So some of you know I painted my GS500E fairings a bit ago to look all galaxy and cool. Last week I decided to add more to that and did my gas tank and fender. But, of course, for GS500s we have to take off our entire front wheel to remove and replace the fender. Fast forward to Tuesday.
My classes just started again, and my plan was to ride to my classes as much as possible. So I left my house on my bike Tuesday morning intending to ride the same 30 minute ride I do every Tuesday. I got about 3 or 4 blocks away, though, before my front break caliper fell off. Yes, you read that right. It FELL OFF. I was coming to a stop sign, and luckily was only going about 20 and there were no cars in sight, but when I tried to brake I quickly realized something was wrong when the lever had no resistance and I was still going. I jumped on my rear brake, came to a stop, and hit the kill switch. I looked over to see what the heck had happened and had the wtf moment of seeing my brakes swinging next to my wheel.
Let me tell you, that was a strange feeling.
Since I was so close to home and the brake caliper is too big to swing into the wheel I turned the bike around and went about 10 mph home, grabbed my truck, and made it to class only a few minutes late.
Basically, after I put my fender back on I hand tightened the bolts as much as I could as I don't have a 13mm (or 14mm? I think 13mm) socket at my house and was planning to ride the 6 blocks to a local motorcycle co-op I go to every week. I had gotten the bolts off with one of those "one size fits all" socket things, but as the bolts are so close to the fork I didn't have enough clearance to get them back on using the same tool. That was Sunday. I ended up not bringing my bike and immediately forgot about this important detail, and rode my bike all of Monday to and from class, work, and my house. I'm so incredibly lucky I was going so slow when this happened. I put in new bolts tonight (as I lost the old ones) and got a socket to torque them down properly.
Long story short, my front brakes fell off, I didn't die. Torque your bolts!!!!!!
The three things I loctite blue on the bike, caliper bolts, brake rotor bolts, and the bolts that mount the foot peg bracket to the bike [ive actually had one of these fallout/off on me on the gs500 in particular, after about 3 years of owning it and never touching those bolts myself.]
Whew... glad you are OK girl. :thumb:
I always hated that part about removing the front fender (cue me making 3 different custom ones for my bike lol) ... buying tools can certainly take a toll on your wallet over time but they are really good to have. IMO the right stuff can make a current job much easier and make future jobs not seem so daunting. I'm a super crazy pinch-penny but when it comes to tools, I usually make an exception ;) :laugh:
That's a bit of a worry. I can't see how you forget about the bolts on the front brake calliper because that is one of the places where I'd always double and triple check torque settings. Having said that last week I tried Sledge's method of loosening the two bolts on either end of the torque arm for the rear brake, when adjusting the chain, which is a brilliant idea. However in order to get my torque wrench into one of the bolts I had to remove two of the three bolts that hold the rear brake guard in place and swing it out of the way. Duh I forgot to do it up at all and didn't discover it for quite some time when I went to use the rear brake, silly but not as dangerous as what you managed.
Have to agree with ShowBizWolf, so pleased that you got through this unhurt. And your GS too!
Having started out breaking knuckles adjusting the tappets using an open-ended wrench, I soon realized that the correct tools are not only useful but cost effective. I bought a set of 1/2 in drive sockets that I still have after 40 odd years (the case rusted out, but the sockets are fine), but for the GS I mostly use a cheap set if 3/8 in drive sockets that only has mm sizes up to 17 mm. I think I paid $15 for it (again, many years ago, probably around 10). About the only things I don't do with it is playing with the axles. For the rest, though, it is perfect. So I would highly recommend that you watch your local hardware store and wait for a sale.
I realize that for a student money is tight, but a small set of sockets will last and will repay the cost several times over.
Barry
A cheap source of tools is Harbor Freight. They aren't "good", but I've never had any major issues with their hand-tools.
The ratchets are sloppy, for example, which can be a pain in a confined area, but you'd still need to be doing something wrong to break it.
+1 for Harbor Freight and their constant stream of 20% off coupons they put in my mailbox!
Also, Watcher is correct, some of their stuff can be kinda iffy. Not all of it! But some. If I'm ever in doubt about something they sell, I check the reviews on the Harbor Freight website before I buy it.
Do you have the tool kit that came with the bike? I have recently learned that those tools do come in handy.
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on August 31, 2017, 12:59:31 PM
Do you have the tool kit that came with the bike? I have recently learned that those tools do come in handy.
I do not!!
I have general tools I can do most things with, but my socket kit only goes up to 12. I'm definitely going to pick up at least a 13 and 14, but most of my work I can do at the co-op a few blocks away. They have tons of tools as well as advice so I don't forget to do something as vital as this!
Quote from: user11235813 on August 31, 2017, 02:29:10 AM
that is one of the places where I'd always double and triple check torque settings.
That's a habit I think I'm going to have to pick up now!