Right foot peg/brake pedal bracket bolts sheared off.
#1
10-07-2012, 07:34 AM
Right foot peg/brake pedal bracket bolts sheared off.
OK, first off, I have a 2007 Sportster 1200C Custom. Last week I was on a ride with my son, and when we were in Rainbow, CA I hit a dip going only 15 miles an hour. All of a sudden my right foot felt like it fell off the peg. I went to put it back on the peg, it wasn't there, and either was the rear brake pedal. I found out when I pulled over that the two screws that hold on that whole assembly sheared off. Called my car club to get it towed back home and was told that they only cover the first $50.00 dollars. When the driver showed up he told me that the $50.00 only covers hook up and the first 5 miles. I asked him how much he charges per mile and he told me it was $8.00 per mile. My house was 53 miles away which meant I would have to pay an extra $380.00. I had to refuse the tow because I couldn't afford it. Had to tie up my foot peg assembly to the down tubes of the frame and ride home using just the front brake.
The same thing happened to my neighbor, bolts on the same side. He has the same exact year and model. I went to the HD dealer and bought new bolts and they are, as they are suppose to be, grade 8 bolts. Now that model of bike has forward controls so the only thing that those 2 bolts support the weight of are the leg and the pressure you use to apply the brake. Since the are so far forward it is not that easy to stand up on my pegs, so I don't. Both guys at the parts counter say that there is no way that grade 8 bolts should shear off with only that much weight on them, even if you are really cranking on the brake as you would in an emergency stop.
My question to you is, are there any of you out there that have had this same problem?
I wonder if HD ran out of the grade 8 bolts and substituted a lower grade bolts during assembly. The grade is listed on the head but, since the bolt heads are somewhere in a ditch up in Rainbow I don't know what they were. I want to get some idea that how often this happens out there. If there are a lot of this happening out there, and if so, maybe HD should do a recall to replace them. If I was not going so slow it could have caused a major accident and I might have been killed. There should never be a reason that the bolts that keep the brake pedal attached to the bike.
The same thing happened to my neighbor, bolts on the same side. He has the same exact year and model. I went to the HD dealer and bought new bolts and they are, as they are suppose to be, grade 8 bolts. Now that model of bike has forward controls so the only thing that those 2 bolts support the weight of are the leg and the pressure you use to apply the brake. Since the are so far forward it is not that easy to stand up on my pegs, so I don't. Both guys at the parts counter say that there is no way that grade 8 bolts should shear off with only that much weight on them, even if you are really cranking on the brake as you would in an emergency stop.
My question to you is, are there any of you out there that have had this same problem?
I wonder if HD ran out of the grade 8 bolts and substituted a lower grade bolts during assembly. The grade is listed on the head but, since the bolt heads are somewhere in a ditch up in Rainbow I don't know what they were. I want to get some idea that how often this happens out there. If there are a lot of this happening out there, and if so, maybe HD should do a recall to replace them. If I was not going so slow it could have caused a major accident and I might have been killed. There should never be a reason that the bolts that keep the brake pedal attached to the bike.
#2
10-07-2012, 08:51 AM
A grade 8 bolt should have 6 lines on the bolt head radiating from the center of the head. Looking at the bolt head as though it were a clock face, the lines would point to 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o'clock.
That said, there have been other bolt break failures like this reported here on the forum and my suspicion is that this is another case of HD using sub-standard quality Chinese parts. There's no way in hell IMO, you could break a grade 8 bolt like this unless it's a counterfeit product.
.
That said, there have been other bolt break failures like this reported here on the forum and my suspicion is that this is another case of HD using sub-standard quality Chinese parts. There's no way in hell IMO, you could break a grade 8 bolt like this unless it's a counterfeit product.
.
#3
10-07-2012, 09:23 AM
BTW, there was a 60 Minutes report a while back about the same problem the military is having with counterfeit bolts (hardware) entering their supply chain, some of it destined for critical fastener use on aircraft. Again, these were counterfeit Chinese products, so it's not just Harley that has this problem.
I avoid buying any critical fastener (bolt) replacement from Harley or any other dealer today because of this problem with unknown origin/quality. You're better off going to your local hardware store where they can hopefully identify the bolt manufacturer or ordering online from a US manufacturer/distributor.
.
I avoid buying any critical fastener (bolt) replacement from Harley or any other dealer today because of this problem with unknown origin/quality. You're better off going to your local hardware store where they can hopefully identify the bolt manufacturer or ordering online from a US manufacturer/distributor.
.
The following users liked this post:
Uncle Larry (09-17-2020)
#4
10-07-2012, 07:21 PM
#5
10-07-2012, 09:13 PM
#6
10-10-2012, 01:39 AM
A grade 8 bolt should have 6 lines on the bolt head radiating from the center of the head. Looking at the bolt head as though it were a clock face, the lines would point to 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o'clock.
That said, there have been other bolt break failures like this reported here on the forum and my suspicion is that this is another case of HD using sub-standard quality Chinese parts. There's no way in hell IMO, you could break a grade 8 bolt like this unless it's a counterfeit product.
.
That said, there have been other bolt break failures like this reported here on the forum and my suspicion is that this is another case of HD using sub-standard quality Chinese parts. There's no way in hell IMO, you could break a grade 8 bolt like this unless it's a counterfeit product.
.
#7
10-10-2012, 05:33 AM
Cruiser
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Southern New Jersey
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trending Topics
#8
10-10-2012, 09:30 AM
We must have had good bolts on our 2010. Two months ago, someone cut off my wife and she ended up going over a curb and dumping the bike on it's right side on the grass. The right side forward control was bent up and back. I thought it was the control itself but is was the two bolts holding it to the frame that bent. I was able to get the two bolts out and with the new bolts, the right peg was fine. What did break was the front ball connector for the rear brake rod that connects to the front brake pedal. I not only had to order the brake rod, but also the brake pedal, as I couldn't drill out the piece that broke in it.
#9
10-10-2012, 09:43 AM
This has happened to me on my VROD, and others on a vrod forum report the same thing, but it happens on the SHIFTER side. Not fun! I drilled out the tube so a stainless bolt of better quality goes through both ends, not just into one and pulls it tight. Never gonna happen again. Stupid design, and the vrod guys report it to the (I think) FHTSB as a safety design failure.
#10
09-17-2020, 07:16 PM
2nd Gear
We must have had good bolts on our 2010. Two months ago, someone cut off my wife and she ended up going over a curb and dumping the bike on it's right side on the grass. The right side forward control was bent up and back. I thought it was the control itself but is was the two bolts holding it to the frame that bent. I was able to get the two bolts out and with the new bolts, the right peg was fine. What did break was the front ball connector for the rear brake rod that connects to the front brake pedal. I not only had to order the brake rod, but also the brake pedal, as I couldn't drill out the piece that broke in it.
The bent bolt