I did drill the ends of the crack Bob, and two other points along the way where the crack had started to breed offspring. I always do that. If that had been done when the crack was only an inch long, and the previous tenant had stopped running over bumps with the front wheels in the air, it might have been sufficient, but a 5" crack is pretty serious stuff.
Yes, Honda's single lever height adjusting system probably isn't much worse than other similar systems, the problem is that it seems most Hondas are used by contractors, and they see a lot of service before they are junked out. With the wheel mounted forward on a bell crank, the other (vertical) arm of which connects to a link that runs horizontally backward, all of the upward force on the wheel translates into an almost equal forward force on the axle pivot. That wouldn't necessarily matter if the axle were supported in a drilled, closely fitted hole, but because of the cranked axle joining it to the right side front wheel, it can't be in a hole, let alone a fitted one. It goes through a U shaped recess, and is loosely held up by a spring clip, so it is free to bounce hard against the front of the recess every time you hit a bump, and to spring up and down while it's doing it. It looks very similar to a laboratory wear-test machine, in fact.
