything.
This problem can kill you (or your pillion....or the innocent person coming the other way that you run into)! I guarantee, if you "fix it" and it breaks, legally it's your fault. All MaVic will say is that their engineers had it right and you messed with it and made it "wrong".
Since this is a widespread and on going problem, the only way Vision owners have any chance of getting MaVics attention is to whine about it. Mine hasn't broken...yet. Either Victory will recall this and fix it correctly or I'll put a fender on from an X bike but if mine happens to fail, I'll whine very loudly to everyone who will listen (including the media).
As you said, every vehicle has flaws. If it's not a safety related issue, live with it, complain about it for a second and move on. If it's safety related, do whatever you have to do (legally) to resolve the issue ASAP. MaVic will start losing customers to other brands. A 15 year old company can't afford to do that. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | OK. I will temporarily reinforce it as previously described. Then I will whine with the rest of you.... |
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Tourer
Posts: 500
| Checked mine yesterday and so far so good with only 7500 miles, but if it breaks I will also get an attorney and let the local media and anyone else I know that Victory is ignoring a major safety issue and should be held accountable...I will not buy another Vision until they correct this serious issue...... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | Gadget - 2013-08-13 5:15 PM
I just returned from a 3000 mile road trip and the front half of my front fender cracked (the holes where the driving lights are mounted) and one of my PIAA's popped right off and was dangling for several miles before I realised what had happened. I remember hearing a clank sound when I hit a bump in the road in Mena, AR and it kind of concerned me but I was close to my destination so I let it go. Before I got to my destination I kept hearing a pinging sound so I pulled over and walked to the front of my bike to discover that the clank was the left side of my front fender cracking and the bolts popping out. The pinging was my poor dangling left PIAA light. Which does not work now by the way. Has anyone else had this particular issue with the front half of the front fender??
Gadget - THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I HEARD WHEN MINE BROKE. I heard a clank and thought it was the trunk...2 minutes later my steering locked up and I almost dumped her....
I am glad you are safe...please go to Victory Facebook page and send them a message about this. I hope you took some pictures to document the break!!! Send that as well.
Thanks for posting about it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | I received another message via facebook that consumer services will be in touch...i will keep everyone posted |
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Cruiser
Posts: 251
Mechanicsville, VA United States | How do you post on Victory Facebook?, I replaced mine 8 months ago, still got the broken one! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | So, Victory finally called me tonight. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was riding Venom and they left a message. They said to call them back because I needed to take Vision to an authorized Victory dealer so they can inspect it and give feedback to their engineers. They also provided a case number. I already have an appointment at Bairs for Saturday in preparation for an upcoming trip.
Not sure where this will go but atleast someone did call....that is a good sign. I will continue to post up any updates. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | diamonbird - 2013-08-14 5:56 PM How do you post on Victory Facebook?, I replaced mine 8 months ago, still got the broken one! A bunch of us are here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178123948951394/ |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | So I talked with Victory Customer Service....they thanked me for making them aware of the issue. He reiterated that I need to bring the broken fender to Bair's (authorized dealer) so they can take pictures and document the damage to the fairing, etc. and said they will be back in touch with me. I will not mention the CSR's name but he also rides a Vision and said after hearing my problem, went out and check his - no cracks.
They would not commit to towing the Vision to Bairs (got a politically correct response) - but, it was not that critical for me because I took the broken fender off and will ride it without the fender on. I am hoping that road debris does not do further damage to the undercarage area - including my engine.
I reinforced that he should elevate this issue to senior most levels at Victory because of the widespread issue and I believe it is a matter of time before someone crashes as a result of this fender and is seriously injured or killed. I also told them that they need to look at the VOG (and other forums) for additional feedback on this issue.
He thanked me for bringing this up and said he (personally) will stay in touch with me on the matter.
I will keep this thread updated.
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | Over on the VMC a Vision rider posted the following:
"Mine looked fine and felt fine until I un-did the bolts and the pieces fell out on the floor......"
SO EVEN IF YOUR FENDER DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE THE CRACKS - IT MAY STILL BE BROKEN AND YOU CAN'T SEE IT. I recommend you remove it and inspect it...especially if you have a fair amount of miles on your Vision.
Edited by Spiderman 2013-08-16 9:53 AM
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
| WOW is all I can say!! New to this forum and viewed this thread. Checked my fender and sure did find hair-line cracks around one of the screws (15000 miles). Will see what my dealer has to say about this when I take the bike in next week. This is obviously a major design flaw and needs to be recalled! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 74
Navarre, FL | For those of you that have had cracked fenders go here https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ And file a complaint with NHTSA, that is the only way to get Vic's attention. Enough complaints and they will be forced to address the issue. |
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Tourer
Posts: 447
Cleveland, GA | NHTSA complaint submitted. Thanks for the link! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | New steel (XC) fender should be here (and mounted) this week. Once I remove the old fender, I"ll carefully inspect it. If it's cracked, I'll submit a complaint fo the NHTSA, too. (And scream very loudly to MaVic.)
As Spidey has said, this cannot be allowed to die. |
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Nova Scotia | Seems this is not new. Found this earlier today, then found your thread this evening.
http://www.faqs.org/car/victory-vision/
scroll near the bottom, this has been happening since 2011. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | Nova_Vision - 2013-08-18 9:32 PM
Seems this is not new. Found this earlier today, then found your thread this evening.
http://www.faqs.org/car/victory-vision/
scroll near the bottom, this has been happening since 2011.
We are very aware that this is not a new issue - which pisses me off even more. Thanks for posting! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | Oh, c'mon. It's only someones life. Well worth losing a life if MaVic can save a few bucks. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 74
Navarre, FL | While WE are aware of the problem NHTSA (who orders recalls) has probably not had many complaints on the issue. This is a serious SAFETY issue and the more reports they receive the more likely they are to take action. It seems like a relatively cheap fix (new steel fender?). |
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Front Fender - Major Design Flaw
