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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | The only thing I can think of, is what was just mentioned and also mentioned before, what is the width of the fender unmounted and the width of the forks. Also, is the correct spacers in place when the wheel and axle mounted? Also, check to see if the pistons are forks are true and not warped.
Keep us all informed of this mystery, I believe you'll be surprised when you find the root cause. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 173
Prescott Valley, AZ | NOT OVER TORQUED!!!! Installed EXACTLY like the manual states. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 173
Prescott Valley, AZ | The bike and the last 2 fenders are at the dealership and they plan to measure EVERYTHING in and around the fender mounts. I stood there last Tuesday when the mechanic (who I trust completely) installed the last fender. It fit onto the mount points without any pressure to install it and no gaps bnetween the fork mounts and the fender. We just don't have a clue why this bike is now all of a sudden eating front fenders.  |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I'll double check, but the screws that hold the fender on are shouldered, so they cannot be over-torque, misaligned maybe, but not over-torque to where it would crack the fender. Too bad you can't take it to the factory and put it on the road simulator and watch to see what happens. This is a good one to try and figure out. Hope you find it soon, I feel your frustrations... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 173
Prescott Valley, AZ | I have seen posts that say you cannot overtorque shouldered bolts, well, with 24 years working on attack, observation, and utility helicopters and inspecting other peoples work for a LARGE portion of that time I have seen MANY instances where a shouldered bolt was overtorqued. You can most certainly overtorque ANY bolt no matter what configuration it is. It is simply a matter of the amount of twist you apply to the head of the bolt, if you continue to tighten a shouldered bolt (or any bolt) it will apply that force to the suface it mates to up to the point it strips out the threads on the bolt or mounting holes, or the head of the bolt will snap off. I am absolutely POSITIVE the last two fenders were installed EXACTLY as the manual states, overtorque was NOT the problem. The holes and the bolts all went together as designed and it all looks just like it should, no missalighment with the bolts or the fender on either side. There is no doubt in my mind that if the bike were on a road simulator the fender would crack again. There has to be something in the front end or forks or fenders that is causing this to happen. I'll give the dealership a chance to figure this out and hopefully with some guidance from Victory they can get this fixed. I'm sure Victory will never state it is a design flaw, not enough folks are having this problem, so I'm curious what their position will be. All I know for certain is that NOTHING out of the ordinary has happened to the front end of the bike in my 38,000+ miles. I still believe this is the absolute best touring V-Twin on the market and it REALLY bugs me that I'm not out there riding today!!!!!
I appreciate every trying to help and giving their views, I'll continue to post any news here..... |
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | Wish ya the best Rick!
Very odd problem indeed!! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Bearcat - 2011-10-01 2:32 PM
I have seen posts that say you cannot overtorque shouldered bolts, well, with 24 years working on attack, observation, and utility helicopters and inspecting other peoples work for a LARGE portion of that time I have seen MANY instances where a shouldered bolt was overtorqued. You can most certainly overtorque ANY bolt no matter what configuration it is. It is simply a matter of the amount of twist you apply to the head of the bolt, if you continue to tighten a shouldered bolt (or any bolt) it will apply that force to the suface it mates to up to the point it strips out the threads on the bolt or mounting holes, or the head of the bolt will snap off. I am absolutely POSITIVE the last two fenders were installed EXACTLY as the manual states, overtorque was NOT the problem.
I guess I always have to qualify my statement. From a general standpoint the shoulder will keep from putting too much pressure on the fender that will crack. Of course you can overtorque any bolt, however, that is out of context for my statement.
The holes and the bolts all went together as designed and it all looks just like it should, no missalighment with the bolts or the fender on either side. There is no doubt in my mind that if the bike were on a road simulator the fender would crack again.
Yes, I would agree it would crack again given the track record, however, you'll be able to observe from a vantage point that you cannot see from the saddle.
There has to be something in the front end or forks or fenders that is causing this to happen. I'll give the dealership a chance to figure this out and hopefully with some guidance from Victory they can get this fixed. I'm sure Victory will never state it is a design flaw, not enough folks are having this problem, so I'm curious what their position will be. All I know for certain is that NOTHING out of the ordinary has happened to the front end of the bike in my 38,000+ miles. I still believe this is the absolute best touring V-Twin on the market and it REALLY bugs me that I'm not out there riding today!!!!!
I'm only trying to keep the think tank rotating so that you can get your problem fix, I might not have the right answer, but by eliminating all the wrong ones will help you pinpoint it. I've been very successful in either myself or assisting others to find a root cause quicker.
I appreciate every trying to help and giving their views, I'll continue to post any news here.....
This is my final comment on this thread, however, I will lurk it in hopes you find your problem, with your fender.
