Brake caliper bolt fairy strikes again!

[Chris_az]

Last night I had a brake caliper bolt go a.w.o.l. from the front right caliper. I lost all pressure at the lever and had no front brakes. When i pulled over i noticed that the caliper had pivoted out of the way of the rotor for the most part, and was clipping the buttons that attach the actual brake disc to the hub. The rotors had lost about 1/4th of an inch where they'd been bouncing off these buttons but other than that the surface of the pads seem to be in order. I was definately suckin' and hoping that nothing would suddenly bind up and seize, sending me over the clip-ons. I made it home and stole the brother's car to hit the hardware store for replacement bolts (Flange Bolts, M10 x 1.25 pitch x 25mm; for the curious,)



This leads me to warn the newer riders to check the torque on your bike's bolts.. and to ask those that've been around for a while how often ya'll check them?


Anywho.. Have a safe one and a happy holiday.. (or sunday for those who don't celebrate holidays.)


ps: i found the missing bolt in the middle of the road this morning.. it's rather roughed up... figure the chances that i'd find the bolt on a 3 mile commute, yanno? It's a sign from the bolt fairy, i'm tellin ya.

[Buck]

Thats some scary shit.

Have you worked on that caliper before?

I know you are thinkin.... I need to re-torque this bike...

If not, you need to be.

Any chance someone was playin with it?

[racinteach]

It's called locktite and torque wrench....:D make them your friends...

[Ikazuchi]

Originally posted by racinteach
It's called locktite and torque wrench....:D make them your friends...

Indeed....

Forgot to tighten a bolt holding the strut to the lower A-arm on one of my race cars right before going to the track.... made it through the warmup lap before the front wheel wrapped under the car in a corner. I learned the expensive way to check all your bolts twice.

[Dante]

Fukna. I woulda been shittin bricks and walkin it home.

[Chris_az]

Rob: you bet your ass... stayed up late doin just that..


Oh, and when i say strikes again, a buddy of mine had both brake caliper bolts come off the rear of his gixxer 600.. drug the rear caliper on the ground.. when we stopped laughing we were in awe that both had come off of his bike in only an hour of riding.

chris

[{PMS}fishy]

Blue Loctite and/or safety wire.

[twf]

I would not locktite caliper bolts.
torque them down or safety wire.

[{PMS}fishy]

Originally posted by twf
I would not locktite caliper bolts.
torque them down or safety wire.

The come with loctite from the factory.

Whats wrong with using it?

[Chris_az]

i went with what i had on hand, green loctite.. i'm sure i'll regret it when the bike is parked, which when you think about it, is preferred to regretting it while riding (ie the caliper bolt coming out again.)


chris

[acer66]

checking your bike is always good, during cleaning i discovered lose kickstand, chain, grab bar, rear-set, etc lucky no caliper bolts so far and mine didn`t have locktite on `em guess i was lucky that they didn`t come of :)

[pAint]

Locktite is the best. I put it on every major bolt on my moto. I even use it in bed with the ladies. :D

[acer66]

Originally posted by paint
I even use it in bed with the ladies. :D

details ! :o

[twf]

Originally posted by {PMS}fishy
The come with loctite from the factory.

Whats wrong with using it?

they dont,at least I have never seen one come with it.

[racinteach]

the issue with loctite is the seizing posibity with heat from the braking system...torque wrench should be used, as for safety wire the best but not everyone has access to the proper drilling jig or bolts right away..use at least green or blue don't use red...you will never get themout..especially after the heat gets to them... as for did it come fromt he factory with it? when I took mine off..there was a residue on the bolt in the same spot on both adn it looked the same...I will assume it had a thread locker of some sort...at best always check your bike over at least everyweek if not every ride a quick inspection of all the vital stuff...wheels, brakes, throttle cable holder, etc....

[{PMS}fishy]

Originally posted by Chris_az
i went with what i had on hand, green loctite.. i'm sure i'll regret it when the bike is parked, which when you think about it, is preferred to regretting it while riding (ie the caliper bolt coming out again.)


chris

Last I checked, green loctite was a gap filler.

Originally posted by twf
they dont,at least I have never seen one come with it.

Humm, must have been my dealer then.

[Chris_az]

pms: it's "professional grade." and i had some white threadlocker on my caliper bolts too.. hrm. I Guess dealers did and some didn't.. (god bless those that did.)