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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | I am on my 2nd Vision now - a March 2011 silver model and know generally what to look for having been on this forum for some time (this is a brilliant resource but it hasn't half cost me some money over the years.....) so while washing the bike recently I noticed what looked like slivers inside the headlight glass and had this confirmed as cracks in the lamination, I was kind of hoping that Victory had a bad batch that had cleared the system by now. a couple miles later and the cracks are right through and looking likely that a chunk of glass may fall off. What surprised me the other day though is a crack up the windshield from one of the screws, this I am not familiar with although there is a thread about it some years ago. It is worth checking these areas regularly so it seems.
Must add that Victory and my dealer have been very good about it, sent them photos and parts are already on the way to be replaced FOC when it has its 10000 mile service soon.
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Visionary
Posts: 1229
Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Is that a tinted aftermarket windshield? What brand? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | No it isn't unfortunately, my phone has a just acceptable camera. Makes it look good though.... |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | Prob'ly more Cheap ass parts... |
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | Wow! Hate it for you, but glad the dealer is hooking you up!! You might want to check your front fender while your at it. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | Geezuz! I'm going out to eyeball my 2011 as well. WTF is making the headlight glass crack like that? |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | Just went out and looked over the "Glass " on my 2011 Silver and Black Vision no chips or cracks. I ride often and on some very rough surfaces I have to say the Vision is a very surefooted beast.
Thanks for the heads up.
My 2008 Vision popped both of the rubber washers on her front wind screen at about 29000 miles I was going to get replacements but Irene killed her before that happened so if you have an older Vision a look at the wind screen mounting screws from time to time is a good idea |
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Cruiser
Posts: 255
New Brunswick , Canada | Yup ...It's my 3rd headlight and the bike is not even 2 years old..
Looks like the up right corner when you are standing in front...
My 2 headlight crack at the same place..
No problem to get them change on warranty..But i don't like the idea that i'm gona
have to cough up for the next one..very expensive part. No more warranty..
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | 2011 Vision with 24,000 miles.
No cracks on windscreen, headlight, or front fender.
Knock on wood. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | I see at least one cracked polycarbonate product per week returned by customers for the past 16 years. The cracks in your pics are definately the sign of chemical attack. Motorcycle owners, including me, like to clean our bikes with waxes, sprays, bug remover, window cleaner, wheel shine, chrome polish, etc. These chemicals WILL cause PC to crack, even if you don't apply it directly. Mist or vapor will cause cracks over time. Many times it starts in bolts holes like yours where the chemical gets in and never dries up. It also happens frequently at junctions between two PC parts or where it is bonded to another material. The crackes start there the same as bolt holes because the chemicals are suspended in the nooks and crannies. The cracks don't always start in tight places, though. That is just most common place for chemicals to get trapped. Cracks can happen right in the middle of the PC part too.
My guess is something spilled on the right front of your bike. I doubt it is a coincident that the windshield is cracked on the same side as the headlight at the same time? Maybe the water and squeegie at the gas station had something in it (Rain-X from the previous user???). Maybe the spill happened at the factory or during shipping. Maybe it wasn't a spill. Maybe the headlights and windshields are stored next to machining coolant at the factory and the vapor is contaminating them. Maybe the dealer sprayed something on it to wipe off the dust while it was sitting on the showroom floor.
It is very difficult to determine what causes crackes like yours because it is usually months or years ago when the PC came in contact with the offending chemical. However and whenever it happened, I can assure you those cracks are chemical attacks.
Vision owners, do not put anything on your windshield or headlight other than plain water. Please read my posting from a previous thread regarding this issue.
http://www.Vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=3471&pos...
I hope Victory replaces your parts since they would not be able to say without doubt that the contamination did not originate at the factory (or their vendor).
Edited by victoryvisiontour 2011-10-20 5:29 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| uknessie
I would ask the dealer to replace the rubber grommets that the headlight bolts to. They might be weather checked or even harden. Just an idea.
