2018 Heritage broken rear shock
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 20
Likes: 9
From: Chickasha Oklahoma
Dealer called today, told me the H-D warranty Dept stated they have been seeing this problem pop up lately, so its a known problem to them. They are replacing the rear shock assembly and the rear fender. Im curious to know whether that bolt is a self tapping bolt, or if its truly a threaded hole In the adjuster. Possibly, if its self tapping, if the hole is a little under sized, the bolt could be stressed upon installation, eventually failing. I will definitely check that when I get it back, and possibly change to a higher tensile strength bolt.
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 20
Likes: 9
From: Chickasha Oklahoma
I agree, changing the bolt before it fails as a preventive measure would save a ton of grief.
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 587
Likes: 312
From: here n there
That bolt broke twice on my bike
The first time the dealer fixed it but it broke again. I replaced it the second time with a grade 8 bolt. That was several thousand miles ago. Last time I was under the seat it was still good.
The first time the dealer fixed it but it broke again. I replaced it the second time with a grade 8 bolt. That was several thousand miles ago. Last time I was under the seat it was still good.
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 20
Likes: 9
From: Chickasha Oklahoma
I absolutely plan on changing to a grade 8 if they put the replacement bolt as factory in, which they will.
Cruiser
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 190
Likes: 148
From: Essex UK
Item 2
Bolt 942
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Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 587
Likes: 312
From: here n there
Hmm. I couldn't see any reason why it broke. I looked at the underside of the seat and there were no wear marks that would indicate it is resting on the adjuster. Also eyeballing it, there seems to be enough clearance. And since it's mounted up snug on the mounting plate, it doesn't seem like it should be putting that much stress on the bolt. Next time I'm in the service manual I'm going to check on the torque spec. Maybe it's wrong on the engineering documentation and it's propagated to the manufacturing and service spec although that seems unlikely.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 4,315
Likes: 1,663
From: Tampa
Don't hold your breath on that actually being a Grade 8 bolt. Remember, Harley buys bolts in bulk from overseas sources to reduce costs. China has mastered pulling the wool over people's eyes. I've lost count how many OEM Harley fasteners I've removed that weren't even close, indicated by them breaking in the tapped hole (rocker cover bolts) or physically bending due to stress (VRod top shock mount bolts). All were replaced with Fastenal or McMaster Grade 8 bolts with substantially better results.
