Left wheel flew off and lived to tell about it

OK, all, here's the scenario....

Was traveling down a two lane road (under construction) at 40 mph...all of a sudden I heard a horrific metal grinding/crunching noise and the trike went out of control, veering me off into oncoming traffic...all I could see was a huge SUV coming towards me and thought what the "F" to do? Well, it took me everything to get the trike off the road and into a dirt mound/ditch that was there from the construction...that's what saved my life...going into ditch.

I, at time, still did not know what happened...my right leg was pinned underneath the trike. The first responder that appeared was a deputy...he said what happened to my tire? Did I have a blowout? My response, no, not that I know of, why? He said my whole left tire was missing.

He then asked if I recently had my trike serviced...my reply was yes...he then said the service company tightened my lug nuts on to tight causing the accident and that "He sees this all the time"...

By the grace of GOD I survived with just a broken right hip and femur, yet if you saw the damage you would wonder how I did survive.

Since that time, I've been told by many mechanics the same scenario, yet the service company refuses to accept liability. They say it's a manufacturer issue.

I was told about this Forum and have noticed that in past similar situations that the bottom line is "it's the service guys fault" even if the aluminum wheels do have an issue not only on trikes but other vehicles as well.

I would appreciate any feed back for all you that have knowledge of the issues or know of others that lived to tell their story. I feel if I had died from the accident, there would have never been a resolution as to what really happened. :confused:

Glad you are going to be OK

This is not the first time I have heard of this happening

I know of 2 killed in Alabama from this very thing

Did the service dept tell you to recheck the lug nut torque in 50 miles?

I check mine with a known good torque wrench every other week

I hope you mend fast

The issue with aluminum wheels is well documented. Because of the dissimilar metals (aluminum and steel), they need to be re torqued any time they are removed at about 100 miles after initially torquing. You can find more here:

[url]https://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/53368-losing-a-rear-wheel?p=661661#post661661[/url]

Basically, IMHO, because it is well documented in the owners manual and shop manuals, I believe in a court of law, the owner would be responsible for having that done. Should be noted ... I am not a lawyer (God forgive) ... but ... there is a very good reason that HD puts that in their documentation, and it's not for the owners benefit entirely ... mostly to cover their b$tt's.

Peggy Sue, I am so sorry about your accident.

I don't know anything other than I read on this site that I should always check the torque on my rear tires when they have been removed for service which I do. It's too late for that now, but it's a reminder to others.

I also wonder why it is most often the left rear wheel tire that comes off.

[QUOTE=LadyonaMission;710371]I also wonder why it is most often the left rear wheel tire that comes off.[/QUOTE]

My guess, and I'm not a Design Engineer, is that is it's wheel closest to the drive pulley and has the shortest amount of shaft between it and the wheel :Shrug: and probably "see's" the most torque applied the quickest. The flex of the drive "rod", not really a shaft .. LOL .. allows the right side to "see" the torque at a slower rate. The same applies when you allow the engine to slow you, although not as extreme.

When I used to work on pool covers, it was always the side closest to the motor that failed ... the one on the other end (about 20' from the motor) never failed. The drive pulley on a HD trike is not that far from either wheel, but, the drive pulley see's much more rapid torque applied than a pool cover. On a pool cover, it's a lot of torque, but, it's very slowly applied ... there is lots of slack in the cover and it takes about 3 minutes to open or close the cover.

Google .......Michigan Court Rules;....

Tire Rotation Does Not Include Tightening Lug Nuts.:xzqxz:....

Peggy Sue said the deputy told her the service company tightened the lugs on too tight causing the accident.

So, if the lugs are too tight or too loose - the wheel is coming off?

