Chain Slider failures

[snydes]

Kevin asked me for vin number....might have a batch issue?!?!?!

Possibly, but since Mark911’s very early 17 MX and Phillips ‘17 also broke it would be a very big batch. Probably needed to know just for record keeping.

 

[Happy Neighbors]

Kevin asked me for vin number....might have a batch issue?!?!?!

Sn# 51 good so far

 

[allesad]

S/N 36, all good. but only 324 miles

 

[Fod]

I have good news and bad news. Bad news is, this is what kind of warranty we will have to accept from Alta:

Thanks for sending over these photos. Our Regional Service Manager reviewed the part and has determined that it did not break from a defect in materials or craftsmanship and is therefore not eligible to be covered under warranty . New chain sliders can be ordered through Alta Dealers. The chain slider part number is 4400360-01 and the MSRP is $41.98.

I hope this information helps. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Happy Riding and Stay Fast!

Kevin

Pretty obvious there is a warranty issue with our chain sliders. I am not sure what good their warranty is when I use the bike in perfect moto conditions at a much lower level then what motocross bikes are designed for and get that response. I feel I am jumping on Marks train....the train with dissatisfied Alta owners. Lets all hope the regional service manager and the designer of the chain slider have nothing to do with frame and drivetrain of the Redshift or we may be screwed!!!!

Good news: I get to share it with you guys which helps me vent my frustration!

 

[Philip]

Well, a new Alta slider would only be good to sell the bike with, not use it. But at least we put Alta on notice to fix this crap. Let's hope either they improve their sliders on the aftermarket does it for them.

 

[rayivers]

If your current slider is still mostly intact, a 9.50"/240mm x 1.50"/38mm x .125"/3mm steel strip JB Welded to the top of the lower slider section & drilled for the rear mtg screw should beef it up quite a bit. The raised ring around the screw hole would have to be cut off flush first, then the plastic & metal roughed up before gluing (at a slight angle towards the screw-hole area). After curing the screw hole can be drilled (shoulder-screw measurement TBD), then you should be good to go. Normally I wouldn't post this until after I'd modified mine & put several rides on it, but I figured why wait. This may work on some broken ones as well, provided there's still most of the lower slider left (the rear hole area won't be needed, but the curved part around the front of the pivot area will be). The .125"-thick stainless will fit real tight under the swingarm-pivot area, making it rock-solid against upward chain whip. It'll eventually wear through to the metal, but it shouldn't flex-crack and will put up a lot more fight.

316 stainless flat bar (use 'Create a Custom Size' button)

IMO the ideal solution would be to double the slider thickness around the front of the pivot, then increase the bottom run thickness a lot to fit against the swingarm bottom.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

I sent an email to TM Designworks today asking if they have Alta parts on the drawing board. No reply yet, but if enough people ask, it may nudge them.

 

[Philip]

If your current slider is still mostly intact, a 9.50"/240mm x 1.50"/38mm x .125"/3mm steel strip JB Welded to the top of the lower slider section & drilled for the rear mtg screw should beef it up quite a bit. The raised ring around the screw hole would have to be cut off flush first, then the plastic & metal roughed up before gluing (at a slight angle towards the screw-hole area). After curing the screw hole can be drilled (shoulder-screw measurement TBD), then you should be good to go. Normally I wouldn't post this until after I'd modified mine & put several rides on it, but I figured why wait. This may work on some broken ones as well, provided there's still most of the lower slider left (the rear hole area won't be needed, but the curved part around the front of the pivot area will be). The .125"-thick stainless will fit real tight under the swingarm-pivot area, making it rock-solid against upward chain whip. It'll eventually wear through to the metal, but it shouldn't flex-crack and will put up a lot more fight.

316 stainless flat bar (use 'Create a Custom Size' button)

IMO the ideal solution would be to double the slider thickness around the front of the pivot, then increase the bottom run thickness a lot to fit against the swingarm bottom.

This is a solid advice, Ray. And I might eventually decide to do exactly that. There is but one problem with it though. Those Alta customers that didn't switch from Zero are not used to fixing up broken OEM parts, which should have been bulletproof from the factory!



We are still venting... Need to break something to achieve the maximum cathartic effect... not fix something. Yet.

 

[Philip]

I sent an email to TM Designworks today asking if they have Alta parts on the drawing board. No reply yet, but if enough people ask, it may nudge them.

@MotoMinded also wanted to start making those.

 

[rayivers]

Those Alta customers that didn't switch from Zero are not used to fixing up broken OEM parts, which should have been bulletproof from the factory!

