Front End Clunk

[Jon_Fatboy_P]

Hi Folks.

Well, here's another "Front End Clunk" Story. In one of many posts on this subject, Dave63 recomended to the OP that he check the pinch bolts. This story in to illustrate what can happen when they do require attention. Last Friday my front end started to clunk real bad as I got to work. I took a quick look but found no problem at the time. All the way home it clunked bad. Doing 55 miles at or below 35 mph with the front end clunking is no fun. This is what I found when I removed the nacelle. Happily, other then fork oil all over me and the side of my bike the only thing broken was the pinch bolt. I was very lucky. Lesson learned. Don't ignore a front end clunk. This could have been alot worse.

Jonathan

[SCHMIDTYS]

Yup, seen that before quite a few times !

[Jon_Fatboy_P]

Hi SCHMIDTYS.

It made for an interesting repair. The one fork wanting to be two inches longer then the other put the front axle in a bind. Even with the axle clamp disassembled the axle wasn't coming out. I ended up reinstalling the axle clamp nuts on to the two studs they came off of and then sliping the lower axle clamp on to the studs using the nuts as spacers. I then carefully put a ratcheting cargo strap around the fork and used the strap to compress the fork enough to remove the axle. The rest of the repair was routine.

The pinch bolts that were in it before the repair were grade 5 bolts. I replaced them with grade 8 bolts. Will that cause me any trouble in the future?

Jonathan

[SCHMIDTYS]

The grade 8 bolts will be okay as long as they aren't over torqued. Blue locktight and torque to spec.