2007 GY-5 BOLTS (counterbalanced)

actually I was just thinking about this. the engine is secured on my bike with 2 big bolts in the rear 3 smaller in the top and I think 4 in the front. i doubt that any single bolt snapping would cause catastrophic failure. even if one of the big ones in the rear snapped, there would still be the other big one and another 7 bolts holding the motor/frame together. it is not as if these engines are heavy weights.

if I am wrong about this, please tell me...but I am not sure I want to know.

[TeamCheap]

To me a catastrophic failure could just be a thrown chain locking the rear tire or on the long shot of the frame folding.

There are really only five (5) bolts holding the engine and another four (4) that increase the possible number of bolts that can loosen up or break and allow engine movement.

How much does the engine have to move before the chain gets broken/thrown off?
How many engine bolts have to break or fall out for the frame to start to collapse?

Last year my wife and I were getting ready for a ride and I noticed her chain was very loose and I got a bit mad at her for not noticing it.

When I went to adjust it I then realized why it was so loose the lower rear engine mount bolt was gone.
(I had to stress to her how important it is to look the bike over)

She doesnt ride her bike hard in any way and that bolt was gone.

That one bolt plus the stupid long 9" bolt (upper rear bolt) allowed a lot of engine movement so her bike was down until I did the bolt replacement.
Funny thing was I didnt adjust her chain I just went and replaced the bolts and wouldnt ya know it the chain wasnt sloppy loose anymore.

If these bikes had a complete frame I dont think the engine bolts would be as much of a problem but with the engine completeing the frame it appears these engine bolts are critical.

I am going to apply a thin layer of gbweld over everything.

[tcs]

A couple of decades ago, five of the seven bolts holding the accessory drive bracket (alternator, power steering pump, air conditioner compressor) to the engine of my Chrysler mini-van broke. Then three of the four bolts that held the steering rack to the frame broke.

tcs

tcs...it was a Chrysler mini-van...that explains it. :wink:

well...i can pretty much guarantee that the bolts i put in this thing wont be going anywhere, in fact...i suspect the motor will snap before these bolts do..hehe I don't go offroad either..so that is in my favor. i just wish the vibrations were gone.

[rev_arb]

Originally Posted by zapkin

So, today I did my bolts. Below is a list of the ones I used.

2 - 5" 7/16 bolts for rear upper and lower back of motor

2 - 3 1/2" 3/8 bolts for front of motor

2 - 2" 3/8 bolts for bracket on front of motor

3 - 2 1/2" 3/8 bolts for behind top of motor (by carb)

All with lockwashers & nuts


i think that is the rundown on them. i bought those gold looking grade 8's from ace hardware.

i might have been able to get away with shorter ones up by the carb where engine mounts to frame.

hope this helps someone.

Stupid question....is this a MUST fix?

well, i did it in hopes that my vibration issues would be resolved. BUT if you get into doing it and see how soft the stock bolts are you'll probably want to replace them. I intend to replace every freakin bolt I can on this thing gradually with better quality from ace..right about then it will prolly give up the ghost on me but heck engines are cheap.

[Mountainwolf]

rev_arb,

This is really cheap insurance for some piece of mind. I had read all through this board before I ever even uncrated my first bike and read about the bolts shearing. I thought that can't be right. First bolt I took out was a motor mount bolt from the neck of the bike, stamped 8.8, (metric equivalent of a grade 5 bolt) put it in the vise and hit it with a 11oz claw hammer, it broke. Holy crap Batman, all these bolts gotta go!! Every damned bolt, nut, washer, lock washer, and screw that I thought was gonna be a problem has been replaced with better hardware from either Ace Hardware, Lowes or in the case of the 2 axle bolts a local specialty shop called Rock Necks. For $35 and 2 hours of my time (including running around town looking for stuff) I now have a bike that will hold my fat a$$ (285 lbs) without worry of a bolt snapping or shearing. Just my 3 cents.

Wolf

[TeamCheap]

So you replaced the axle bolts and the swingarm bolt as well as the triple tree bolts?

What about the rear shock bolts?