[eyescream]

...before assuming you need a rebuild, bearing replacement or new DU bushing.

I was removing my rear shock to send to Push for its yearly refurb/rebuild, and this is what I found.

Also what is weird is when I removed my shock and the broken dogbone, my entire rear triangle shifted to the right, leaving the entire thing about 1/4" right of center, totally misaligned. I don't know if a misaligned rear triangle (or maybe even front triangle) caused the break in the db, or if the break in the db caused the misalignment. I'm guessing its the former, as I can't imagine the small amount of riding I've been doing since feeling the play (that I thought was DU bushing slop) could cause a total rear tri to shift that far off of center. And from my inspection of the rear tri tonight, I can't find any other cracks in it. Not to mention the broken piece of the dogbone has galled my shock pretty good too; I don't think it's affecting performance but it is a result of a broken Yeti component and should probably be covered and replaced at Yeti's cost.

Guess we'll find out how good that legendary Yeti warranty is this week! To make it even more complicated I bought it from Full Cycles which is no longer a Yeti dealer, but I do have the receipt. I would like to believe Yeti will do the right thing, based on everything I have read here over the years.

I'll keep everyone posted, good bad or ugly.

 

[Zanetti]

What was that clamp bolt torqued to?

Looks like a long handle allen key along with a "if tight is good then really tight is gooder" mentality is the cause.

 

[eyescream]

25-30 in/lb just like the manual states, but thanks for asking. I do have a torque wrench and I do use it. And this certainly isn't the first cracked dogbone seen around here, do a search.

And besides, torque on that bolt wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with how badly that rear triangle is off center. Based on how that thing is pulling to the right, don't you find it curious that the dogbone broke on the side that would be getting the majority of the stress from that?

 

[kiwirider]

I wouldn't worry about the marks on the shock as they are not on the area that the seal passes, and will be mostly hidden when the bike is assembled.

How much effort does it take to center the swingarm?

Yeti will sort you out no problems.

 

[eyescream]

I wouldn't worry about the marks on the shock as they are not on the area that the seal passes, and will be mostly hidden when the bike is assembled.

How much effort does it take to center the swingarm?

Yeti will sort you out no problems.

I'm really not worried about Yeti handling this properly at all. I'm the original owner and I have my receipt. This post wasn't about that, just reminding people to check their dogbones if they get any suspicious noises/play from the rear end of the bike; in fact this "issue" presented itself just like the DU bushing slop that 575 owners experience from time to time.

As far as centering the seatstay, it is carbon so it will flex over with some effort. Just doesn't seem to me that it should be that far off to the right, was only asking if anyone else had experienced or noticed the same thing. That's a pretty high stress area considering the dogbone/shock all interfaces there, and I wouldn't think forcing a piece into place in that area would be good (or designed that way). I have to believe that it would misalign the holes ever so slightly causing premature wear?

I've sent this off to Yeti and have the bike sans wheels and shock in my car today awaiting instructions on what they would like me to do. Hopefully all goes well and I can send my shock off to Push as previously planned and by the time it gets back I have the proper replacement parts back from Yeti.

My biggest concern is having to take it to an LBS (where I didn't buy the bike) and get poor service because I bought it mail order through Full Cycles - and by poor service I mean higher rebuild/handling fees, or slower service because they get nothing out of the deal. I'm hoping Rage Cycles will handle it better than that, but it is a concern.

 

[azdog]

Is the rear triangle actually hitting the seat tube or is that just my eyes! That's the first thing I noticed when I bought mine was how this was off center but not as much as in your pics.

 

[eyescream]

Is the rear triangle actually hitting the seat tube or is that just my eyes! That's the first thing I noticed when I bought mine was how this was off center but not as much as in your pics.

Yes Bryan, it is! That's free hanging with only the bottom pivot bolts in.

The only difference in the 2 pics is in the 2nd one I put the female/male shock bolt through the seat stays so I wouldn't lose it. But it also gives a pretty accurate view and better frame of reference of how much it is off. That's what the triangle does (on mine) when there is no dogbone or shock attached at the junction, but the bottom pivot bolts haven't been touched. It won't clear the seat tube with out being flexed to the left.

But, when the bike was assembled the seatstays were equidistant from the ST; which scares me as to how far they had to be flexed to be "on-center".

 

[eyescream]

Cautiously optimistic...

I do have to go through a local dealer even though I didn't buy there, so it appears as though Yeti is making good on the Full Cycles "no longer a dealer" issue. I spoke with Rage Cycles and they will handle it, I detected no lack of enthusiasm in doing so which is good. Apparently I will be getting a new dogbone with bearings and bolts according to Kevin @ Warranty.

Scariest part is that the rear triangle is supposed to be like that, and is supposed to be muscled into position. I'm a little concerned given the high stress that part is under, seems illogical to "bend" something to get it to fit without a consequence, but who knows. Guess if it was a flaw there would be a lot of breakages and we'd no doubt hear about them.

Shock can continue on its journey to Push, and I will patiently await my returned parts to rebuild my bike!

 

[slcpunk]

Scariest part is that the rear triangle is supposed to be like that, and is supposed to be muscled into position. I'm a little concerned given the high stress that part is under, seems illogical to "bend" something to get it to fit without a consequence, but who knows. Guess if it was a flaw there would be a lot of breakages and we'd no doubt hear about them.

Shock can continue on its journey to Push, and I will patiently await my returned parts to rebuild my bike!

Can you elaborate on that - its supposed to be off center? That does seem odd - what else did they tell you about it?