As for chemicals causing cracks your right when I worked at a aftermarket shop we had a rash of cracked taillights it turned out the guy in back was putting a dab of blue locktight on the screws. Locktight creates heat and the taillight plastic would crack right on the edge of the holes. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | Loctite is a cyanoacrylate adhesive (similar to Super Glue and Krazy Glue). Fast acting glues can haze polycarbonate very quickly and, as mentioned above, lead to cracks later. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | While the chemical damage would appear to be the most logical explanation in this case this is probably a good time to remind members not to over torque the windshield mounting bolts. Doing so can cause stress fractures to occur. |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | Well, now I know why I don't have these problems.
I don't use any chemicals when I wash my bike and I don't wash my bike that often. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | Lojak - 2011-10-19 10:38 PM
Yup ...It's my 3rd headlight and the bike is not even 2 years old..
Looks like the up right corner when you are standing in front...
My 2 headlight crack at the same place..
No problem to get them change on warranty..But i don't like the idea that i'm gona
have to cough up for the next one..very expensive part. No more warranty..
You are correct Lojak but the headlight has cracked the other side as well, just not right through.
Interesting about the chems, I don't wash the bike that often but do use a bug remover. Had the bike since March and washed about 5 times. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | So... would the use of the Honda spray polish or Plexus cause aggressive chemical contamination? Or is it safe to use on the headlight and windshield? It's quite ludicrous that you can't use a cleaner on the Vision, when it's supposed to be designed for surfaces just like that. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 48
Simpsonville, SC | Not to jack the thread, but maybe victoryvisiontour is on to something here.
I have a question for all of you with cracked front fenders, "what do you use to polish and/ or wash your bike?" Could they somehow be putting a chemical on the front fender that reacts with the material at the mounting bolts leading to cracks? |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 48
Simpsonville, SC | BTW, I only use Turtle wax Ice products and water on my Vision. No cracks on windshield, headlight, or front fender after 1 year of ownership. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| I use Ice on my bike too if I want a quick shine. But about every other month I use a good carnauba wax and I've never had a problem. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Interesting note on the chemical contamination. I have used Novus http://www.novuspolish.com/ for years now with no cracks or other visible damage. I knew about not using products that contained ammonia on plexiglass. I have posted about carefully using a heat gun to remove scratches. (this was from information I found on the bomb squad guys scratching their shields) We have been using it here at work since I found out about it years ago. We don't throw out any damaged plexiglass anymore.
I have also used automatic dishwasher liquid without any damage over the years on plexiglass.
We just keep learning. |
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Tourer
Posts: 492
Indianapolis, IN | lennyb - 2011-10-20 7:38 PM While the chemical damage would appear to be the most logical explanation in this case this is probably a good time to remind members not to over torque the windshield mounting bolts. Doing so can cause stress fractures to occur. I agree with not over tightening. I lost a wind shield screw and nut the other day and had to order a replacement. When I installed I found that there is no "stop" in the design of the screw, so it is possible to put way too much pressure on the plastic at the mounting holes. My solution was to remove all the screws one at a time and re-install with a dab of blue loc-tite on the threads to prevent vibrating loose, and then tightened them down till they were just snug. I work with polycarbinate a lot in my job and it is very easy to over stress this "unbreakable" material at fastener points. A temporary fix until you can get a new shield is to make sure that fastener is not too tight and then drill a very small hole in the plastic right at the end of the crack. This should relieve the stress and buy you some time without the crack getting any worse. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | Drilling a 1l4" hole at the end of the crack definitely helps the crack from spreading. It relieves the stress at the single point and spreads it around the circumference of the hole. Obviously the hole looks bad, but a crack all the way across the windshield or fender looks worse. I always suggest placing a decal, such as Vision Riders, over the hole until the part can be replaced. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| In my shop I have an automatic cutoff saw with a Lexan hood which uses a synthetic coolant. For the first couple of years I had it I used to leave the hood closed when it was idle. The left over mist from the coolant ended up cracking the hood in about 100 places. Since figuring out what was causing the cracks I now leave it open so it can vent when not being used. No new cracks. It also destroyed the plastic electrical covers inside the machine. I replaced them and haven't had any problems since. Plastics and certain chemicals definitely don't get along.
Marc |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | Chemicals now? Geez. Talk about one more thing that never occurred to me... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | Although both are being replaced under warranty I will stop using some cleaners and see what happens, have to say though that my last Vision was 3 years old, cleaned exactly the same way and no problems. |
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Cracked Headlight & Windshield!!
