Missing rear axle/swingarm collar and nut

[hirmalde]

So I was just looking at my bike the other day and notice that the right-side axle nut and collar were missing. It obviously freaked me out a little as I'd obviously ridden it that way to get home. I didn't notice any clunking sound or anything when riding so didn't notice anything wrong.
Mulling it over in my head as well as speaking to a couple guys separately at Honda, they both said it may well have been nicked! It seemed crazy but then I thought about it and it could be so.

I've attached a photo of what I'm talking about.

Anyone ever had this happen to their bikes? Have you heard of an axle nut and collar being nicked off a bike?

The only two places I wasn't always watching the bike was when out test riding a bike in central london while my bike was parked outside central bikes. The second was at Ace Cafe where the bike was out of sight when I was inside the cafe.

Any response is appreciated.

P.S I ordered replacement parts and have now fitted them, all good.

[Bhud]

Have you had any arguments with anyone recently? Any neighbourly disputes, for example? What time and day (i.e. was it a weekday or a weekend) did you visit Ace Cafe? Daytime or night? An event day or a weekend?

[hirmalde]

Nope, nothing at all and even if I did, they wouldn't be able to get at it since my bike is parked in the garden. Last Friday I was there from 1:30 to 2:30. No event, just went in for a coffee

[Riejufixing]

[Bhud]

Ace Cafe does tend to get a very mixed crowd, but the day and timing of your visit makes it seem less likely someone interfered with your bike there.

There was another occasion you parked in central London. Was there a chain looped through your rear wheel? Perhaps a theft attempt was interrupted, i.e. someone wanted to quietly make off with your bike, and decided the best way to do this was to slip out the rear wheel.

[hirmalde]

Yep sorry about the photo, it wouldn't come up in the preview. This is my first time using a forum of any sort so bare with me! How do I reply to something specific like you did with me, @Riejufixing?

And yes Bhud that's what I was thinking and moreover it's Ace Cafe for godsake, a place which is a safe haven or whatever for bikers...I think
Perhaps yes, it could've been a theft attempt but again, right outside a motorcycle dealership?? If so then we are all doomed. It's to be expected in London I guess.

[Bhud]

There are many possibilities.

In order of suspicions, the highest on my list would be someone trying to steal the bike while it had a chain and padlock through the rear wheel, if the rear wheel was secured in some way while you left the bike parked in central London. Nobody gives a second look to anyone fiddling with a bike with some hand tools in broad daylight in a public place. Leaving one of the wheels there is a common method of stealing pushbikes, so it's not hard to imagine someone whipping the wheel off while his gang are around the corner waiting with a white van.

The same could apply to when you parked at the dealership, if this is how you normally secure your bike. Bear in mind that (just speculating here), if the dealership staff were complicit in the theft by turning the other way and seeing nothing, they would stand to gain a small reward from the gang of thieves and a potential sale from you at the end of your test ride (the only way to turn your bad day into a good one would be to buy the new bike you just tested?) And a bike dealership probably has a spare wheel that fits your bike in stock, so if the bike wasn't there upon your return, they could plausibly claim to have heard nothing and seen nothing, even if they did it themselves. Not saying this is what happened, just pointing out one of many possiibilities.

Regarding Ace Cafe, there's a Youtube video where the staff there turn a blind eye to the presence of bike thieves inside the cafe, who are apparently regulars, and kicking out the guy who pointed them out...

London is the common denominator in all the likely scenarios here.

[Riejufixing]

[hirmalde]

[hirmalde]

[WD Forte]

Ace cafe
London
theivincockneybastardland
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bikers smell of wee

[sickpup]

[WD Forte]

Its all that London past Reading innit?
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bikers smell of wee

[Robby]

I have never heard of part like that being nicked, and it doesn't make much sense. Whilst axles do tend to use an odd thread size so you often need to get the part from a dealer - no popping into screwfix for a general nut - they aren't that expensive, and ebay is full of cheap used axles and nuts.

If I was nicking parts off parked bikes to sell, I would probably nick bodywork and brake calipers.

More likely that the bolt wasn't done up tight and secured with a P-clip, and it fell off.

[c_dug]

[Atomic Punk]

I had my bike serviced (Not mentioning the dealer), Rode the bike home, about 5 miles, rode to work the next morning including a trip a long the A40 15 miles. I then had a hospital appointment which I rode to along the A4 as I was leaving the A4 the bike felt as if it was suffering from a puncture. Got to the hospital and noticed that the axle nut and collar was missing and the spindle had worked it's was out by about 5-6cm

Apparently the dealers new mechanic had only tightened it up finger tight.
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I may have lost my way but I'm way ahead of schedule.

[hirmalde]

To be fair I did initially think that it probably just unscrewed itself. Then again isn't the axle fitted left to right with the nut on the right side so that it can only be tightened further by the action of the wheel rotating?

Regarding it being stolen, I thought nah...can't be. But you never know what people get up to in London!

I had to order the collar from Honda so I may as well have ordered the nut and washer straight from them too. But yes, it's bloody expensive. Cute Honda trying to be Ducati

[sickpup]

[hirmalde]

[hirmalde]