Slightly misleading title but I wanted to make sure others read this warning.  While I was riding today my front brake caliber bolts came loose and fell off.  Fortunately I was in the city, and able to get to the side of the road without having an accident.  The problem is that I was working on the bike and simply tightened the bolts (very tightly I thought) without tightening them to spec torque.  Moments earlier I was on the interstate doing 80mph.  Had the caliper come loose then, it could have interfered with the spinning wheel or been unavailable and me unaware of it falling off due to the high noise and vibration.  You can only imagine what would have happened.  As it were, I was going slowly enough when I applied the brake to notice something wasn't right, and for it to bring me to a complete stop.  I had to cross 3 lanes of city traffic with my caliper hanging and the drivers behind me honking angrily.  I was happy to do it considering the alternatives.

Lessons Learned:
1.  Don't rush maintenance.  Do it right every time especially when it concerns the wheels and chassis.
2.  Always use both brakes for stopping.  I routinely do this and may have avoided catastrophe due to my rear brake stopping me when the front failed.  Also I was able to ride home with only the rear brake as it came natural to me to use it whenever braking.
3.  Always carry zip ties!!!!  ALWAYS.  I usually carry them in my Tail bag but of course I left the bag at home on this ride.  Luckily I was walking distance to a store where I could buy them. I zip tied the caliper in place and rode 5 miles home using only the rear brake.  Had to stop a couple times when I hit the front brake out of habit causing the zip ties to break off.

Don't forget just how dangerous this passion we have chosen is.  Consider your safety at all times, and listen to your bike.  If something doesn't feel right, pull over and inspect it immediately.  Ride safe everyone. 

Don't just carry zip ties.
Carry the most comprehensive tool kit that fits,and always check everything at-least twice.
Glad nothing overly bad happened.

Very good point.  I carry my tool kit and tire inflator in my tail bag.  Had noting available to me but the stock toolkit under the seat. 

I was sure a story involving a redhead and a blonde was gonna be here.  Sigh.

Okay, I had a similar lesson about a month ago when my muffler bolt fell out.  Same lesson about zip ties applies.  Glad you are okay, the danger you faced was real.  Let's hope this story saves another rider some real grief.


Here's my misadventure:

http://www.gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=68183.0
A funny thing happened...



Roaring via Tapatalk.

i don't care what the manual says... the brake bolts get some loctite...

I'm with you.  Blue loctite from here on... Happened on my SV rearset bolts which were torqued to spec.  Lever fell off on the highway 45 minutes from home. I had to ride 5 miles stuck in 4th gear including some near stops when exiting the highway.  Managed to blow a couple lights to keep it running to a nearby harbor freight.  Another stroke of luck.  Blue loctite and that was the end of that problem.

Indeed. It gets loctite. Always had a tube in the pack with me

I don't use a torque wrench for every bolt on the bike, but my "pledge to self" is to always use one when tightening bolts that could plausibly kill me should they come loose at an inopportune time.

Glad to hear you got away with it this time.

Loctite.....i figure if the Owners manual & Service Manual can disagree occasionally so can i with anything they have to say.

Just carry a few m6,m8, and m10 bolts with you while you ride. I do this when riding my dirt bike in the trails, and it has saved my butt on a few occasions.. I lost my kick start lever bolt, one of my triple clamp bolts, and helped others just by carrying a few with me. It sounds dumb, but they are small and cheap, plus much safer than zip ties.

I got lucky too  my wife looks at me and says ... Oh wait, that's not what we're talking about here  . Sheesh. I just have to write to penthouse letters then. 
Cool.
Buddha.