[QUOTE=FuzzyWuzHe;710370]The issue with aluminum wheels is well documented. Because of the dissimilar metals (aluminum and steel), they need to be re torqued any time they are removed at about 100 miles after initially torquing. You can find more here:

[URL]https://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/53368-losing-a-rear-wheel?p=661661#post661661[/URL]

Basically, IMHO, [COLOR=#ff0000][B]because it is well documented in the owners manual [/B][/COLOR]and shop manuals, I believe in a court of law, the owner would be responsible for having that done. Should be noted ... I am not a lawyer (God forgive) ... but ... there is a very good reason that HD puts that in their documentation, and it's not for the owners benefit entirely ... mostly to cover their b$tt's.[/QUOTE]

Good to hear you made it through that Peggy Sue.

I purchased a '19 Freewheeler mid October. I ordered the service manuals 10/24 but haven't gotten them yet due to the MoCo's parts system upgrade. I read the owners manual front to back and don't see anything about the retorque procedure. Could somebody help me out? Do the center caps just pop off to get to the lug nuts? Should the wheel be jacked up before retorque to take the weight off of it? Torque value? Thanks!

-jeff

[QUOTE=paws;710421]Peggy Sue said the deputy told her the service company tightened the lugs on too tight causing the accident.

So, if the lugs are too tight or too loose - the wheel is coming off?[/QUOTE]

People hear or say things that aren't necessarily true in times of stress......:Shrug:...

[QUOTE=ole_phart;710422]Good to hear you made it through that Peggy Sue.

I purchased a '19 Freewheeler mid October. I ordered the service manuals 10/24 but haven't gotten them yet due to the MoCo's parts system upgrade. I read the owners manual front to back and don't see anything about the retorque procedure. Could somebody help me out? Do the center caps just pop off to get to the lug nuts? Should the wheel be jacked up before retorque to take the weight off of it? Torque value? Thanks!

-jeff[/QUOTE]

Jeff, the center caps pop off. Do not jack the trike up. The torque is 100 ft lbs;)

So sorry to hear of this Peggy Sue.

Glad you are OK.

[QUOTE=Jack Klarich;710439]Jeff, the center caps pop off. Do not jack the trike up. The torque is 100 ft lbs;)[/QUOTE]

Thanks Jack, 'preciate it! I'm close to 500 miles now so I'll check 'em tomorrow.

-jeff

Peggy Sue, I also hate to hear of your misfortune. Hope you get well soon. I do appreciate the heads up. About six months ago I had all three tires replaced by the dealer. I most certainly will check the torque on them before I ride again.

Peggy Sue, very sorry to hear of the unfortunate accident. I do hope you have a swift and complete recovery.

For anyone interested, here's a page from my 2016 Trike Supplement on Torque Values for Rear Wheels. Although the Note says check torque within 500-1000 miles after wheel installation, I actually recheck within 50 miles as mentioned earlier. Since the accidents earlier this year, I set up a Quarterly Wheel Torque Schedule on my Tablets Calendar. So far, have had only one lug nut on left wheel that was less than the torque value set.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]78642[/ATTACH]

[QUOTE=ShapeShifter;710752]Peggy Sue, very sorry to hear of the unfortunate accident. I do hope you have a swift and complete recovery.

For anyone interested, here's a page from my 2016 Trike Supplement on Torque Values for Rear Wheels. Although the Note says check torque within 500-1000 miles after wheel installation, I actually recheck within 50 miles as mentioned earlier. Since the accidents earlier this year, I set up a Quarterly Wheel Torque Schedule on my Tablets Calendar. So far, have had only one lug nut on left wheel that was less than the torque value set.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks ShapeShifter! I got the basic info from Jack but this is good to have. I ordered the service manuals but they're caught up in HD's parts system upgrade fiasco so no telling when I'll have 'em.

I know this is an old thread but i just wanted to say i check the torque on my lug nuts pretty often. When ever i'm out in the garage fooling around or when waxing the trike i pull out my torque wrench and go over them, maybe6 times a year. It's my OCD kicking in. I am like this with pretty much everything.

You should see when i'm adjusting the belt tension !!!