Edited by varyder 2011-10-01 4:59 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | i wonder if a manufacture date has anything to do with the cracking we are reading about? could have something been changed, or not properly installed within a certain date(s)? just a thought. a long shot i know. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 173
Prescott Valley, AZ | My Vic mechanic spent 1/2 hour talking to Victory about my problem this last week. They has him loosen all the clamp bolts on the upper and lower triple clamps, reset the forks by the book, and retorque the clamp bolts. They then "stop drilled" the newest crack(s) on fender #3 and had me take the bike Thursday afternoon to put some miles on it before they order another fender. Rode the bike back to work, home that evening and then back to work on Friday AM. Went out at lunchtime and took a look and found more cracks. When I pulled into the dealership's shop this morning one of the owners was in the shop. He wants to get a Victory Rep involved which is fine with me. Personally, I am now thinking that the tire they installed two months ago may be the culprit. The original fender lasted more than 34,000 miles, none of us know for sure when it cracked (I know it was not cracked last Nov after the fork seals were done), it was noticed by the tech when he was putting the new tire on the bike. The new tire was balanced and fender #2 were installed on the 22nd of Aug. I put about 300 miles on it (fender #2) before it started to crack just before we were to leave on our Utah trip over Labor Day weekend. Now the third fender has cracked and I don't have my ride. Although I don't feel any new vibration coming from the front end I don't know what else could be wrong, the tire itself is where I'd like to see the "investigation" head at this point as we have pretty much ruled out other possible problems. Mean while the bike now sits at the dealership (AGAIN!!) and I'm missing some GREAT riding weather, yep, this truely SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 94
milwaukee wisconsin | have them check to see if the lower fork legs are rocking or loose on the inner fork tubes i have see when they have play between them that has caused some issues ?? |
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Tourer
Posts: 337
san antonio, tx | gsaoxies - 2011-10-25 10:13 PM
There are plenty of folks that realize they Phhhhhhhhhhtttttttttttttt,,,,,,,,one of them.
I've just sent this PM to Mr. gsaoxies. Moderator, can you dump this knucklehead please? Thank you.
I have put you in the IGNORE status. Any chance that I may have purchased any product from you has gone away due to your innappropriate posting on a forum. Your website is bogus, and your "contact us" link sucks.
Good day.
Edited by cchristo 2011-10-25 10:44 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 63
| He is gone... thanks for the alerts guys. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 104
ROCHESTER,NY | I would like to see pic's on here of these cracked fender's,why havn't we seen any.I know you said, Victory and your dealer are working on this for you.But has anyone contacted the U.S. Attorney General. This is an ongoing problem. A huge saftey ISSUE!!!!!! If not, U.S. Attorney General, call your state Attorney General. Believe me when I say, if you get them involved, they will get to the root of the problem.
SPEAK UP!! SPEAK OUT!!! BE HEARD!!!!!! IT'S YOUR RIGHT!!!!! |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 48
Simpsonville, SC | I just made a very close inspection under very bright light and found a hairline crack on each side of the plastic front fender at the mounting bolts. I encourage you to look very closely with a bright light source. My bike is an '09 that I bought new 1 year ago and only has 4,600 miles, is garage kept, gently ridden and have only used Turtle wax Ice products to clean it. I don't really even try to clean the plastic part of the front fender. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | Perhaps the answer is in your last post, ie, no problem before the fork seals. Perhaps something was changed in that process that caused an imbalance, whereas one strut is carrying most the load. This would cause abnormal flexing when a bump is encountered. I don't know, but it could be the "change" you are searching for. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 51
REXBURG IDAHO | Its like this lets all face it its a combination of two things. There is cheap ass oil and fork seals in the forks and when the oil and seals go bad you dont have any room for the fender to go down because you have used all the travel that the forks have so dont try to figure it out. Just get rid of the cheap ass oil and all seals in the forks and put some high quility products on your bike. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| I was putting the bike up on the air lift for winter and you guys scared me with the cracking front fenders so I looked. Thanks guys.
It looks like a spit not really a crack and I had to look close cause I though that it was made that way. NOT. Its the left side and the front end is a virgin never been touch for tire or any thing.
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Cruiser
Posts: 94
milwaukee wisconsin | was getting the bike ready for winter wash wax ect ect when i was cleaning the front fender and tuned the wheel to the right and found that the rear black plastic part of the fender was cracked on left side i know some of you have had the front part crack but how about the rear black part ?? |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| I should of said mine is the rear of the front fender |
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Cruiser
Posts: 161
Oregon. | Hmmm, interesting how this is cropping up. Haven't found the problem on my bike yet. |
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2 broken front fenders!!
