Topic: Warning and reminder to all

[eldar]

Well yesterday I was riding and the last couple of days my front brake seems squishy. But nothing bad. last night on my way home from work I almost rearend a car! Almost pulled my lever back to the bars. NEVER did that before. I had done some driving in hard rain and may have some water in my lines but I dont think so. At least that is what I though till I looked down at my brake to see if fluid was coming out.  I find out the 2 bolts for the caliper have come loose!!!!   BOTH of them.  Well I was a mile from home so I drove it and once there, I tightened up my bolts good and did a quick adjustment but it is raining to day and while I dont mind riding in the rain, I do not own a rainsuit yet and so would rather not sit at work all day wet! But the lever seemed to work right and there did not seem to be extra drag.

During this I went to tighten my chain and would the nuts on BOTH adjusters were almost all the way back! It had only been a couple of weeks since I last checked my chain! So I adjusted and really tightened those nuts up. 

Has this happened to others?  I kinda feel like someone was being an #$%* and messing with my bike but then maybe it was vibration.

Anyways, I am going to get some blue loctite and put it on my brake bolts and check everything over once a week.

I just wanted to remind everyone to do the same thing once in a while.

[Bob Wessner]

Front wheel axle cap bolts are good ones to check occasionally also.

[xtalon]

I kinda feel like someone was being an #$%* and messing with my bike but then maybe it was vibration.

You didn't stiff Seaweb on any bike parts did you?   

Seriously though, glad you're alright and thanks for the reminder to check things over.  Really, we should all do a pre-ride inspection before throwing a leg over the bike, but we all know that rarely happens.

--xTalon

[nickjtc]

You didn't stiff Seaweb on any bike parts did you? 

That's funny...and strangely appropriate at this time!

It only goes to show that even with Japanese bikes an occasional walk-around checking the fasteners is not a bad idea; or at the very least when we are doing our routine maintenance. We do routine maintenance, don't we?

[andy750]

I have to admit to the front brake axl bolts -both mine were loose and I had been riding a lot like this thinking my brakes were ok but not as good as Id expect with new ss lines....then when tightened loose bolts -wow what a difference!! Now front brake is excellent! Ive been know to "forget" to tighten bolts to spec before  ....last time was the bolts that hold the cam on  ..lucky I hadnt gotten very far on my first test ride.....

you are not alone Eldar! Now I periodically check all bolts :-D
cheers
Andy

[Slapguts]

I pulled to stop once and had the brake hose shoot off the master cylinder. Turns out it was pretty badly rusted under the rubber cover. Squirted brake fluid all over the front of the bike, my jacket, the right side of my pants and the top triple tree.

30 years old is still 30 years, no matter how great it seems.

[333]

A good reminder!  Many of us get lax sometimes regarding maintenence.

[edbikerii]

Thanks for the reminder, Eldar.

I went out and checked my brake bolts, axle nut, front axle cap bolts, etc. yesterday.  My rear axle nut was loose, and my cotter pin was missing somehow.

I don't know if it could have fallen our or something horrible could have happened.

My sincerest thanks to you, Eldar!

[BobbyR]

Eldar, u are the man. I will be checking bolts this weekend. Last spring I was doing my pre season routine cleanup and waxing when I noticed that the top left side fork tube bolt was missing, and had probably been missing for most of the prior season. I replaced them both and used nylok nuts this time. I will be taking off the forks again, this time everthing will be torqued and I think some mild locktite on everthing from now on.

[Sam Green Racing]

You guys must be riding a right load of vibrating monsters

The CR with the stock motor was just the same, forever tightening nuts and bolts.

The crank in the 836 motor was lightened and ballanced and runs like a turbine

Get your cranks ballanced guys.....cut down on maintenance

Sam.

[cleveland]

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of solution. 

Good reminder, if nothing else you just saved Ed from God knows what!

[eldar]

I think I will be gone the way of locktite. Maybe some new nuts too. Some of the locknut style.

[CrisPDuk]

Never had it with the bike, but me and a buddy were travelling down to London in his car once, at a speed somewhat in excess of the posted limit, when there was a bang followed by a scraping noise, and the car started pulling to the right
He applied the brakes, the noise and the pulling got worse, but he managed to get the stopped safely.
We got out, went straight to the right front wheel to see what had happened, we were both at this point thinking 'blowout', but the tyroe was still inflated, the wheel however was covered in tiny shiny flakes of aluminium, and was hot to the touch. We jacked the car up, removed the wheel, and discovered that when he'd done a brake pad change the previous week, he'd forgotten to tighten the two bolts securing the caliper to the hub   The lower bolt was just loose, but the upper bolt had come out, causing the caliper to fall against the wheel rim, causing the scraping noise. Of course applying the brakes had caused the caliper to try nd push away from the disc and dig into the wheel causing it to try and pull the car to the side!

Of course the original bolt was nowhere to be seen, but fortunately we had some tools in the boot, so we started trying various other bolts from the car to see what fitted.
For the record if you are ever in this predicament, Ford (Europe) use the same thread for the caliper retaining bolts as they do for the rear seatbelt mountings

Obviously ever since then i've been quite anal about checking nuts and bolts after I, or anyone else, has done work on any of my vehicles

[ieism]

Perhaps one of you gentlemen can come over and ride my bike for a day or two. I've got trouble with bolts not coming loose all the time. These things are so tight, I think I might have accidently bought the Terminators bike 

[BobbyR]

Perhaps one of you gentlemen can come over and ride my bike for a day or two. I've got trouble with bolts not coming loose all the time. These things are so tight, I think I might have accidently bought the Terminators bike 

Corrosion is the ultimate locktite.