[avman]

at cruisin the coast about a month ago, I saw another chrome yellow '11 VRSC-F, and given that I was told how few that color there were, I caught up and we talked. he had less than 1K on the bike and said his shifter (left) foot peg assembly fell off in the street. I checked mine and found some play in it so I tightened it up. I have done that now a couple of times....well it got loose again (bad this time, the whole peg rotated) so I went to tighten it up and found the allen bolt had already sheared. so it is flush with the threaded hole in the peg-rod thing that slides into the hole in the frame mount. it is under warranty, so I am going to call tomorrow.
is this issue common, and is there a solution?

 

[gator582]

Not common but not totally shocking, either.

On my first after-dark ride I stopped for gas and, as I was pulling out of the gas station parking lot, in heard a clang. Stopped and looked back and there was my jiffy stand lying on the ground behind me. I found all the parts except the nut that holds it all together (but fortunately had one, and a lock washer, in the tool bag) but I didn't know the trick for getting the spring back on. So ... baby bungee cord to the rescue.

I could misremember here, but I think the most common "not tightened properly" item is/was the steering head adjusting nut. You heard/felt any "clunks" when braking or hitting bumps yet?

Blue Loctite is your friend.

 

[redracer95]

i think you should have a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty. or try taking another allen bolt to the local hardware store and getting a match for it. and screw extractors work good to.

 

[bigjames4xl]

I had this problem after installing the foot rest with heel pads. I drilled the whole thing out and put a 5/16 SS bolt all the way through with a nut on the end. Problem solved.

A friend of mine bought a new F model and put the same kind of footrest on his and I warned him about it, he shrugged it off and said it was under warranty since it was HD parts and installed by the dealer.

Long story short, the left side bolt broke, the footrest fell off, he crashed in his driveway, quite a bit of cosmetic damage. Dealer says not covered, HD says not covered.

And I hate to have to say it, but I told him so.

 

[2oo6niterod]

funny thing, my 06 D was loose after about 100 miles. you should invest in some loctite. i use red but opinions will vary.

 

[ShaDi]

my left peg mount was loose on my 2010 F and went to tighten the screw and the same thing happened it broke off as soon as i tried to turn it.

 

[avman]

thanks for the replies

loctite-recommended before-will do now

me
:stupid:

the bolt didn't snap as I was tightening it afaik, it just snapped at some point. I think all I need is to find a way ??(screw extractors)?? to get the remnants out and find a stronger allen bolt that matches thread of original and-yeah-some loctite

 

[bigjames4xl]

loctite-recommended before-will do now

me
:stupid:

the bolt didn't snap as I was tightening it afaik, it just snapped at some point. I think all I need is to find a way ??(screw extractors)?? to get the remnants out and find a stronger allen bolt that matches thread of original and-yeah-some loctite

I believe it's threaded all the way through so just run a drill in from the opposite end from the break and it should push it right out. It's only a 6mm bolt, you'll have this problem again if you don't make it bigger. HD should be taking care of this.

 

[avman]

I believe it's threaded all the way through so just run a drill in from the opposite end from the break and it should push it right out. It's only a 6mm bolt, you'll have this problem again if you don't make it bigger. HD should be taking care of this.

they said they would handle getting the bolt out, and a replacement bolt(same as the one that broke ) I don't want to bring my bike in or have them pick it up-they said I could bring the part, they would get the broken part out, and I could take the replacement bolt with me...as far as a "non-h-d" -stronger- allen bolt they said that could void the warranty:stac::cuckoo

 

[bigjames4xl]

Glad mine's not under warranty

 

[GMG2042]

Mine also came loose after 100 miles or so. I put a thick coat of blue locktight and it hasn't moved.

 

[2oo6niterod]

they said they would handle getting the bolt out, and a replacement bolt(same as the one that broke ) I don't want to bring my bike in or have them pick it up-they said I could bring the part, they would get the broken part out, and I could take the replacement bolt with me...as far as a "non-h-d" -stronger- allen bolt they said that could void the warranty:stac::cuckoo

thats bull shit right there and if i was told that by a dealer i probably wouldn't return and find a new dealer .

 

[Muscle Owner]

Mine sheared off when I dropped the bike in a parking lot while stopped. The dealer said they have seen many of this issues caused by the bike dropping. They will blame dropping instead of weak bolt. In my case they were right.

 

[hafnutz67]

Mine sheared off last year. It was due to the torque caused by having peg stirrups. I drilled and removed the bolt with an easy out. I suppose I should invest into a stronger replacement bolt. But I'm sure I won't think of it until it breaks again. :banghead:

 

[avman]

fixed

I tried drilling the bolt out from the side opposite the head, but it wouldn't back out. brought the peg with what was left of the bolt in it to the dealer and they said they would take care of it. got it back, and 'because my drilling effort wasn't straight', when they drilled it out, it took out the threads-no problem, I drilled a hole in the frame opposite the one that was factory and ran a black (stronger) allen bolt 1/4 20 1.5" thru both holes and the peg, and capped it with a lock nut.
thanks for the help !!

 

[darendt]

Wow, I had the exact same thing happen to me! First the shifter rubber piece fell off on my court....I found all the pieces. I noticed the entire assembly was loose before a ride, decided to tighten it and the head sheared off. Now mind you I had a long allen and was using the short end to turn. I barley even turned and the head came off. I crazy glued the head back on and am gonna be taking it to the stealer for them to fix. The head left enough bolt on it to keep the assembly in.

 

[ElrodontheV-Rod]

they said they would handle getting the bolt out, and a replacement bolt(same as the one that broke ) I don't want to bring my bike in or have them pick it up-they said I could bring the part, they would get the broken part out, and I could take the replacement bolt with me...as far as a "non-h-d" -stronger- allen bolt they said that could void the warranty:stac::cuckoo

thats bull shit right there and if i was told that by a dealer i probably wouldn't return and find a new dealer .

I would have laughed in his face.
The silly bastard that told him that probably believed what he said too.

 

[Qweegybo]

This is a very common problem especially with anyone who puts aftermarket foot-pegs on.

I've been lazy for the last 5 years and just keep replacing the bolts with different metal bolts but nothing works and I'm only 180lbs, I won't get into the dynamics of shear forces but the best way to fix this is to drill out the bolt hole all the way through as previously posted, and widen a the hole to allow for a stronger bolt to go through. Even better would be to use to use a locking clip style bolt such as the big triumph bikes use on their foot-pegs...

NOTE TO HARLEY EMPLOYEE LURKERS!!!!! You should champion some action up your chain/management for this design update, because like it or not it can turn into one ugly lawsuit which will snowball into a class action, and with so much momentum you have no choice but to settle to avoid negative publicity... take it from a very smart man!... very smart... extremely smart ... you get the point:deal:

 

[avman]

still holding up just fine

I tried drilling the bolt out from the side opposite the head, but it wouldn't back out. brought the peg with what was left of the bolt in it to the dealer and they said they would take care of it. got it back, and 'because my drilling effort wasn't straight', when they drilled it out, it took out the threads-no problem, I drilled a hole in the frame opposite the one that was factory and ran a black (stronger) allen bolt 1/4 20 1.5" thru both holes and the peg, and capped it with a lock nut.
thanks for the help !!

yep-still attached to the bike with nooo problems!

 

[AOW]

I 'blue loctite' my shifter peg at every oil change.