Aaargh! Lost a rear caliper bolt!

Grrrrrrrrr...

I was running errands today, hoping to get home in time to do a bit of work on the bike. Nothing major, maybe get around to changing the oil, bleed the rear brake, check chain slack, routine type stuff. Well, the auto parts store near me had no 15W50 Mobil 1. No 15W50 anything, actually, so I went to the Pep Boys a few miles away. Got the oil & jumped on the expressway to get home...

Ugh. Parking lot. Actually, worse. A parking lot would've at least let me take my hand off the clutch; this was 5-15MPH traffic, mostly 5. Got up to 20 briefly, then slowed back down again. As I slowed down, I heard "Clunk!" & the rear brake lever felt like it kicked back against me. No time to think about it in traffic, though...

Got off one exit early to get out of traffic, & that's when I saw that my rear brake was not right. It was hanging funny & rubbing a little. Limped home & inspected it closer: not only is it missing the upper bolt that holds the caliper to the torque arm, but the backing plate on the caliper is stripped as well! :evil:

I think I'll pull the brake tomorrow so I can ride 'til I get a new backing plate. Can anyone confirm for me that these are standard 10mm banjo bolts?

Thanks,
-Kit

[pendraig]

I remember that the manual says something about "the area of microencapsulation" being destroyed and that the bolt must be replaced. I read up on "microencapsulation" and found that it basically a coating applied to fasteners that causes the same effect as loctite-ing them when they are torqued down. (the micro-capsules rupture and release an adhesive.) The microencapsulation is good for only one shot, so you have to get a new microencapsulated bolt each time. I just loctite 'em instead, haven't lost one yet. :hammer:

[triple900]

kit,
excellent point about microencapsulation, otherwise known as meass!! no doubt a british phrase! that coating is usualy a burnt orange color substance applied to a bolt or threads on a sensor and is one time use as stated before by the previous poster. Even though you can see it on the threads, the loctite sealer is no good, it is anerobic and dries in the absense of air, as loctite does.... you can use loctite, clean the old sealer off first, and apply loctite, i personaly like the red. also be aware that the mobile 1 for cars is different than for bikes!!! motorcycle mobile 1 has a greater amount of zinc in it to help lube and prevent shearing at high rpm's, most cars dont do 10k
Rick

Feh! Caliper's toast. It rubs a little bit now, & I managed to strip one of the pad retaining pins. Grrrrrr...

Oh well, it's still rideable. Guess I'll be keeping an eye on eBay.

-Kit

[RacingGreen]

that coating is usualy a burnt orange color substance applied to a bolt or threads

Didn't they call that rust in the old days......?

:-D