Front axle loose from dealer/factory on 05

[Mr. Underhill]

Ok, this one kind of made me a bit nervous. I just pulled my front wheel on Saturday in prep to get a new tire put on, and found that the front axle was threaded into the left fork, but not fully seated. :dribble:

Looking on fjrtech.com, I noted there is supposed to be 56 lbs. of torque on the axle. Obviously something got missed here. Luckily whoever did the assembly decided to crank the pinch bolt down to an unearthly level of torque, otherwise I might have had an interesting ride! I've had it up to 130-140 several times and I wonder how the FJR would perform as a unicycle? :huh:

I bought the bike new from a local dealer in 05, and they kind of suck in general on service. I got hosed there a few years ago on my Valkyrie and won't go back to them for service, so I opted out of the YES plan for that reason.

But anyway, the point of my post is to see if anyone has any good opinions about what I should do.

Here are my questions:

Is the front wheel a dealer installed piece out of the box, or is this assembled from the factory?

If it is dealer installed, what kind of traction in a complaint could I expect from a dealer that would care? They might not...

Obviously they will be "sorry that happened." But dang, that one could have cost me a pretty serious accident. I'm not a whiner, but good crap, come on, it's the front axle!

I got 11K out of the stock Metzler, which leads me to believe I didn't really suffer any undue wear at the tire level, but could a loose axle cause premature bearing failures?

Has anyone else had this happen? I searched the forum and didn't see this anywhere.

I may just end of bitching about it to the dealer and see what happens, but I would like to be sure I know my options to make the proper complaint when I do it.

 

[tyronewildman]

Yep, front wheel is installed after after removeing it from shipping crate, possiably by the wash bay guy (sorry, my bad as techs do it mostly). 1st I've heard of this but have read that front brake calipers (they have to be installed by dealer) have been loosely installed. Note-You don't have to completely remove the reflector, just loosen it, to get to & remove the caliper mounting bolts. Complaining to dealer won't help but you might mention that they double check their work. NOTE-don't let your sig other wash your bike, but do it yourself & then you can spot all those loose thingies.

Later, De

 

[S76]

You could mention it to the dealer, and I probably would myself, but:

1. They probably don't care. Not much gets their attention short of a lawsuit or something that is going to cost them money.

2. The kid that did it most likely doesn't work there any more. He has probably moved up to good position at McDonald's by now.

3. They will just claim "How do we know you or someone else hasn't had the wheel off before now."

4. Or you'll get, "Gee we're sorry....Next in line please.

What do you hope to gain? Piece of mind, that's valid I guess, but I can't see anything else coming out of it. If there was hope of a new set of riding gloves or something as a peace offering........

It's doubtful any damage was done, but I would look carefully at the axle for scoring, feel the bearings for roughness and inspect the dust seals, which you should do any time you have the wheel off anyway.

Glad it was an uneventfull mistake.

 

[painman]

My 06 when I brought it home new, a 6 mile ride from the dealer, found the front axle bolt holding on by only 2 threads! I complained of course to the dealer and got a free 600 mi. service. Woopie. The main point and problem I see in this post is that the front axle bolt in your question has not been checked since 2005. This is a way more serious problem and one that needs to be brought to the surface and I'll only add my $.02 worth. Every owner should, even those who regularly send their bikes to a dealer for service, should "themselves" check your "own" bolts on the bike on a regular interval. Whatever time interval that is that can allow one to comfortably sleep at night should be determined by said individual. Get out the torque wrench and check the axle bolts front and rear along with any other bolts deemed necessary to keep one from a nightmare type experience. I personally think of my bike as in a class of maybe an "airplane" type of maintanence schedule rather than an old buick type of maintanence schedule. Ride safe and uh, check your fasteners and tires while your at it, Painman. <><

 

[FJRAust]

I suspect you'll have little or no recourse.

As you said the pinch bolts (Cap screws) were done up which likely saved you from a very nasty situation.

As mentioned by Painman. No matter who services your bike your should check you nuts and bolts periodically. Any number of major issues can arise due to the failure of a minor bolt or 2.

Be pissed off and consider this a lesson, check it yourself. After all it's your neck on the line..

Of course I'd tell the dealer about it but doing this should be considered a polite gesture only intended to inform them of a failure in their quality control. If they choose not to learn from this then so be it, they won't survive in such a competitive market place..Ironicly, I can assure you I'll never frequent their establishment.

 

[NightShine]

I bought the bike new from a local dealer in 05, and they kind of suck in general on service. I got hosed there a few years ago on my Valkyrie and won't go back to them for service, so I opted out of the YES plan for that reason.

Don't let one dealer's crappy service department be the only reason to turn you off of the YES plan - it's honored at any US dealer, of course, and if you're not a Florida resident, you can buy it from anywhere.

While you may or may not get any satisfaction from your dealer, it just makes good practical sense to let them know of their slip up. What they choose to do with this information is up to them, but it puts you off of the hook, ethically, and some future rider just might benefit. :glare: