Shock Bolt sheared again !
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Banned
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From: Connecticut / Amsterdam
As a matter of course when changing a rear tire our shop replaces the axle from the left side. Whether a bagger, Dyna, sloptail or sporty. This allows any future change with the least amount of hardware disturbed.
The main rule of thumb is: never loosen/remove a bolt that absolutely doesn't have to be loosened/removed to perform the task at hand.
I think the reason for the bolt shear is two-fold: the most recent time was because your friend moved it and changed it's tension. Coupled with the rough road and the minimal travel of an 11" shock caused a shock load to the bolt and shearing it off.
The first time I am not familiar with to offer a diagnosis but if your riding conditions are consistent I would assume you are bottoming out your shocks on a regular basis. This bottoming out condition puts a "shock" directly to the mounting hardware they are not designed to deal with and as a result failure of the bolt is a natural occurrence.
Progressive shocks are not in any way a 'performance' shock, they are cheap knockoffs that people buy for the price point to allow them to get the "slammed" look so many of you desire. Increasing the pre-load on the springs will not increase the ride height or the amount of travel the shock is capable of. Increasing the pre-load increases the amount of weight it takes before achieving the 'sag' that is required to allow the shock to function in both compression and rebound conditions.
I would say that if the terrain you ride in is very poor you should consider an actual shock upgrade to any of the manufacturers that make performance shocks, progressive not being in that list. You should also go with a standard height shock to increase the amount of travel the shock is capable of thus allowing you to utilize the suspension to actually suspend the motorcycle and yourself from the road surface.
Good luck.
The main rule of thumb is: never loosen/remove a bolt that absolutely doesn't have to be loosened/removed to perform the task at hand.
I think the reason for the bolt shear is two-fold: the most recent time was because your friend moved it and changed it's tension. Coupled with the rough road and the minimal travel of an 11" shock caused a shock load to the bolt and shearing it off.
The first time I am not familiar with to offer a diagnosis but if your riding conditions are consistent I would assume you are bottoming out your shocks on a regular basis. This bottoming out condition puts a "shock" directly to the mounting hardware they are not designed to deal with and as a result failure of the bolt is a natural occurrence.
Progressive shocks are not in any way a 'performance' shock, they are cheap knockoffs that people buy for the price point to allow them to get the "slammed" look so many of you desire. Increasing the pre-load on the springs will not increase the ride height or the amount of travel the shock is capable of. Increasing the pre-load increases the amount of weight it takes before achieving the 'sag' that is required to allow the shock to function in both compression and rebound conditions.
I would say that if the terrain you ride in is very poor you should consider an actual shock upgrade to any of the manufacturers that make performance shocks, progressive not being in that list. You should also go with a standard height shock to increase the amount of travel the shock is capable of thus allowing you to utilize the suspension to actually suspend the motorcycle and yourself from the road surface.
Good luck.
The terrain has alot to do with it and i liked the SLAMMED looked , i guess i really better watch out all the time .....
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Banned
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From: Connecticut / Amsterdam
If you've changed your shocks for aftermarket ones (Progressive did you say?) and you're still using the standard length bolts, make sure the bolts aren't bottoming in the hole before they are actually tightening down on the shock spiggot. I'm not sure what the Dyna set up is having never had the shocks off mine but it's just a thought based on similar events I've seen happen in 40 years of engineering! Have you replaced ALL of the spacers / washers etc? Any left out or omitted would cause the same problem if the bolt goes into a blind hole - that is one with a bottom, and not drilled all the way through
Something is making this happen so you need to find the cause rather than just keep putting different bolts in there, the standard strength ones should be just fine for a decent road shock, I'm sure the HD engineers would choose the most suitable grade for most case scenarios!
Have you checked the I/D (inside diameter) of the shock spiggots _ the bit the bolt actually passes through is the same diameter as the orignal, if it's a slightly sloppy fit that wouldn't help matters
D
Something is making this happen so you need to find the cause rather than just keep putting different bolts in there, the standard strength ones should be just fine for a decent road shock, I'm sure the HD engineers would choose the most suitable grade for most case scenarios!
