NHTSA Complaint #11457444 — 2007 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FXD

I was riding on the highway at 60 mph and all of a sudden the back suspension felt very hard. When I stopped I found both rear shock mounting bolts had sheared off causing my frame to collapse onto the tire. The left shock completely separated from the frame at the top rotating down. The right shock stay somewhat in position because the sheared bolt jammed into the seat. The rear fender literally was rubbing on the rotating tire and that destroyed the rear wiring harness that is routed under the rear fender. In addition, the bolt breakage bent the shock absorber shafts. Fortunately, the tire did not lock up perhaps due to the jammed right sheared bolt. If it had, I would have lost the bike at 60 mph and crashed. I had the bike towed to my house where I took pictures and replaced the bolts with grade 8 bolts, purchased and replaced the rear shocks and repaired the wiring harness. I discussed with issue with two Harley Davidson dealers shortly after the incident and they said they never heard of this situation. Other details. Only 20,000 miles on the bike, no suspension modifications, only single person riding. No heavy loads or abusive riding over the life of the bike. Issue occurred August 12, 2020. Only getting to this after finding out about this site through a friend.