Check these bolts too! - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

aussierider · 10-24-2006, 05:37 PM

Yesterday I fitted a set of stainless steel exhaust slip-ons to the M50. Lucky for me I did. I had noticed previously that there seemed to be a bit of free-play in the stock exhaust system, but being a new bike (April 2006) thought it to be normal movement. The exhaust silencers are fastened to a v-shaped sub-frame which in turn is bolted to the main frame. When I removed the silencers I found the three bolts holding this exhaust sub-frame to the main frame to be very loose, the bottom bolt at the end of it's thread and about to drop out. The whole assembly could be moved a large way sideways. It wouldn,t have been long until the top 2 bolts fell out and the whole exhaust assembly crash to the deck.

Check the tightness of these bolts by removing a small plastic cover behind the two silencers. It could not be dealer problem as this area is not touched during routine servicing (except for "check and re-tighten all fasteners"). What stealer does that? It has to be a factory issue. Either not torqued up properly in Tokyo, or they just loosen. The bike has done 4000kms (2500miles) only.

I caught this in the nick of time. Fortunately the rest of the system seems to have held up to the extra work loaded on it by the loose sub-frame. I,ll be writing to Suzuki Australia for an explanation. The exposed thread on the bottom bolt was damaged by the sub-frame dumping up and down on it during normal movement and had to be replaced. What's with loose bolts on the M50? First rear light assemblies and now this.