Fork bolts

[ematos]

Hello Everyone,

Sorry but a very novice question.

I have a new to me FJR and while cleaning it I found that one of the 6 mm allen bolts on the bottom of the forks backed out and was very loose. (sticking out and loose to the hand to tighten back in so it was flush)

I tighten it back snug with an Allen then checked the others and applied about 1/4 turn on another and the other 2 were snug.

Can someone help me with the torque spec on these? Could they become overtight?

I do not have a shop manual yet and plan on letting dealership do work as I'm a novice so please don't beat me up too bad...

Thanks in advance

 

[RossKean]

There is a specific torque and tightening sequence to follow. Do yourself a favor and get a service manual. (Even if you don't do a lot of work on the bike.)

 

[ematos]

Thank you!

 

[RossKean]

Note: Only 15 ft-lb, so don't over-tighten.
Sequence 1-2-1 followed by 4-3-4

Edit: Correction, Sequence is 2-1-2 followed by 4-3-4

 

[ematos]

Thank you and just ordered a shop manual.

I appreciate the help. I'll back them off and torque.

 

[Zerofun]

RossKean's sequence is dead on.​

I know that some torque specs differ slightly for the generations. What year is your bike?

 

[ematos]

I did more reading and understand the point of pinch bolts. Thank you. They all had perhaps barley 10 ft lbs of torque and as stated one almost fell off. Something to watch in the future since they either loosened over the past 2k miles or the dealers mechanic failed to tighten them as the tire was changed prior to my purchase of the bike.

Service manual is on order. I guess I can't rely on dealerships. I do basic oil changes and filters. Time to expand my knowledge.

I'm fairly certain that torque specs differ slightly in generations. What year do you have?

2019 1300a

 

[Zerofun]

I did more reading and understand the point of pinch bolts. Thank you. They all had perhaps barley 10 ft lbs of torque and as stated one almost fell off. Something to watch in the future since they either loosened over the past 2k miles or the dealers mechanic failed to tighten them as the tire was changed prior to my purchase of the bike.

Service manual is on order. I guess I can't rely on dealerships. I do basic oil changes and filters. Time to expand my knowledge.

2019 1300a

Gen. IV I believe. I think it gets confusing after gen. III.
Service manuals are huge, as are youtube videos and of course this forum right here. The three, crucial for wrenching on your own bike.
Enjoy your new FJR!

 

[bob431389]

Get the torque right. After a service I forgot to tighten the left side. Both fell out after several rides!! Thankfully caused no issues. Got them tight now.

 

[Whooshka]

Another step that is helpful but not in the manual is to loosen them all up first INCLUDING the caliper bolts. Not a bad idea to also loosen the bolts holding the fender on and if you really want to complete a whole front end "alignment", also the bolts on the lower triple tree. Then compress the front end a few times by pushing down on the tank with 2 hands. This will let everything "settle" into it's natural position. Then tighten everything up to spec and don't forget the caliper, fender and triple tree bolts.

This will ensure your bike tracks straight.

 

[ematos]

Thank you so much, great suggestion! I'll do that once I get the service manual so I have all the torque specs!

 

[ematos]

Get the torque right. After a service I forgot to tighten the left side. Both fell out after several rides!! Thankfully caused no issues. Got them tight now.

Yeah I'll check it in another few hundred, and then a few thousand miles. It was either never torqued or it lossened on its own. Now I'm curious.. makes me feel the need to do more hands on wrenching

 

[Dan Cooper]

Just last week we serviced a set of front forks from a 2008 FJR with about 45K miles that was new to the owner and was leaking oil rather badly. He didn't have any service records and had no idea if anyone had ever been into the forks before. The left fork cap hex was buggered up so I knew someone had messed with it before, just didn't know when.
So it was all new bushings, seals, oil.

When we went to remove the forks NOT ONE bolt on the front of the scooter was barely more than FINGER TIGHT!!!
Not the axle bolt, or the axle pinch bolts, or the brake caliper bolts, or the lower triple pinch bolts, or the upper triple pinch bolts, or the fork tube caps, or the upper triple retaining nut.
It was like the previous assembler just ran the bolts down by hand and never came back to tighten anything up!!!

Current owner said he had just been out on his favorite stretch of local backroad at well over 100 MPH and didn't notice anything wrong!

I was STUNNED and AMAZED that he didn't die. I was STUNNED and AMAZED that the fork tubes didn't slide up through the clamps and result in a catastrophic failure!

I learned that maybe all those torque specs aren't very important after all, maybe just snugging everything down is good enough. NAH, THAT'S STOOOPPPIIIDDD! Everything went back together to spec.

