Help removing nylon locknuts from footpegs

[Suitor_Stu]

Quick question - My footpegs are held in place by nylon locknuts, but for whatever reason they don't actually engage the threads on the bolts anymore. They turn, but go nowhere. I need to remove the pegs to do some work on the primary chain, but short of just using a dremel to cut them off and just replacing the nuts and bolts I can't think of how to remove them. Anyone out there got any tricks o' the trade I should try?

Cheers, Stu

[nowhere.elysium]

They're definitely not on the thread? You're positive of that? Then whip out the mole grips, and just pull them off.
Leap of faith, no?
If they're definitely not engaged with the thread anymore, then there won't be a problem. If, however, the thread is partially, well, threaded, then you risk causing damage to the bolts/footpeg mount.
You could try heating them, too, which may cause either the nylon to melt, or the metal of the nut to expand or relatively contract, which may engage/more cleanly disengage the thread.
Of course, your idea about using the dremel sounds distinctly easier, less risky and is the path that I'd most likely take.

[stinkwheel]

They are fucked anyway. If the bolt is a standard size, cut them off and replace them. It will be quicker in the long run and you're going to have to buy new ones anyway.

If they are a special bolt, might be worth trying to split the nut and see if they are saveable.

I would be very suspicious of that being a non-standard footpeg fitting on an Enfield anyway. I'd have expected a plain nut and bolt with a spring washer so you keep having to stop every 50 miles and tighten them up again.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Suitor_Stu]

Here's an image of the assembly (stolen from the Hitchcocks website) to give you an idea what I'm dealing with. The nuts (11) are attached to the bolt (14) which is encased in cylinders (21, 22, 23) under the bike.

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/pictures/142145-03page138.gif

I must confess that the real reason I hope there is some cure is that I don't have anything other than a hacksaw to cut them off - I'm too broke to buy myself a dremel!

Cheers, Stu

[stinkwheel]

A hacksaw would do it quicker than a dremmel.

You could almost certainly replace that with a bit of threaded bar, or two seperate bolts, one for each side.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[yen_powell]

Put a spanner on one nut to hold it still. Use a second spanner on the other nut. Make sure you use a ring spanner or a socket. Undo one of them, if the bolt inside turns with the nut you are working on then it should undo from the nut on the opposite side.

You may end up pulling the whole bolt out with one nut still attached, just use molegrips and a spanner to remove the remaining nut.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[Vincent]

If your problem is that the nut won't unscrew, try pulling on the footrest itself while turning the nut, it should catch and start coming off.
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Space Is Deep

[MattEMulsion]

[Suitor_Stu]

Thanks guys - I ended up having to go at the nut with a hacksaw cause nothing else was moving it. However once I got the nut off, I found that the bolt was bent (probably something to do with the fact I stood on the footpegs while they were loose - oops!) either way, this meant that I had to saw through the bent part of the bar which was over 1cm in diameter. Suffice to saw that my right arm is now twice the size it was!

Cheers, Stu

[Vincent]

You need to get yerself an angle grinder - great for jobs like this
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Space Is Deep