So funny story...

[rustler753]

JUST got out of the 600 mile factory oil change/checkup where everything was checked over for proper tension bla bla...Driving down the highway, doing about 55-60, I'm exiting to go to delicious CiCi's pizza, and I go to down shift. The shift lever CAME OFF on the highway!!! I'm thankful that the hardware was hanging by a thread, none of the washers or the bolt fell out going at 60mph.

It then occured to me that there is a stop light between here and my pizza, with no turn offs or exits to parking lots till that light, and the thought shot through my mind of what am I going to do if I get a red light and can't shift down.

Sooooo, of course its red, I have to literally run it on foot holding the clutch in to make the left turn into the parking lot....holy crap that was embarrassing especially since I still had the new registration on the bike, and people could see I had to run a brand new 250 into the lot.

Anyways, I'm pissed that the dealership missed this and I'll be giving them a piece of my mind!

But to the technical question haha...um should there be locktight on that gear selector? There was none when I looked at the threads, just curious if there was any reason to leave it as such or just apply some trusty red stuff to it?

[rockNroll]

I'm a fan of thread locker but I'd suggest medium strength for that (blue). Red can be hard enough that you might twist/ stretch the threads trying to remove it or booger up the hex if your allen wrench isn't real hard or in pristine shape.

I would be right back at the dealer to let them know what happened and if there's any rash on that shifter or bolt, I'd be wanting them to set me up with new ones.

[bikeboyben14]

man im only at 200 miles and mine done this as well, or well it didnt fall off but it was just barely hanging there. i also plan on putting thread lock on

[TrueFaith]

It's possible the shifter was ready to fall off before you brought it in for service. I'm not aware of anything they do on the 600 mile maintenance that involves losening the bolts on the shift lever. Could be just a coincidence that's not the shop's fault. This has happend to quite a few riders already and blue loctite is apparently the cure.

[Snake]

Mine did the same thing so now I make it a habbit to check all lights and all boltd before I leave.

[DerTeufel]

No thread locker needed for a part like that, just torque it to what the specs are.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith

It's possible the shifter was ready to fall off before you brought it in for service. I'm not aware of anything they do on the 600 mile maintenance that involves losening the bolts on the shift lever. Could be just a coincidence that's not the shop's fault. This has happend to quite a few riders already and blue loctite is apparently the cure.

According to the owner's manual, under the heading "Chassis" Bolts and nuts- tightness inspect is supposed to be performed every other service interval STARTING with the 600 mile service. If the dealership missed something and it fell off, I'm thinking they didn't perform a proper inspection, especially on something as critical as the controls.

Makes you wonder what else they missed in the other critical areas like the brakes, etc.

That said, foot controls falling off is a big problem with new deliveries of this bike.....AGAIN calling into question quality control of certain shops when uncrating bikes and QC'ing them for delivery.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Banzai

That said, foot controls falling off is a big problem with new deliveries of this bike.....AGAIN calling into question quality control of certain shops when uncrating bikes and QC'ing them for delivery.

lol... I'm sure the only QC most shops do at delivery time is to make your check has sufficient funds.

To the OP, yes, use some blue loctite on it and torque it to the specified torque to help prevent this from happening again. And while you have every right to be pissed at the dealership for missing this, you shouldn't be trusting your life to them and should get in to a regular routine of checking nuts and bolts. Motorcycles are not like cars where you can leave all service to the dealerships. You need to take some personal responsibility to make sure your bike is put together safe and sound, from the first day you receive it off the dealership's floor. The winner in this is, of course, you.

Check your owner's manual for the recommended items to be checked and the frequency to do so.

[shortstuff]

Yeah it sucks doesn't it? There is a thread on here about it-- it's happened to quite a few people. Same thing happened to me, and I made sure to get some service-removable locktite on that bolt ASAP

[BlueRaven]

That's why i prefer to do maintenance myself. Unfortunately i don't trust mechanics to do a full inspection or to treat my bike with the respect it deserves.