Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CVOStreetglide]

With the CVO assembly being incorporated into the normal production line, I would strongly recommend that you buy a service manual and go over the entire bike section by section to confirm that all of the bolts are tightened to the specified torque specs.

When I did this with my 2010 FLHXSE I was flabbergasted at how many bolts, screws and fasteners were not at spec and in many cases extremely loose.

I went over the front end first an worked my way to the rear.  Also, for some strange reason HD doesn't see fit to use or use enough antiseize compound on the axles and wheel sleeves during initial assembly. This makes it real hard to do the first tire changes for you or the technician.

Just saying....

[cvobiker]

You have a beer Friday bike 

[grc]

Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the CVO's assembled out in the converted hallway didn't come out any better.  Plenty of loose parts, misaligned parts, damaged parts, etc.  Obviously Harley has a systemic problem with fastener torque control, regardless of where they bolt them together.  Maybe they really believe all those dealers really do all those checklists at prep (yeah, right!), so Harley doesn't need to worry about it in the plants.

Good advice when purchasing a Harley, regardless of where it was thrown together.  Check it out thoroughly, especially all the critical fasteners.


Jerry

[GregKhougaz]

       Good thoughts above.  May I add $.02?  Just tightening the fasteners may do more harm than good by breaking loose the loctite.   While I have not read the manual on this lately, I recall the proper procedure is to set your torque wrench to the minimun recommended setting for each fastener before turning.  If the wrench "clicks" without moving the fastener, it's fine.  If the fastener moves or "clicks," it should be removed, cleaned and the proper loctite applied and re torqued. 

GK


Edited for sadunbar, below.  He's correct!

[sadunbar]

       Good thoughts above.  May I add $.02?  Just tightening the fasteners may do more harm than good by breaking loose the loctite.   While I have not read the manual on this lately, I recall the proper procedure is to set your torque wrench to the minimun recommended setting for each fastener before turning.  If the wrench "clicks" without moving the fastener, it's fine.  If the fastener moves or "clicks," it should be removed, cleaned and then the proper loctite applied and re torqued. 

GK

Good advice!   

(I made one small edit!)

[DESERTBEAR54]

Can someone Pin-Pinpoint here what are the Specific Critical Fastners that need checked or re-checked.

[grc]

Can someone Pin-Pinpoint here what are the Specific Critical Fastners that need checked or re-checked.

The specific items for your particular bike should be spelled out in the manual, but basically the critical fasteners are things like axle nuts, brake caliper/rotor/master cylinder attaching bolts and hydraulic line fittings, engine mounts and links, swingarm pivot nuts, shock attachments, handlebar attachments, hand controls, etc.  In other words, stuff that can directly affect the safety of the rider.  In reality, there are many more "critical" items on a motorcycle than what Harley lists, since any part falling off can lead to damage of other critical parts like tires or wiring for instance.  I recommend going over all fasteners shortly after purchase, and again at the first service. 


Jerry

[Jerry/MD]

So much for the theory that CVO's built on the assembly line would be more consistent and not suffer from such issues......

[Talon]

Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the CVO's assembled out in the converted hallway didn't come out any better.  Plenty of loose parts, misaligned parts, damaged parts, etc.  Obviously Harley has a systemic problem with fastener torque control, regardless of where they bolt them together.  Maybe they really believe all those dealers really do all those checklists at prep (yeah, right!), so Harley doesn't need to worry about it in the plants.

Good advice when purchasing a Harley, regardless of where it was thrown together.  Check it out thoroughly, especially all the critical fasteners.


Jerry

Yea, but at least they made you feel like you were getting something special for your extra $15,000! 

Craig

[darth davidson]

That Sucks!!!!! Buying a cadillac assembled like a stock camry with stuck gas pedal??? WTH!!!!!!

[1sharprdkg]

Good advice! I found some loose ones and some that were one road bump away from falling out.

[cahdbiker]

CVOSTEETGLIDE, I totally agree that these bikes are coming off the line with loose fastners. I didn't check any of mine (09SEUC purchased Aug 2008) until I did my 5k service, but because of what I have read on this site I decided to mark any bolt heads and also put a piece of tape next to the bolt and mark it to see if they would line up when I put them back in.  My drain plugs  were barely tight. It took hardly any force to remove them. I know these are small fasteners, but whey I reinstalled them with my torque wrench they all went about 1/8 to 1/4 farther then the marks I made on the bolt head and the bike. However, I had a 1k service done at my dealer so I can't blame that on the factory. Recently I decided to check my rear brake pads. Again, caliper bolts were barely tight and went about a 1/4 turn farther when torqued.( the front ones were fine) Now I feel as though I should go out and check my front and rear axels. Thanks for bringing this up. It could save someone from having an accident. CAHDBIKER

[rdawg]

Desertbear

Here is the list out of the Service Manual Supplement for a 2011 FLTRUSE

[rydwHim]

This is good advice!  As an owner of a shop (not for scooters, for big equipment) I can attest that the assembly lines don't always get it right from the factory, we all make mistakes.  I am responsible for my own safety, just like pilots have pre-flight checklists - so should we on our scooters.  I'm proud to be a CVO owner, none better IMHO.

[DESERTBEAR54]

Thanks Rdawg!!