For Want of a Shoe. . .

[Fulton_Cali]

Well, you know how that old story goes. You know when you have a great machine? When it only breaks in your driveway. My 1997 Cali 75th Anniversary is a peach. I was just toodling around today, maybe had a 10 mile ride. Rode down the driveway, and BANG. . .I see one of my Hepco bags behind me. Hmm.




I had heard a little rattle at idle before I took off from a parking lot 5 minutes before, but couldn't track it down and everything seemed secure. As you can see, the third mount point all the way on the right sheared off. I started feeling around underneath and of course one allen bolt was completely gone--but the other was there--with a sheared-off head. 

I checked the other side and one screw was very loose. I was on my way to losing both. Turns out these things aren't that strong and losing one bolt will eventually cause the whole thing to fail. I am damned lucky I have one of the good ones that politely deposited its bag in my driveway. I don't want to think about what could have happened on the highway this morning.

So, I can't speak to newer bike or different bag designs, but on an older Cali, I guess it pays to check your mounts. . .

David

[fotoguzzi]

Will you use lock tite now?

[Kiwi Dave]

Will you use lock tite now?

Loctite would not have helped the bolt with the sheared off head.

I've been critical of the quality of the bolts H & B supply with their racks, and always substitute them at the earliest opportunity.

[Fulton_Cali]

Loctite would not have helped the bolt with the sheared off head.

I've been critical of the quality of the bolts H & B supply with their racks, and always substitute them at the earliest opportunity.

Dave, any recommendations on something better? I was thinking the same thing and was going to go on some Guzzi parts site and do that, but who knows that bolts I would be getting. Any internet specialty parts houses, or brands of fasteners I should look for? I agree these seem to have failed prematurely.

There is the argument that if one bolt hadn't been lost, it wouldn't have failed, so Loctite is not a bad idea. But uprated bolts seem like cheap insurance if I can find some  that are likely to be truly better. . .

David

[Kiwi Dave]

I typically use stainless steel bolts, the cheaper 304 grade.  The 316 grade is more for marine applications.

There will be those who argue against stainless, but I've had very little problems with them.  There is always the risk of galling (this is when threads lock up), and I've had it happen using stainless Nyloc nuts on steel studs.

A lubricant is advised some sort of anit-seize product, say Loctite 771.

It pays to occasionally check the bolts that screw into the threaded holes in the bike's frame, as they can get rusty and hard to remove as they are out of sight.

[redhawk47]

Use steel hex socket head cap screws (Allen head); they are high strength steel.
Do not use stainless steel; they are half the strength.
Use a washer under the head; SS is OK for this.
Do not use a lock washer; do use a thread locker - Loctite, etc.

[Kiwi Dave]

Use steel hex socket head cap screws (Allen head); they are high strength steel.
Do not use stainless steel; they are half the strength.

They may be half the strength, but still much better than what H&B supply.

I've never had a breakage using stainless, and I have observed severe rusting on the threads on the frame when using steel.

Everybody can make their own mind up.

[Fulton_Cali]

Thanks, fellas. I have to get the bike to Speed's in Baltimore (actually Jessup) this Friday for a safety inspection, and he is a Guzzi dealer and service center. I took the other bag off and tried to get the rack off. One bolt snapped halfway with pressure from a little allen key. Truly junk bolts for sure. I'll get some new ones and report back, but hopefully Speed's has an easy-out or something to fish out the one trapped screw end.

What's that joke about Guzzi turning riders into mechanics since 1922 or something? 

[Kiwi Dave]

If it's broken off in the frame, it's gonna be a right front bum to remove.  Drilling vertically upwards is going to be difficult, even with left hand drill bits.

This is the reason I don't care for steel bolts screwing into the frame.

[Johnny Moto]

My '98 V11 EV had a similar problem: bolts shearing off, the racks themselves breaking, getting welded together and breaking again. I finally ditched the Hepco Beckers in favor of a set of Kriega's that I strap on the pillion seat.
The great folks at MPH Cycles in Houston (now Hempstead) said that the racks need to be shimmed so that there is no lateral stress on the rack when bolting it up. All the right information, but too late for me. The side racks sit as scrap in the attic, and the bags . . . well I still need to pick one bag up from a friend's house after the last late night OMG-the-bags-are-dangling-like-a-child's-loose-tooth episode.