Toe Peg Problem

I noticed my toe pegs were loose on the levers, so I tried to tighten the bolts that secure them and found that they were cross-threaded or otherwise fecked. They were reluctant to come out, but did and the bottom half of the threads are flattened. These seem to be some very soft aluminum. I wonder if the threads in the lever are shot too, or if replacing the bolts with new stainless ones might work. Has anyone else had this problem and found an easy solution? I thought about cementing the pegs in place with JB Weld, but I don't think I've ever used it on aluminum and I don't know if it will hold up. If the threads in the lever are shot, I suppose the best option is to have the pegs welded in place. Any guesses as to the condition of the threads in the levers before I go hunting for replacement bolts at the hardware store? I'd hope the levers are made of better stuff than the bolts. Aluminum.

If the thread in the lever is stripped, a 6mm x 1mm helicoil will fix it. Either a standard length insert cut short or a short insert if your budget extends that far.
There appears to be "just" enough meat for the helicoil/re-thread.

You'll need to look carefully at the thread to decide the condition. If it requires a thread tap to clean the thread, be very careful, the tap will cut metal if at all out of line or off centre.

Tightening torque of the socket cap screw will be in the order of 10nm or 88 inch pounds.
The shift and brake levers are not cheap to replace, rethreading would be cost effective by comparison. Thread is 6mm x 1mm pitch.

JB Weld Industrial will work to epoxy in place. Not the ideal solution.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the ideas Richo! And by the way, thanks again for the lowering pegs! They are perfect for me and a big improvement. I had no idea what a difference an inch could make. I like the look too.

First I'll try some new stainless bolts with a little grease. Thread tapping has never been one of my great talents, but I suppose I may not have anything to lose here. If that fails, I'll just go the JB Weld route. This is the first bike I have owned with adjustable toe pegs and I'm not sold on the need for it anyway.

Don

I'm pleased the pegs work for you Don. They are well made.

Stainless fasteners into aluminium aren't ideal, they tend to gall. Lubrication/anti-seize helps, but that's another subject, choosing type for the dis-similar metals.

As long as the solution you choose works for you.

LBC Tenni wrote:

I had no idea what a difference an inch could make. Don

Don't ever pose that question to the wife!

I was able to remedy this problem by cleaning the threads in the levers with a 6mm tap and using some new 20 length aluminum screws from this shop:

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The screws seem much better quality than stock and were available in several colors.

I got 20 length instead of the stock 16, which are too short. This allows the screw to go all the way through and engage the undamaged threads at the bottom of the hole. So no helicoil re-thread required.

I had also noticed that the shifter peg was chewing up the leather on my boot when upshifting.  This was solved by turning the peg to its lowest postion, so that the rubber contacts the leather on upshifts, rather than the fairly sharp edge of the aluminum hilt.

Now I just need to find the motivation to install my new flyscreen and mirrors.  The short daylight this time of year makes me lazy as my dog.