Why there are cotter pins...

So I was out for a ride yesterday, and about 8 blocks away I came to the first stop sign. Hit the rear brake pedal and "wham!" goes the rear brake. The pedal went dead. I pulled over.

The cotter pin came out of the brake tension rod; seems like the brake rotated around with the wheel, bending the brake actuation rod and wrapping it around the axle, stretching it until it broke. It was an ugly sight.

Here's the "after" shot in my gallery.

 

yip, thats a good reason to have the cotter pin in there...it is a whole lot cheaper thanthe brake rod..

 

Yeah, can't remember if I ever touched that coupling myself, or if the previous owner left that out. Shame on me for not noticing, though.

 

I'm cleaning up around here and I saw a brake rod for a 750
maxim. Not sure it will fit but if you can figure out a measurement I can see if the one I have will work.

MN

 

Wasn't there a NUT on the bolt? The cotter pin is just to keep the nut from coming off if it comes loose...

 

I'm sure there was a nut on the bolt... obviously wasn't tight (or someone has it in for me).

I took the brake rod off, didn't measure it yet. I'll ask a machinist about welding/fixing/replacing it. Local salvage has one for $30, Chacal has one for $20. Go Len!

 

This whole saga points up a glaring omission, and this applies to both your bikes:

You SHOULD have, on both your bikes when you were checking the rear brake shoes for delamination. If you haven't done that yet, you might want to look at this http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html and be sure you do it in the course of putting the bike back together.

Then check the other bike.

 

Thanks Fitz. Will definitely check that out when I put it back together. I'm trying to overcome noob status here. XJbikes definitely is a major asset in that department.

I have a temporary fix for the brake rod until my replacement comes from Chacal. Ugly, but may be able to ride it this weekend.

 

Dang, Dave. Between you and me, this hasn't been a good week for Wisconsin 550s...

 

That same exact thing happened on my 83 virago, thank god it doesnt lock the brake. I believe i left that pin out of the virago back in my motard days. It didnt have one, and i didnt know to put one on it.

I got a new ebay brake rod and after a little bending and bolt replacing i was back on the road... Its the little things that really get you sometimes.

Oh man was it a pucker moment when that brake pedal went rock hard under my foot!

 

Check the other end of the torque rod were it hooks to the frame. Mine was missing the cotter pin.

 

second that fitz. I learned the hard way after A) a delamination incident and b) a thunk in the read brakes caused by not retightening those bolts!

 

I looked at this thread about the time this happened... I got lucky a few weeks ago I was going to take my bike for a short ride and before I left my driveway I noticed there was a lot of play in the front end. Looked to see what it was and my nut for the front axle was almost off. Needles to say I made sure ther is a pin in it now.

 

Man, I almost had a heart attack just READING that. Thank God you caught it.

 

That was okay, but I happened to check my other bike, and the same cotter pin was missing from the tension rod at the back end, and the nut was loose. Gulp. Cotter pins in both now. Definitely not my fault on the Maxim-X (other than not checking it sooner!)

The poor XJ550J was worse off than I thought.



Not only did I need a new brake rod, but the cam shaft was twisted/bent and wouldn't come out of the drum--had to cut it off--and the lever that attaches the brake rod to this cam shaft was bent. Chacal to the rescue!

 

OK, ... The Horse is out of the barn.
20-20 Hindsight.
Preaching to the Choir.

About the cheapest part on the Bikes are the Cotter Pins.
They are used to prevent a Fastener from falling off and causing a
catastrophe.
There are no check lists and walk-arounds like there are for some guy about to take-off in an aircraft.
If there was, ... making sure that Rear Brake Stay was secured for flight would be right up near the top of the list.

 

Rick,

Sorry, didn't mean to beat a dead horse, wasn't trying to lecture anybody. I thought people might enjoy the picture of the "spiral" brake shaft.

 

Oh, no ...
I was trying to get the message across that --> "I probably didn't need to remind anyone" ... not to slight you.

You came away pretty lucky.

 

funny, just had the exact same experience.... only my cam shaft sheared right off! took a while to get a new one of those! ...also lost the tension rod bolt in the ditch somewhere, so i put in an ordinary bolt with a nylon lock nut nice and tight. here's hoping it stays that way...