It was 85F this afternoon and nice out there, I decided to finish work early and took my Fatty for a 250 miles ride. The first bit of the ride was great, after a while I felt big vibration on the bike, first I thought it was windy but I was wrong. Then I heard a big clunking noise coming from the rear wheel. I stopped right away and parked it on the side of the road. Guess what I found? All 5 bolts of the rear drive sprocket came loose, I mean they almost came all the way out, the bolt heads were hitting the belt guard and swing arm. What a nightmare! Thank god I carried some tools, I managed to tighten up 3 bolts, the rest of the bolts are striped I believe. I wasn't too far from my shop(40 miles away), I decided to take a chance and ride it back to work, I didn't take highway though. Half way back to my shop, it started making noise again, I knew the bolts were loose again, stopped and tightened them. Keep riding and repeat tightening for at least 3 times, finally made it.
The nightmare didn't end yet, pulled the rear wheel off, inspected the rear hub, all 5 holes are striped, I mean completely striped with minimal threads in them. Well, I thought I have to get a new wheel. I phoned Napa parts and they do carry the Helicoil kit, I said what da hell, let's do it, it is damaged anyway, worth a try. I drilled the 5 holes bigger, inserted the Helicoils, my buddy helped me picked up a new sprocket chrome cover and bolt kit, torqued to specification, they are held tight. After 2 1/2 hours of hard work, my bike is back on the road. Thanks god I didn't have to get a new wheel, I can't imagine what's gonna happen if the rear bolts got jammed in the rear swing arm and lock the wheel, it was so damn closed.
If you have never checked your rear sprocket bolts, do it now!

 

Looks like you avoided a total disaster... wow

 

this is the second time i have herd of this on a fatboy and once on a big dog. i sure would not trust my life with a helicoil with my life too much torque on a cheep fix, just my thought.

 

I wouldn't be surprised when people say that, because they don't even know what Helicoils are, they are made of hard stainless steel, Helicoil is 50% stronger than original thread, why wouldn't I bet my life on it? You should do some research, it is not a cheap fix. By the way, it has been used on Spaceship and aircraft too, good enough? CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
Talk to people who work for machine shop, they have been using Helicoils on cylinder block, wheel hubs, suspension etc.
By the way, ride hard and die free!

 

Is that a chrome cover on the sprocket? Maybe the bolts were not properly lubricated and torqued when that was installed? By the way, I've used helicoils on alot of car parts with no issue. I think the point that was being made was that a helicoil is a cheapER fix than a new rear wheel and that on a bike, if the helicoil pulls or fails, you're gonna get hurt. But hey, they're your chips, bet them any way you want.

 

I don't know... you don't think insurance would come into play... I mean to help defray costs of a new wheel...

Personally I would be looking for another wheel... but thats just me...

Charlie D.

 

Just wondering...who is the last person who touched those bolts before they came loose during your ride? Were they torqued to spec? Or has it been that way from the factory?

 

I am an ASE Master Auto Tech and can tell you this 128 Auto is right, I've been using helicoils for 20+years WITHOUT ANY ISSUSES,there are 50x's stronger than regular machine made threads all day long!!!I would have fixed the wheel on my bike like that as well only because I know how CHEAP aluminum is,very weak metal..On cars with aluminum cylinder heads you have to let them cool off completely before removing spark plugs or you WILL pull the threads out with the plug..But don't worry they make a helicoil for that..lol..just my 2 cents

 

Helicoils are stronger than threads in aluminium parent metal. The only issue with them, is that they need to be installed correctly. Thats where some folks run into trouble, hand drill, wrong size bit, oval hole etc. Do it right, and you will have no problem, do it wrong.........................ouch! I helped a guy on the side of the road years ago with this same problem, he was on a FX shovel, so it ain't just Fattys.

 

It is a chrome cover, I will be upset if I ground a chrome pulley, expensive part.