Have you checked the I/D (inside diameter) of the shock spiggots _ the bit the bolt actually passes through is the same diameter as the orignal, if it's a slightly sloppy fit that wouldn't help matters
D
The shocks are progressives series 412 11 inch , when i ordered them i used the progressive site and ordered for a 2006 SB , i'm using all of my originals parts which your supposed to it , all goes together fine we put blue loc tight,
the terrain has alot to do with it putting on stress...
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From: Augusta, GA
Thread Starter
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From: Connecticut / Amsterdam
Not really correct.
A grade 8 will flex and break just as a grade 5 would and a grade 5 will fail before a grade 8.
Good reference here
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techrepor...ners/index.asp
That said the stock hardware should be sufficient, I don't see any identifying marks on the stock hardware.
Which loctite did you use, Blue or red? Factory uses blue so this causes a problem how? You should run a thread chaser through the tapped hole to clean it out and then add the loctite blue.
I agree with the second point for sure, sounds to me as if there was a failure due to the work performed on the bike.
When you go to remove the broken portion make sure you drill as close to center as you can and all the way though the broken fastener, this relaxes the broken fastener. I would start with a small diameter drill and move up successively in size to remove as much of the broken piece you can so you can use the largest extractor possible. After you get it out, use a thread chaser, not a tap as a tap will remove material, loctite blue and the proper torque and you're good to go.
CB
A grade 8 will flex and break just as a grade 5 would and a grade 5 will fail before a grade 8.
Good reference here
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techrepor...ners/index.asp
That said the stock hardware should be sufficient, I don't see any identifying marks on the stock hardware.
Which loctite did you use, Blue or red? Factory uses blue so this causes a problem how? You should run a thread chaser through the tapped hole to clean it out and then add the loctite blue.
I agree with the second point for sure, sounds to me as if there was a failure due to the work performed on the bike.
When you go to remove the broken portion make sure you drill as close to center as you can and all the way though the broken fastener, this relaxes the broken fastener. I would start with a small diameter drill and move up successively in size to remove as much of the broken piece you can so you can use the largest extractor possible. After you get it out, use a thread chaser, not a tap as a tap will remove material, loctite blue and the proper torque and you're good to go.
CB
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Banned
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From: Connecticut / Amsterdam
So you used 08 studs and then you used everything else that came stock with your 2006 , spacer cup , etc ? Is there a grade make ( lines ) on the stud ?
Thanks, Wonka
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Marion Ill
It doesn't matter if its a stud or a bolt, exact same strength. Get a grade 8 bolt, make sure it does not bottom out, and you will be good to go.
Bottom line, your dealing with tensile strength, grade 8=higher tensile then grade 5, it is what you need. See attached link.
http://www.almabolt.com/pages/catalo...oadtensile.htm
Bottom line, your dealing with tensile strength, grade 8=higher tensile then grade 5, it is what you need. See attached link.
http://www.almabolt.com/pages/catalo...oadtensile.htm
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From: Palm Harbor fl.
If your not gonna replace the shocks, go to the 07+ mounting stud and all should be well. That or try a grade 8 bolt. I think that quite a few had this problem on the 06 models and as such they went back to the stud system like on the older bikes like my 05. Many had reported of breaking the bolt with the stock shocks too.
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Me and my buddy tried everything from drilling to torching to get the rest of the bolt out but it would not budge he finally had to use a bigger drill and of coarse it came out , i guess it nut and bolt time because the threads are ruined he says heil coil will be no good because of the shock hole size .... were going to go with a longer bolt so a nut can be screwed on and also some kind of metal shim for the hole so the bolt is nice and snug , i can't wait to see what happens to the other side because i still want to put grade 8 too If this happens one more time i'm going back to the stock shocks , Any suggestions or condolences are welcome . Also this is a message for RUSS who send me a private message about your hardware , i need to talk to you again but i deleted your message please send another message to my email because I WANT YOUR HARDWARE just in case it happens again ..... Thanks !
Last edited by Wonkaboy; Jun 28, 2010 at 09:35 PM.