The importance of checking your bike before every journey!

[ukpizza73]

So this morning I was about to take the bike out for one last run before the winter set's in and it's another six months before I can drag the bike out again. One glancing look down the lefthand side of the forks soon put a stop to that idea. One bolt missing and another halfway out from the cockpit housing securing points and on the righthand side one bolt missing. And then a quick look at the the top of the forks revealed one bolt missing from the lefthand side of the top clamp. Not what you would expect from a bike that has only been on the road less than ten months and has only covered just a little over 7,000k. Back to the dealership I think. I have probably done about a 1,000k on some gravel roads but I still wouldn't have expected this to happen.

Tell me what you think, the dealership said that the bolts really should be checked every 5,000k. This is my third bike and it's the first I've been told that I should check the tightness of the blots that hold the bike together every 5,000k.

The bike is a 2016 KTM 1190 Adventure R

[mollydog]

LocTite is your friend!

Sounds like your selling dealer did NOT do a good job prepping your bike pre-sale. Remind them, this could be serious law suit material ... as I assume they are the only hands who've touched your bike? Yes?

First off, I would fire you dealer and seek another shop. Second, I would learn to routinely check nuts and bolts for tightness on a regular basis. You might be shocked at what you discover!

I had similar wake up call on a brand new KTM Duke ll some years ago. Cruising down freeway at 75 mph ... heard this clatter! Looked down and front caliper hanging there dragging on the spokes ... BOTH caliper bolts had vibrated OUT , leaving caliper swinging in the breeze. I was very lucky to have seen/heard it immediately and not have it foul the wheel.
Locking up front wheel at 70 mph would not be pretty.

Used a zip tie to hold it temp, limped to hardware store, bought two Metric bolts ....AND A TUBE OF LOC TITE! I've found several other key bolts loose on several bikes over years. So, on any new to you bike, take the time and GO OVER THE BIKE CAREFULLY ... wrenches and LocTite in hand.

Most long term riders and for sure Dirt Bike riders will know about nuts/bolts backing out. And that is why we go over bikes, double check every accessible nut/bolt for tightness.

On many I remove and apply BLUE non-permanent LocTite to threads.

No more worries with LocTite.

A good way to do an inspection of your bike is CLEANING! I've found more little problems during cleaning than at any other time. Remove all your plastic and get down there down and dirty so you can see ... AND LEARN ... what's in there.

[mark manley]

It would be interesting to know if KTM like Triumph ship their bikes complete or if some final assembly is done by the dealer, either way if they are correctly torqued they should not works lose. I don't see any signs of the bolts having been marked with a dot of felt pen usually green or yellow to signify they have been tightened, as had been said Loctite will ensure it does not happen again.

[ukpizza73]

Originally Posted by mollydog

LocTite is your friend!

Sounds like your selling dealer did NOT do a good job prepping your bike pre-sale. Remind them, this could be serious law suit material ... as I assume they are the only hands who've touched your bike? Yes?

First off, I would fire you dealer and seek another shop. Second, I would learn to routinely check nuts and bolts for tightness on a regular basis. You might be shocked at what you discover!

I had similar wake up call on a brand new KTM Duke ll some years ago. Cruising down freeway at 75 mph ... heard this clatter! Looked down and front caliper hanging there dragging on the spokes ... BOTH caliper bolts had vibrated OUT , leaving caliper swinging in the breeze. I was very lucky to have seen/heard it immediately and not have it foul the wheel.
Locking up front wheel at 70 mph would not be pretty.

Used a zip tie to hold it temp, limped to hardware store, bought two Metric bolts ....AND A TUBE OF LOC TITE! I've found several other key bolts loose on several bikes over years. So, on any new to you bike, take the time and GO OVER THE BIKE CAREFULLY ... wrenches and LocTite in hand.

Most long term riders and for sure Dirt Bike riders will know about nuts/bolts backing out. And that is why we go over bikes, double check every accessible nut/bolt for tightness.

On many I remove and apply BLUE non-permanent LocTite to threads.

No more worries with LocTite.

A good way to do an inspection of your bike is CLEANING! I've found more little problems during cleaning than at any other time. Remove all your plastic and get down there down and dirty so you can see ... AND LEARN ... what's in there.

A strip down was planned for the winter months, guess it's more of a necessity now for peace of mind. LocTite and a torque wrench is at the top of my shopping list now.

[ukpizza73]

Originally Posted by Cholo

LocTite is your BEST friend!
Every bike, car, atv that I have owned, has a tube of Loctite , so it is visible as soon as you open the tool kit! Every screw gets a drop of the stuff, specially if you are going to ride on a gravel road.
And your dealer is an Ahole, 5000 kms bull, do it once and do it properly (although checking after a hard ride is good practice)

I agree, every 5000k is bull, I don't think that's mention in the owners manual but maybe thats why you get a really good tool kit with the KTM's

[ukpizza73]

Originally Posted by mark manley

It would be interesting to know if KTM like Triumph ship their bikes complete or if some final assembly is done by the dealer, either way if they are correctly torqued they should not works lose. I don't see any signs of the bolts having been marked with a dot of felt pen usually green or yellow to signify they have been tightened, as had been said Loctite will ensure it does not happen again.

