Rear Axle Possibly Stripped

My FZ1's rear axle is 32 mm bolt and the book says 108 ft pounds of torque.

I only torqued it to about 95, I think 108 is crazy for any bolt.

Anyway, at the very end, I notice a very thin strip of metal about an inch long.... shit....

Is there a good way to determine if the axle or the bolt is compromised? It's on tight as hell, but I just don't know what to do. The rear axle is slightly important, especially considering there is no pinch bolt on an FZ1.

keithaba said:

My FZ1's rear axle is 32 mm bolt and the book says 108 ft pounds of torque.
I only torqued it to about 95, I think 108 is crazy for any bolt.

Anyway, at the very end, I notice a very thin strip of metal about an inch long.... shit....

Is there a good way to determine if the axle or the bolt is compromised? It's on tight as hell, but I just don't know what to do. The rear axle is slightly important, especially considering there is no pinch bolt on an FZ1.

Click to expand...

It's hard to say if that strip of metal you saw was from the threads without seeing it, but you obviously suspect that so pull the axle and examine it closely, especially the threads. Does the Axle on the FZ have steel nut like the FJR rear axle or does it screw into aluminum like the front FJR axle? Examine the threads on the nut (or swingarm?) as well.

keithaba said:

My FZ1's rear axle is 32 mm bolt and the book says 108 ft pounds of torque. I only torqued it to about 95, I think 108 is crazy for any bolt. Anyway, at the very end, I notice a very thin strip of metal about an inch long.... Is there a good way to determine if the axle or the bolt is compromised? It's on tight as hell, but I just don't know what to do. The rear axle is slightly important, especially considering there is no pinch bolt on an FZ1.

Click to expand...

Geezer said:

It's hard to say if that strip of metal you saw was from the threads without seeing it, but you obviously suspect that so pull the axle and examine it closely, especially the threads. Does the Axle on the FZ have steel nut like the FJR rear axle or does it screw into aluminum like the front FJR axle? Examine the threads on the nut (or swingarm?) as well.

Click to expand...

Assuming the following photos from the left are what you are talking about:

Clicky

The end of the nut is a self-locking feature (see the little shoulder) for the one I've worked on and the sliver likely was a bit of that being shaved off. However, Geezer's right in that the way to tell is with a really close inspection, using at least a 10X magnifying glass to see any thread damage for real. But because this is such an important assembly don't even hesitate to replace the axle or nut if you suspect any damage at all.

Bob