I agree 100% ! - but it was real hard for me to watch my swingarm & motor mounts get irreversibly chewed due to poor OEM design, knowing I could fix it immediately myself. It's still amazing to me that after only two model years Alta has more aftermarket support for dirt-type items than Zero did after 11 years. Huge kudos to Elite, MotoMinded, Warp 9, SXS, etc., and Alta themselves for continuously working to make Altas better.

 

[snydes]

Anyone who has a broken slider should post a picture of the break in this thread, rest assured Alta is keeping an eye on this. @MattB , you are a moto guy, have you checked yours yet?

 

[bluefxstc]

It is BS that Alta is not supporting this under warranty. These parts didn't fail due to wear, they failed because they weren't up to the task they were designed for. They failed because of poor material choices, poor design, or both. FOD's chain slider didn't wear out, the mounting hole broke off. How could this be anything but a "defect in materials or craftsmanship". Alta built a great bike the they need to accept that there may be some problems and fix them as the occur under warranty. Frustrating and disappointing!

 

[rayivers]

It is BS that Alta is not supporting this under warranty.

I think this is industry-standard for an MX race bike. I doubt any of the major ICE mfrs would replace a broken chain slider under warranty, though the dealer might do it out-of-pocket to keep you as a customer. Just my $02.

 

[snydes]

It is BS that Alta is not supporting this under warranty. These parts didn't fail due to wear, they failed because they weren't up to the task they were designed for. They failed because of poor material choices, poor design, or both. FOD's chain slider didn't wear out, the mounting hole broke off. How could this be anything but a "defect in materials or craftsmanship". Alta built a great bike the they need to accept that there may be some problems and fix them as the occur under warranty. Frustrating and disappointing!

I have to agree this is a poor design. I never bent over to look at the underside of that before this but as soon as I seen it I was surprised they would do such a thing. You can’t bridge a huge gap like that and only have that thin area around the bolt and expect that to hold up. Once enough people post pictures of breaks they should at the very least design a revised part.

 

[Fog 25]

Should be a redesign and then a recall. At least a replacement at cost.

 

[Philip]

Some dirt bikes have parts that tend to fail in one way or another. But they do not offer warranties on their stuff. So you usually do not see long threads with complaints. Also, those bikes have been around for decades, so most known issues have been fixed.

Alta offered some warranty on some parts to make us comfortable to switch and buy their product. We swallowed the hook. Now either us or them must be not interpreting this warranty correctly. I am wondering who that is.

 

[bluefxstc]

I don't think that FOD or Mark911 abused or misused their bikes. The part failed, and from the pictures, it looks like it failed either from a material defect or poor design/material choice. It didn't wear out, it broke. It also doesn't look like it broke from from something hitting it. The chain slider broke in normal, should have been anticipated, use. I don't have a lot of problem with the fact that it broke. These are new bikes. If the only problem that Alta has is the chain slider, they are doing great. A true measure of a company is how they handle a problem like this. They can either stand behind their warranty and fix it (good) or try and avoid it with "it did not break from a defect in materials or craftsmanship and is therefore not eligible to be covered under warranty" (bad). I understand that other manufactures may not stand behind an issue like this, but that doesn't make it right, only normal. Just my opinion, feel free to disagree, but I think that Alta should fix the issue.

 

[snydes]

For the record Fog 25, Fod ,Mark911 , and Philip so far have said their sliders were broke. If Fod was indeed the first case of this Alta was made aware of then I can somewhat understand their response, it’s not going to be cheap to redesign this. Probably the easiest fix would be a different material choice if that’s even an option. If enough people come forward I think they will come through for us. Just my opinion.

 

[Mark911]

Next time I have my shock off (happens almost weekly) I'll run my wheel through its travel and see if/how the chain interferes with the front guide. Obviously it's suppose to touch, but it's how and where it makes contact that important. Chain slap is another factor I'll look at.

I'm not surprised that it happened, things break. I don't even mind paying $40 bucks as long as it's only a "once a year" deal. I'd pay that in air cleaners alone on my ICE bikes! What I would mind is going to my dealer and them saying the part is on back order and it'll be 2 months wait. I don't know what Alta's formula is for stocking attrition parts like this one, but my feeling (based on other orders) is that they're struggling a bit and only have a few parts (if any) on the shelf.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Im betting Alta didnt even design the slider, and just sourced the entire thing out to either Acerbis or WP. And getting an outside vendor to support this is likely where the problem lies.
I also assume Acerbis did the design/manufacture of the water holding subframe.