With the new z500 at the dealer for some warranty work on the 4WD actuator, I decided to roll the broken z600 into the garage for a teardown and assessment into what parts I'll need to order. I more than expected to see a broken mounting plate for the rear gearbox, but I did NOT expect to see a mounting plate that had also been broken BEFORE. The mounting bracket had two weld lines in mirrored places to the new breaks that were on it. Along with some additional "re-weld" evidence found other places on the frame I'm reasonably certain something serious happened to the machine early in its life that the second owner I bought it from was completely unaware of. (or he actually did it and lied like hell to me) Anyway, the more I dug the more I realized that the majority of the damage was in the two flimsy mounts and an axle that took the brunt of the disconnect event. The main bearing in the gearbox was flexed enough where it makes a little bit of noise when turned so I'll be doing a complete rebuild of that with a mechanic neighbor's assistance. I had never worked with metal in any significant way so I went into this thinking I was going to make some measurements and drawings for the needed pieces and get them to a professional. On a whim I decided to do a bit of research on welders and went out and got everything I'd need to fabricate the brackets myself. 48 hours later and the gearbox is back on the frame for a test fit with the new, functional and much stronger brackets. With the rebuild kit in hand and the new axle on its way I'll be able to use the ol' 600 soon.