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The possible Bonneville Footpeg issue

Just so we are clear the footpeg system consists of three parts. The footpegs, the clevis frame (this holds the footpeg) and the bolt connecting the clevis frame to the motorcycle frame.

What has happened

The bonneville footpeg just came off. No, they just didn’t come off, they actually snapped. The single bolt that holds the foot peg to the bracket broke. Now there have been many discussions and all of them valid to a large extent but they are all speculations. What’s not a speculation that the bolt holding the foot peg bracket to the motorcycle frame broke.  This is more so important for riders who stand up or lean on foot pegs. While this has happened with riders who stand on the footpegs the safety hazard need not be discounted.

So as of now this is all we suggest could have been the problem.

1) Inadequate torque

2) Material Fatigue

3) Inadequate Material strength ( which is highly unlikely but can be speculated )

Solutions;

Possible things one could do DIY at home without much hassle

A) Always keep the bolt torqued and use a thread locker. You won’t be able to use the torque wrench because of less space so make sure you tighten it with a open ended spanner (12mm) just enough that the strength of the wrist and the arm strength till elbow. Don’t put your shoulder to it.

B) Change the bolt and replace it with a better bolt. You would still need to do Part A anyways but there is always additional peace of mind. Here is good article on bolt thread strength for geeks like us. Material strength can be easily found out elsewhere.

C) You could drill more holes and bolt them for better grip. Make sure strength is equally distributed amongst the bolts. One suggestion found on TriumphRat.net was :-

D) Weld the clevis to the frame but then a lot of people wouldn’t want to do this. This would make it kind of difficult to change later but the strength would be immense.

D) Adding support at the bottom of the foot pegs by welding a piece under the footpegs and inherently resting the foot pegs on them. There is more to it but we don’t really want to spell this one out for you. (Easier to change pegs,clevis and bolts later on)

Something to note that the bolt is welded to the clevis (frame) that has the footpeg between them and hence the clevis and the bolt together need to be replaced if it breaks or you could break the bolt out of the weld but then it needs to be welded back again after replacing the bolt.

Other problems

For riders having broken clevis frame we are checking out possible replacement solutions other than the OEM and will try to update here soon.

For riders having broken foot pegs (Not at the bolt or the clevis frame but the actual footpeg) i.e. the cast footpeg breaking at some part; there are a lot of options available online. Look them up. For those in favour of Oberon’s we are stockists for Oberon footpegs in India.

A few discussions available on the internet, that helped us come to these conclusion in addition to the various riders we contacted and take advise from on various groups. Thanks to you all.

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-tech…peg-whoes.html

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk…e-footpeg.html

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-tech…pot-metal.html

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/212472-broke-rider-s-left-footpeg-off.html

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/210252-my-2009-bonneville-se-almost-killed-me-yesterday.html

Youtube Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG9pZitTeuA 

If you think you have some more points we can add here please let us know. We would be more than happy to make edits. Be Safe. That’s the whole agenda of the article.