Broken Penske Clevis.

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<<snip>>I know what I'll NEVER buy....
Too bad Townsends...you're missing out on one of the best owner-rebuildable shocks on the market.

--G
If it doesn't stay "attached" as it should, I don't care if it's free to re-build.

Currently, it's unsafe and Penske is doing squat to fix it..

Whether it be to shim it, machine a new bolt for the fix, etc, it should have been done already..

When members have to (and do) find and repair a poor design and they won't follow it, duh....

FIVE MONTHS since this thread started and NOTHING FROM PENSKE re the fix.

I can machine down a stock bolt on my lathe this am and be done with it.. Com'mon... :(

 
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IF I had a lathe, I could too. However most home mechanics won't. I've not had access to one since the Bridgeports at the AFB where I worked.

Including the proper hardware with your product is the ONLY solution.

 
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IMO, the easiest solution is machining the head of the OE bolt.
No, the easiest solution would be to slip a washer/shim/spacer with the correct OD onto the bolt before installing it. I'll be doing this to my son's (my old) FJR sometime when the weather breaks and he can get the bike down his unpaved road to bring it here for its 100k mile service.

If anyone has a shoulder bolt in hand and can measure the OD of the shoulder of the bolt that would help in tracking down some correct size washers.

edit: We know that the shoulder bolt is an M10 1.25 pitch from prior posts (edit - but the shank of the bolt is 12mm). It may be easier to just buy a longer normal M10 M12 x 1.25 bolt and slip a collar of the correct OD and length onto the bolt before installing it.

 
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Getting a replacement that works from McMaster Carr would be simplest in my mind, since I don't own a lathe either. I do have vices and various grinding attachments for my dremel in the garage, but honestly, it would take me 5 or 6 Yamaha bolts to get close to what it should look like when done.

I am removing the bolt today, will measure it, then start searching McMaster. Another problem I foresee is the previous measurements we have are based on the the OTHER clevis. (I have the 8975.. I will measure those forks as well.

 
To me, the easiest fix is in post #255.
I would agree, John, except your washers are a bit too big. You want the OD to be the same size as (or slightly smaller than) the OD of the shoulder of the bolt.
Or we could use ball bearings. (This is meant as a joke, by the way.. one of my favorite)




Or Penske.....

(and disclaimer - we do not need another 3 page legal dissertation, I think the previous one suffices, and the points were made well.)

 
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I said this in my email to Eric at Penske last night. Following up with a call shortly. Again, I'd be HAPPY to buy a new bolt that will allow me to ride without worry tomorrow.

I told him that did not intend to need to buy two shocks in less than a year. So, if someone measuers the width of the clevis legs, the size of the holes in the clevis legs, and the distances between the clevis legs, I am pretty sure that is all we need to get a perfect replacement from McMaster.. right?

https://www.mcmaster.com/#shoulder-bolts/=16u7n74

 
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Well, here's something interesting...

Out of curiosity I took a look at the clevis at the bottom end of my 2014ES' shock and, come to find out, it is different than the A model (which is the same for all generations). The clevis is made from an alloy material, and so it is thicker walled than the steel clevis that comes on the stock A model shocks.

001_1.jpg


So I looked up the parts breakdown for the ES model and wouldn't you know it but the Yamaha design engineers have already solved this problem for the ES shock. Instead of the shoulder bolt they used on all years of the "A" models, there is a slightly longer, 10mm bolt used (#28) along with a spacer (#30). I measured the OD of the spacer on my bike and it is .666" (16.9mm). I then measured the ID of the larger of the Clevis holes on an OEM A model shock that I have on the shelf and that was .671" (17mm).

Shock%20Clevis%202014ES.jpg


It appears that anyone with a Penske shock could just substitute the Bolt and Spacer from an ES model and it should fit perfectly on the Penske clevis without pinching the legs of the yoke.

 
Obviously, Penske should be fixing this and they seem to be dragging their feet for some reason, which is disappointing.

But we all know that sometimes you just need to fix it yourself instead of waiting for the manufacturer to do the right thing. Stiffy kits and spider harnesses come to mind.

 
Without measuring, there's no way of knowing that the 2014 ES parts would meet our needs on the Penske, right? (But I admit , I like the looks of ES shock and bolt.)

 
I'll make some more measurements tomorrow on the ES shock and compare them to the prior measurements made by RaYzerman on the Penske clevis to be sure, but I can say for certain that the bolt is the same size (10mm) and the collar is the correct diameter (17mm). Now it's just a matter of measuring the length of the bolt and thicknesses of the ES clevis to be sure the hardware will be right length. I'll likely order these parts and try them on my son's Penske sometime soon if those measurements work out.

 
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(and disclaimer - we do not need another 3 page legal dissertation, I think the previous one suffices, and the points were made well.)
Wow! You really don't have much experience with the legal profession, do you?

Lawyers may bill you multiple times, but do the same work over and over for the same fee (especially when it was pro bono in the first place)?!? Not likely, sir! ;) :p

 
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