I'm betting the bike comes partially assemble and then finished at the dealership, your right though no signs of any dot's you would expect to see after a pre-delivery inspection. Guess i'll have to do my own, I think I'll go for KTM orange

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by mark manley

It would be interesting to know if KTM like Triumph ship their bikes complete or if some final assembly is done by the dealer, either way if they are correctly torqued they should not works lose. I don't see any signs of the bolts having been marked with a dot of felt pen usually green or yellow to signify they have been tightened, as had been said Loctite will ensure it does not happen again.

Most of the Japanese big four bikes I've seen need some assembly by dealer once out of the crate.
The Port of Long Beach handles most motorcycle delivery. ALL their USA headquarters are not far from Long Beach.

The OEM's in California use a specialist assembly contractor to assemble bikes. I've been to various OEM warehouses in SoCal, witnessed assembly process. Imagine hundreds of bikes in crates awaiting assembly, then sent out to dealers all over the country. It all starts here.

Most times both wheels are off the bike, handle bars, seat,shield, sometimes plastic, all off. The workers were pretty much undocumented guys going VERY fast using really crappy tools ... NO torque wrench that I saw! (paid per bike)
(Suzuki warehouse in that case, been to Honda and Kawi warehouse too.)

We used to pick up our Press demo bikes there, that is why I was there, either for pick up or drop off.

The assembled bikes are then trailered to various dealers and unloaded.

BUT ... it's still dealers final responsibility to safety check the bike before delivery. Obviously, some don't do a great job, mistakes are made by low cost, zero responsibility assembly companies.

But sometimes seen crates delivered direct to dealer, especially KTM.
In this case, dealer does assembly or hires someone to do it.
Witnessed this too ... outside workers did the assembly at San Francisco KTM dealer. This all varies OEM to OEM but basically that's it. I have also seen whole trailer load full of KTM's show up, all assemble, ready to go. ALL small dirt bikes. BMW? Not sure.

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by mollydog

The OEM's in California use a specialist assembly contractor to assemble bikes. I've been to various OEM warehouses in SoCal, witnessed assembly process. Imagine hundreds of bikes in crates awaiting assembly, then sent out to dealers all over the country. It all starts here.

Most times both wheels are off the bike, handle bars, seat,shield, sometimes plastic, all off. The workers were pretty much undocumented guys going VERY fast using really crappy tools ... NO torque wrench that I saw! (paid per bike)
(Suzuki warehouse in that case, been to Honda and Kawi warehouse too.)

The assembled bikes are then trailered to various dealers and unloaded.

BUT ... it's still dealers final responsibility to safety check the bike before delivery. Obviously, some don't do a great job, mistakes are made by low cost, zero responsibility assembly companies.

But sometimes seen crates delivered direct to dealer, especially KTM.
In this case, dealer does assembly or hires someone to do it.
Witnessed this too ... outside workers did the assembly at San Francisco KTM dealer. This all varies OEM to OEM but basically that's it. I have also seen whole trailer load full of KTM's show up, all assemble, ready to go. ALL small dirt bikes. BMW? Not sure.

I've no idea how it's done now but in the past the UK importers just used to send the factory crated bikes to the dealers for assembly. When my brother worked for a Ducati dealer that was one of his jobs, to put the jigsaw together.

For my 70's 400/4, Honda supplied a 30 page loose leaf assembly booklet with each bike with pictures showing how to take the crate apart, which bit went where, how cables should be routed etc so the dealer's "highly trained technicians" couldn't get it wrong. When I bought the bike 10yrs ago the seller still had the original book complete with oily fingerprints on each page. I can't imagine they haven't long gone now, presumably replaced (if they still do it that way) with some kind of on line guide.

[Ben Jackson]

Originally Posted by backofbeyond

I've no idea how it's done now but in the past the UK importers just used to send the factory crated bikes to the dealers for assembly. When my brother worked for a Ducati dealer that was one of his jobs, to put the jigsaw together.

For my 70's 400/4, Honda supplied a 30 page loose leaf assembly booklet with each bike with pictures showing how to take the crate apart, which bit went where, how cables should be routed etc so the dealer's "highly trained technicians" couldn't get it wrong. When I bought the bike 10yrs ago the seller still had the original book complete with oily fingerprints on each page. I can't imagine they haven't long gone now, presumably replaced (if they still do it that way) with some kind of on line guide.

From an early age I was taught to hand wash my bike and pay attention to the machine as I did so. Over the years it has served me well with just this kind of issue. Having said that I am currently making my way to Spain to recover my bike after the piston fell into the engine destroying it, but in my defence I couldn't foresee that with a wet sponge!
Good luck and safe travels everyone.

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