04 Fatboy broken pinch bolt. HD should put out a recall. Brother in law called and said oil pissing out right fork . Bought bike to my house took it apart tofind that the fork leg unscrewed itself from the top cap.

 

I'm looking for anyone who has ever had any problems with your front end as in pinch bolts snapping in two? I have 25K on my 03 Heritage Classic. Last month I took it in for the 20K service at approximatley 21K on the bike. The dealer changed the fork oil and all the other items (I think)required for that particular service. Away I went on a 10 day 2,700 mile road trip which consisted mostly of two lane back roads. While on the tail end ofthe trip I noticed what appeared to be a line of dried fluid on the outside of the right fork. I wiped it off and did not think much about it. After the next 100 miles I noticed the same line and again wiped it off this time thinking I need to check it out when I get home. Well the next 10 miles proved hazardous. The right fork tube started spraying fork oil all over my windshield, tank and me and began clanking loudly. I called the nearest Harley Dealer and he told me to limp it on in which was about 25 miles. I stayed in the shop and watched him take off the wiindsheild, headlight and chrome cover upon which revealed that the fork tube had come unscrewed. Upon a closer look we noticed that the pinch bolt was cracked. The dealer decided to also look at the left side and that pinch bolt was also cracked and the fork tube was loose. The dealer was really nice, loaned me his new silverado to get dinner while he and two shop guys repaired, cleaned and test drove my bike. Also heonly charged me $99.00. Once back home I questioned the dealer that did the 20K service and he denied doing anything with the pinch bolts. Now I am leary of taking my bike there for service. Iresearcehd these forums and noted a few others responding to breaking pinch bolts and am curious how many other bikers have experienced snapped pinch bolts and if this is an issue which there should be a recall?

 

Same issue here. 2011 Heritage Softail Classic !!! with 32,000 miles. I noticed major fork oil leak during a long ride, so thought just damaged fork seal, and drove another 200 miles home. ripped it all apart and the fork tube actually unscrewed from the fork tube threaded plug and the fork tube fell down 3 inches from the top of the triple tree. DAMN, that could have been deadly..... So, now I am in the process of ripping everything apart and try to EZ-out the sheared off pinch bolts. Yes, bolts, as they are both sheared off. And upon further inspection, these were already Grade 8 factory installed bolts. And they broke !!

and no HD Factory safety recall. What a joke !!!

 

I’ll add to this: 2008 Coppertop Softail Deluxe. Fairly high mileage at 107062 miles, while heavy braking on a loaded bike I hear a Bang and front goes into a wobble. My left leg is covered in oil from knee to ankle. Initially I could not tell what type of oil or where from. A test ride determined oil coming out of left shock.. I was able to ride 100 km (60 miles) to a Harley dealer in Kamloops. They were very polite and friendly, but after an hour told me they couldn’t do the repair because they were too busy, and had no parts to fix. WTF!. I went to the place next door, Konquer Motorcycles. They were able to fit me in, and had parts! Result was a broken pinch bolt, which they replaced, replaced appropriate seals, added oil, reassembled, and I’m back on the road. In the near future I will replace the other bolt for peace of mind. Seems to be a design issue, but I really doubt Harley will recall after this many years.The suggestion in another thread to replace bolts annually, or every two years, seems most likely the best fix for us.

cheers, Peter

 

Several years ago, I ran over a baby deer while on my 06 Heritage but didn’t go down. After checking the bike for damage (and cleaning my skivvies), I continued on, but the bike didn’t feel right. After getting to my destination, I went by the local Harley shop and the looked at it and couldn’t find anything wrong. Fast forward about 4 years , I had a leaking fork seal. I started tearing it down and found a broken pinch bolt. I took it to a local shop to get it repaired and the mechanic found the other pinch bolt was also broken. I had him install grade 8 bolts and haven’t had a problem since.

 

I had my '06 apart for paint a few years back. I wasn't having any noticeable issues, but one of the pinch bolts was broken.

Apparently, it is something not uncommon.

 

Common problem. I replaced my pinch bolts with grade 8 from the hardware store and never any problem.