Mechanics’ horror stories
Bike expert John Birchall got a nasty shock when he inspected a Pan European
How often do you come to do a simple job on your bike, only to find that a previous owner has made that simple job almost impossible due to a horribly ham-fisted attempt at DIY maintenance? All too often. So, imagine the life of a top bike mechanic who spends much of his working life facing such scenarios. John Birchall, of family-run business Stourbridge Motorcycle Centre, MoTs more than 1200 bikes a year and sees all sorts of mechanical misdemeanours. But when a Honda Pan European came through his doors recently he could barely believe his eyes. “The fork bolts were missing on one side and judging by the rust inside the threads, it had been like it for some time. What made it worse was that the owner had complained of ‘handling issues’ and had taken it to a local garage. They said they’d sorted it and gave it back – with the bolts still missing! “I have no idea how the bike hadn’t collapsed! The forks (which obviously hold the suspension and front wheel) are kept in place by the top and bottom yokes. Each fork leg is held by two bolts on the top yoke and two on the bottom yoke. In this case, the bottom bolts on one side were missing! “This bike weighs over 300kg with the rider. All of this weight is being put onto the bolts in the top yoke. With the bottom bolts missing the forks would flex forward and backwards and, if they didn’t completely collapse, would have massively impacted the handling. At speed through bends, the bike must have been almost unrideable. “The bolts cost under £10 and it took less than half-an-hour to retap and fit. It is always worth lifting the front wheel and applying pressure on the forks to see if there is any movement in them or in the headbearings. Also, spin the front wheel and check for run-out on the brake discs (the more warped the disc, the more you’ll see). You only have two wheels connecting you to the ground so you really want them both working properly!
“The owner was horrified when we told him about the missing bolts. The handling was, of course, transformed once we’d done the necessary work. He’d been touring around Europe, blissfully unaware of the issue without any idea that he was inches from death!”
‘The owner had no idea he was inches from death’