joint coordinates vs body coordinates: bug or feature?

[Nils]

Hi all,

in ODE I've set up a simple setting consisting of 2 box bodies which
stretch along their local y-axis; size is (0.05, 1.0, 0.05). In my
world the global y-axis points up (and gravity points down). The two
boxes have their local y-axis parallel to the ground (the global x-
axis) and are connected via a ball+euler-motor joints. Like this ----
o----

If I start the sim everything goes well, and the joint angles are
(0,0,0) as long as nothing moves. If I rotate one body (prior to
connecting (!!!)) around it's local y-axis by for ex. 90 deg, then the
joint angles are (0,0,0) for the first sim step (like they should be),
BUT (0,1.5708,0) in the second and following steps. And yes, I know
1.5708 is 90 deg in radians. =)

Can somebody explain this behavior?