My CA78 is Breaking Up!

[Vince Lupo]

Okay, here is a question that doesn't pertain to my art project SuperHawk....

I have a '66 CA78 that seems to be cracking different parts, and was wondering if this is a common occurrence with a pressed steel frame, or is it just me. The rear fender has developed a nice 2" split on the left side, the lower mount of the right hand crash bar has broken, and my license plate has split at one of the mounting holes. I think that this bike did suffer a tip-over/fall of some kind on its right side at some point in its life, but I don't know if that is a contributor to all these cracks. The bike rides just fine, and I don't notice any unusual vibration - actually, aside from the rock-hard original seat, it's quite an enjoyable bike to ride.

Any suggestions? Have any other Dream owners experienced the same phenomenon?

Many thanks.....

[joeweir1]

Vince-One of the Dreams I got when I built mine had a crack in the rear fender for no appearent reason.Did not look like it hit anything.I think I did hear of this happening on some of these bikes.Joe

[bigscooter]

vibration takes it's tole on the tail end of these things. that rear fender hangs out there quite a ways with not much support. i think all you can do is keep welding up the cracks. the last time i did mine, i welded a beed about 4 inches long, just inside the rolled edge of the fender where they usually crack. it's only been about 1500 miles since then, but so far so good.

i think if a kink gets in that rolled edge, that is where the next crack will start :-(