The other thing I learned is that some people absolutely shouldn't own tools and absolutely shouldn't work on anything that can kill them if they don't know what they're doing. Or maybe they should and increase the chance of eliminating themselves from the gene pool and making life safer for the rest of us!!

Those last comments are not aimed at anyone in particular and are not intended to offend anyone in particular, but I'm sure someone will be offended. Just my opinions. BTW, it's not like I haven't made some colossal screw ups myself, I've just been lucky.


dan

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” -- George Carlin

 

[ematos]

Just last week we serviced a set of front forks from a 2008 FJR with about 45K miles that was new to the owner and was leaking oil rather badly. He didn't have any service records and had no idea if anyone had ever been into the forks before. The left fork cap hex was buggered up so I knew someone had messed with it before, just didn't know when.
So it was all new bushings, seals, oil.

When we went to remove the forks NOT ONE bolt on the front of the scooter was barely more than FINGER TIGHT!!!
Not the axle bolt, or the axle pinch bolts, or the brake caliper bolts, or the lower triple pinch bolts, or the upper triple pinch bolts, or the fork tube caps, or the upper triple retaining nut.
It was like the previous assembler just ran the bolts down by hand and never came back to tighten anything up!!!

Current owner said he had just been out on his favorite stretch of local backroad at well over 100 MPH and didn't notice anything wrong!

I was STUNNED and AMAZED that he didn't die. I was STUNNED and AMAZED that the fork tubes didn't slide up through the clamps and result in a catastrophic failure!

I learned that maybe all those torque specs aren't very important after all, maybe just snugging everything down is good enough. NAH, THAT'S STOOOPPPIIIDDD! Everything went back together to spec.

The other thing I learned is that some people absolutely shouldn't own tools and absolutely shouldn't work on anything that can kill them if they don't know what they're doing. Or maybe they should and increase the chance of eliminating themselves from the gene pool and making life safer for the rest of us!!

Those last comments are not aimed at anyone in particular and are not intended to offend anyone in particular, but I'm sure someone will be offended. Just my opinions. BTW, it's not like I haven't made some colossal screw ups myself, I've just been lucky.


dan

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” -- George Carlin

Too funny, no offense taken here. I may not know allot about my FJR but I'll learn.

 

[2GENAE]

Dan did all this in my shop I helped, but Dan did most of it showing me how to remove the 3 bushings etc in Gen II forks.
But Dan is not joking ALL of the axle, fork pinch bolts, triple tree bolts ALL were just snugged.
I was SHOCKED the fork tubes did not push up and hit the the handle bars after my friend ran off the road and came to a sudden STOP that popped his fork seals.

 

[Bumlinger]

There is a specific torque and tightening sequence to follow. Do yourself a favor and get a service manual. (Even if you don't do a lot of work on the bike.)

View attachment 4983

Can someone please explain in layman's terms what they are getting at in step "C" of the FSM procedure? I'm confused by the last sentence.

 

[RossKean]

Can someone please explain in layman's terms what they are getting at in step "C" of the FSM procedure? I'm confused by the last sentence.

It isn't terribly clear but I believe they are just making sure that the axle is properly and fully seated before tightening the pinch bolts.
Not something I have ever worried about. I make sure the axle (and the opening in the fork) are clean and that the pinch bolts are fully loosened before inserting the axle and have never had a problem.

 

[Oldjeep]

There is a certain amount of side by side flex in the fork legs. Honestly I think it is more important at Step C to give the fork a good bounce or 2 - that should put the loose side where you want it. (Likely flush with the axle)

 

[Bumlinger]

I'm glad to see that no one else understands it either! I did the bounce thing after torquing the axle nut and left side pinch bolts, and then torqued the RH pinch bolts after the bounce. My axle end surface ended up just shy of the fork surface <1mm. Perhaps the FSM is taking into account that the cast surface of the fork leg may not be in plane with the axle since the fork leg is as-cast and not machined in that area.

 

[Dan Cooper]

Step "A" of that procedure pulls the axle and the whole wheel assembly (left spacer, wheel bearings and right spacer (ABS plate)) up tight against the left fork leg. After that the axle can't go anywhere.

Step "C" is just aligning the right fork leg with the opposite end of the axle so that in theory the fork legs are parallel.

The suggestion by Oldjeep, and others, to bounce the front end before tightening the pinch bolts can't do any harm.

The FSM is not written by mechanics or the design engineers, but by technical writers who probably have never held a wrench and sometimes don't comprehend assembly specifics. So sometimes the instructions don't seem to make sense when we're looking at the job at hand. That's where an experienced mechanic makes an informed decision; sometimes it's the right decision and, as we know, sometimes it's the wrong decision. But a smart experienced mechanic doesn't make the same mistake twice.

dan

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” -- George Carlin