Brake Stay

[Coyote]

The brake stay, also known as the torque link uses special bolts and standard nuts. How tight are those supposed to be?. I have one manual that specs 14 - 18 foot pounds at the wheel but says nothing about the swing arm attachment bolt and nut. I have always wondered why those are drilled bolts that don't use a castle nut and a cotter pin. Also I have thought that if these two attachments are too tight that it would affect the swing arm movement - not being able the move freely due to the binding of the brake stay. Seems to me that the pivot of the swing arm and the pivot of the brake stay differ from each other and would bind anyway. I'm not seeing something right in my mind (I used to have one). Is it because the assembly forms a triangle and pivots on the swing arm only? Can both bolts be tight? How tight?

[Cliff]

There's a shoulder on those bolts that prevents the nuts from tightening or binding the torque link, allowing it to pivot on the bolts. The drilled hole is there for a hairpin or cotter pin to prevent the nut from falling off should it come loose. A castellated nut would make sense in this application! I always use a drop of Loctite on the threads now whenever I've had them apart! The last thing you want is for the bolt to fall out of the torque rod! You'll soon find out if it has when you apply the rear brake!! Been there, had it happen! The rear brake hub assembly turns until the brake cable is pulled tight, locking up the rear wheel!!

[GT750Battleship]

Hi,I've heard of this happening with the rear brake locking solid,it would be rather "exciting" I also have heard story's of the bracket on the backing plate that the cable passes through breaking,leaving you with no rear brake at all....either situation far from ideal
Cheers,
Roger

[Spamy]

Mine has the nut loose and the cotter pin keeps it together. The shoulder of the bolt on mine isnt enough to tighten the nut without issues. Its been that way and works fine. I think I actually put some lock tight on the bolt to keep the nut in one place though.