2002 Road King rear axle will not stay in place.

[BJB]

Not my monkey so not my circus but the owner is a great friend.
Earlier this year I updated the POS OEM cam chain tensioners for "Shaggy" with the SE upgrade. There is no issue with the motor BUT I know the rear axle was torqued to spec. My wrench, my arm, my adapter. Bike was in his living room & a bunch of things looked at & care was taken. Since then:
1st time, I was riding behind him and he hit a big pothole just before a stop sign. Coming off the stop the drive belt had so much slack it was "chattering" as belt cogs jumped the rear pulley. Got him home by a helpful citizen who had big wrenches.
2nd & 3rd times the shifted I was not there but we talked about it when I dropped torque wrench & 36 MM offset at his place. One time he was close to our local Ex-Victory dealer / Kawi dealer. Om a Sat they put it up on a lift and a shop mechanic examined / tightened. It came loose again. Hence Shaggy has some borrowed tools of mine.
I could feel a little side to side movement in the swing arm but nothing going front to back.
Axle bolt seems to be the correct one. It is tight in the openings on the swing arm, but I'll bring a micrometer & caliper up there next and measure compare. He has used a metal 2" level as a straight edge & axle appears straight & true.
KD knows a little about the woes with this chome whore. After market wheel & fat rear tire causes tight belt clearance but this one has me stumped.
TIA Brian
The nut is getting torqued north of  100 ft/lb. I don't believe it is a lack of twist.

[xlfan]

Inside of swingarms @ axle holes nice and flat?  Not any sign of overtightening at some time?

[Scotty]

These will fix the problem and it will never come loose again.
https://secure.vulcanworks.net/store/positive-stop-axle-adjuster-for-2002-up-touring-bagger-harleys.html

[tbird]

I have 2 friends with 02's that have the same problem.

[kd]

Brian, did we discuss the importance of keeping "all" of the clamping and contact surfaces between the axle components (and the axle mounting surfaces) free and clean of any residual lube contamination?  Often pushing the axle through the assembly will drag enough through and when the washers and fasteners get contaminated the clamping pressure loses it's effectiveness. Also, making sure the adjuster cams stay in full contact with the stops as it is torqued down will prevent the axle from closing that gap and subsequently loosening the belt.  When the cams have any amount of lube contamination it makes it easier for them to rotate.

[04rkryder]

Short of keeping everything clean like KD said. you might try these  https://bigbearperformance.com/product/axle-lock-for-touring-models-patent-pending/

[FSG]

thems are sure cheaper than the Vulcan setup

[jsachs1]

thems are sure cheaper than the Vulcan setup

 

[fbn ent]

It has also been said here that 5 or so more foot pounds helps.

[Scotty]

thems are sure cheaper than the Vulcan setup

Yes cheaper but do they work as advertised? That is the million dollar question for me as never seen them before.
Vulcan setup works perfectly but if these bigbear ones work then worth looking at.

[PoorUB]

It has also been said here that 5 or so more foot pounds helps.

I always torqued the rear axle on my baggers to 125 FTLBS.

[billbuilds]

     The Kraus Vector offering looks to be well engineered with adjuster screws in both directions (not just in rear).plus an axle that's supposed to be twice as strong as the Motorway verson. Unfortunately it's priced for those with much deeper pockets than mine.    https://www.krausmotorco.com/products/vector-one-axle-adjuster

[Scotty]

     The Kraus Vector offering looks to be well engineered with adjuster screws in both directions (not just in rear).plus an axle that's supposed to be twice as strong as the Motorway verson. Unfortunately it's priced for those with much deeper pockets than mine.    https://www.krausmotorco.com/products/vector-one-axle-adjuster

Also it is only for 2009 and up bikes when the OP is asking about a 2002 model

[billbuilds]

     Thanks for pointing out my overssight. 

[mrmike]

Look down the page there is also a model available for 2002-2007, no 2008 available.

Mike

[BJB]

I appreciate all the help. I'm afraid that spending more $$ is not an option.
KD, I can only speak for the instance where I was putting his cam chest back together.  He was using antisieze & I didn't see any smeared around.
I have suggested he do the "Fargo Flex", ala Poor UB, & twist harder.
Kirk, if you are heading to Northfield after the border quiets down I owe you lunch.

[PoorUB]

Make sure the back side of all the hardware and swingarm is not full of anti-seize or grease, and give'er the Fargo flex!

[kd]

Brian, the manual says to use never-seize on the axle when installing. It does not caution against getting it between the fasteners and washers. I can see Shaggy cleaning all of the residue off his chrome whore "after" he had it assembled. You'll never know if it's all lubed up without spinning the hardware off.  Before the head of the axle hits the swingarm it and the swingarm should be thoroughly cleaned also (with solvent and not just wiped off). Then before installing the off side cam, washer and nut the same squeaky clean surface cleaning.  If it still slips after giving it the Fargo flex there is another issue causing it.  Lots of guys with decent power can get them to hold by taking care to do this so your buddy should be able to also.

I still can't get across to your side yet.  Canada started letting the US folks in up here but no reciprocal movement as of yet.  I will fill you in if I come your way though. It'll be nice to meet up and have a chat.