 

[kiwirider]

Scariest part is that the rear triangle is supposed to be like that, and is supposed to be muscled into position. I'm a little concerned given the high stress that part is under, seems illogical to "bend" something to get it to fit without a consequence, but who knows. Guess if it was a flaw there would be a lot of breakages and we'd no doubt hear about them.

My 575 full-carbon rear was perfectly centered with the dogbone removed, and would just slide into place over the dogbone without any sideways adjustments required.

Maybe it's not supposed to be like that, but is acceptable anyway.

 

[eyescream]

Can you elaborate on that - its supposed to be off center? That does seem odd - what else did they tell you about it?

Kevin @ Yeti said that's how it is...and it's not uncommon to have to bang it in place with a rubber mallet.

I don't know, but I have owned a few high-end bikes in my time and a "mallet" has never come into play with suspension components. Seems like maybe the front tri and the rear tri come from different places, and the "engineered misalignment" helps to overcome that? WTF.

edit: He told me that's why the bikes use double pinch bolts, both on the seat stay and the dogbone, to overcome the misalignment that may happen and thats how it's supposed to be.

 

[eyescream]

My 575 full-carbon rear was perfectly centered with the dogbone removed, and would just slide into place over the dogbone without any sideways adjustments required.

Maybe it's not supposed to be like that, but is acceptable anyway.

I'm glad your bike is perfectly aligned with the dogbone removed, mine isn't.

I don't think it's acceptable, I am admittedly a Yeti fanboi but i don't think that type of tolerance (or lack thereof) is OK, and the explanation I got today leaves me wondering.

I am having a hard time understanding what YOU think is acceptable, maybe I am reading your post wrong.

 

[eyescream]

And just to clear the air, I love my (2nd) 575, but it just makes me wonder what I might be missing out there in regards to stiffness/durability. A lot of 5+ travel bikes out there right now so it's not Yeti's sole playground anymore, like it was 5 years ago.

 

[ridetheridge]

I really find it odd that it doesn't center. I'm sure it wasn't engineered on the blueprints that way when it went to manufacturing.

IMO, the additional torsional stress placed on the dogbone to keep it aligned must have played a role in it's eventual cracking. What is Yeti's reason for "why" it's off-center ?

 

[eyescream]

What is Yeti's reason for "why" it's off-center ?

I don't know, I wasn't given a reason that it was like that, only that its not uncommon and that's why there are pinch bolts on both the dogbone and the seat stay, to allow for aligning the shock bolt hole.

 

[Full Trucker]

I really find it odd that it doesn't center. I'm sure it wasn't engineered on the blueprints that way when it went to manufacturing.

IMO, the additional torsional stress placed on the dogbone to keep it aligned must have played a role in it's eventual cracking. What is Yeti's reason for "why" it's off-center ?

Or it could very well be the opposite: the additional stress on the rear tri from the dogbone cracking may have been the reason it went off-center.

Just a thought.

 

[eyescream]

Look, I am not going to let this dampen my love for Yeti; bottom line is that they are taking care of the broken dogbone quickly, can't ask for much more than that. I just wanted a better explanation and attention paid to what I felt was an odd alignment of my rear triangle.

 

[eatdrinkride]

Hey Eric, sorry to hear about your breakage. No doubt Yeti will replace the db but the whole thing is a little sketchy. I'd bet the misaligned triangle is a result of the break not the cause, and while I'm sure it's "common" to Yeti to see this happen, I'd bet it's not at all common on a new frame. Sounds to me like they are willing to replace the broken part but would rather not absorb the cost of a rear end as well.

All in all I'm sure it will ride just fine once shimmied into position. Still..........I gotta believe years ago Yeti would be sending a new rear end as well, or at least fixing whatever is causing the misalignment and not just chalking it up to "normal-for a broken db frame".

Oh well, not what your post was intended to be about anyhow. I just checked my frame and will do so often. Let's do a night ride at SoMo sometime!

-Jamie

Oh, and to your point. When I removed my db to send the shock out I never noticed any problem with the rear end not aligning properly.

 

[eyescream]

Hey Eric, sorry to hear about your breakage. No doubt Yeti will replace the db but the whole thing is a little sketchy. I'd bet the misaligned triangle is a result of the break not the cause, and while I'm sure it's "common" to Yeti to see this happen, I'd bet it's not at all common on a new frame. Sounds to me like they are willing to replace the broken part but would rather not absorb the cost of a rear end as well.

All in all I'm sure it will ride just fine once shimmied into position. Still..........I gotta believe years ago Yeti would be sending a new rear end as well, or at least fixing whatever is causing the misalignment and not just chalking it up to "normal-for a broken db frame".

Oh well, not what your post was intended to be about anyhow. I just checked my frame and will do so often. Let's do a night ride at SoMo sometime!

-Jamie

Oh, and to your point. When I removed my db to send the shock out I never noticed any problem with the rear end not aligning properly.

Hey Jamie, yeah it's a bummer. As far as absorbing the cost I wasn't demanding anything free and truth be told I'd probably pay a reasonable fee to get a new part I won't think about every time I am bombing down National from now on, just waiting for it to break. Peter at Rage didn't think it was a big issue he hadn't seen before so maybe these things are just assembled like that and I have never noticed it.

As far as the rear end not being like that before on yours, it wasn't on mine either when I originally took the shock off to send to Push, or I would have surfaced it then.

Yeah, lets do SoMo after it cools down a bit, I work down in Phoenix now by the airport so getting over there in the evening isn't an issue. Just drop me a line.

 

[eatdrinkride]

Yeah, lets do SoMo after it cools down a bit,

Now you're just being a pansy. You know it's well under 105 degrees by 10pm now....