Well i switched out the tires.....only to find out on the front now i have a problem....one of the fork bolts broke off....the numb nuts before me used some tread lock and a impact wrench....smart huh....ya it was tightly in there but now i have half a bolt jammed in there....my questions are....how dangerous is it to ride on 3/4 of the bolts on the lower forks? where the best place to get another bolt for the cheapest price? if using tread lock on the bolts again would be a god idea? what do you all think of facotry bolts compared to going to lowes or home depot? i placed the lowes bolt in there and it goes in to a pointand then tightens...but then it wont tighten down all the way....so i might need to retread the bastards....what do you all think?

 

I think you should get an "easy out" from the drill bit section of home depot, and a replacement grade 8 bolt while you are there. Problem solved, and you won't be worrying about whether or not your front end is going to come apart at speed.

 

i have a easy out man...but the replacement bolt is weird..it will slide all the way in and then tighten a little but you wanna make sure its snuggle and feels like you are starting to tighten the bolt again

 

anyone else?

 

Those are simply pinch bolts to hold your axle in place should the axle nut come loose. Kind of a fail-safe of sorts or you could call it extra reinforcement... whatever the case is...

Always use threadlock on non-brass bolts. Brass expands under heat so the occasional tightening of brass bits is all that is necessary. For steel and hardened bits though, use threadlock.

Very few parts on a bike that I see the need for an impact wrench. Those pinch bolts are 12mm IIRC, just make sure they're tight before every ride and you'll be fine if you're missing one. Obvously I would find a way to resolve the problem in the long run but for now...

You're fine. Tighten the bitches and ride it (make sure your axle nut is tight as well).

 

thanks kid...as for a update....the left side that has the bolt that broke off in there....that still is not out...its like only 4 threds in there...the other side that is loose or the bolt the goes in and tightens but then goes loose again...its spitting out metal shavings...so...for the loose one i looked at the bolt....not the problem....its the inner hole that the bolt goes into at the end that is stripped..the housing i believe...so i placed a longer bolt on that and a nut on the other side to tighten that down....seem like a ok plan? prob do the same to the side with the broken off bolt

 

Personally i would tap that hole and get a bolt to match, but a longer bolt and a nut on the end will work too.

 

cool..you guys really think so..i mean i did not know the others were basically safty bolts if the other guy was correct..i know they are there for a reason

 

well the bolt thing was fixed i believe but get this...i am ridin tonight with 70 other bikes and we go to take a bike loop....i did a lean and pushed down on the handle like always and the tires seemed to yank...if i pushed down on the left....the rear end seemed to really throw itself left...this weird or? i mean its like someone was bedind me and bumped me to the side really fast.....i did go from having hard compound to meduim compound..would that have anything to do with it?

 

should get more grip with medium, but with new tires you might just be slipping a little till they get that top surface worn off. but i would guess that there was rock or some drit or something on the road that you went over and it just let you slip till you got back on a good surface. happens all the time on back roads that dont get much travel. scares the **** out of me every time too.