07 RT- Caliper Bolts sheared

[RT3MPC]

I was planning on pulling my front wheel from my 07-RT to take in and get the tire replaced last week. Just when I was ready to pull the axel, I realized the adapter wrench was not included and I did not have anything to pull the axel. I decided to put everything back together and order the part from the dealers. I reassembled everything and torqued the caliper bolts per the owner’s manual. I rode the bike a few hundred miles this weekend and went out at lunch yesterday to see the left front caliper hanging off w/ 2 sheared off bolts inside.

Has this happened to anyone else and is there an easy way to back the bolts out w/o replacing the caliper? The bike is still under warranty w/ 16k miles so I can take back to the dealer but know they may not cover it since it is brake related and I tried to pull the wheel myself.

[Semper_Fi]

Sorry to hear that.

If there is no damage to the caliper body you should be ok.

You can try to remove the other caliper bolt - get the caliper out of the way and then with a pair of vice grips remove the busted off bolt.

Put a replacement bolt in and you should be good to go.

A quick question and not ment to offend in any way - when you retorqued the bolts did you do it in foot-lbs or Newton-meters?

If it looks to be a mess - have the dealer pick it up and have them address it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Polarbear]

They went too tight. This will get some grief to "me", BUT torqueing every thing is not always a perfect solution. I rarely torque mine, but have a good feel for it and I've been turning wrenches for 50+ years. You clearly torqued yours over the top, a mistake thats possible indeed. My way too, is faulty with a lesser experienced wrench. KNOW your tools well and their parameters. Take no offense, as its an easy mistake, if I'm right in assuming this is your case! I've never seen them sheared off. Randy PS; If you choose to not torque a bolt where you feel concerned, "USE Blue locktite" and its not likely to fail you. Now that I've spilled my torque wrench theory, let me have it, all you wrenches out there:). The tool is good:). I choose not to use it all the time. R

[PGlaves]

It does sound as if the bolts were over torqued. But I would wonder why:

misprinted specification?

wrong conversion or no conversion from ft.lb to NM, or vise versa?

torque wrench out of calibration?

Any of these can bite any of us, but to prevent future problems it is always good to go back and figure out what happened and why.

[RT3MPC]

All feedback leads to over torque the bolts, thanks. I need to check to see if my wrench is in fact accurate. I seldom use ut but I will now get it checked.

I got off easily with a local shop being able to back them out for only 30 minutes labor.

Back on the road again, with a first stop back to the shop to see if my wrench is off that much.

[BuddingGeezer]

Only one gent answered your question, but plenty of what you did wrong. Duh, you knew that.

If you shear another bolt and you will if you keep wrenching, this may help.

Using vice gripes may work if there is enough of the bolt to grab on. Many times the bolt shears even with the mount. Drill a hole in the center of the bolt, insert an 'ease out' and back it out. A left hand drill bit is better than a right hand as it is turning in the direction to remove the bolt. Machine shops have them, but I doubt the chain part stores do. Use plenty of lubricating oil when drilling. If you have a clutch drill, chuck the 'ease out' in it and let it tap as you try to remove the bolt. A tap is better than straight pull to remove a bolt. Be patient and it'll come out.

I once sheared a triple tree bolt and that is the way I removed it. Took about a hour. It did help that a machinist friend of mine, machined a small jig to keep the bit centered.

Ralph Sims