Torque talk

[Okeydokey]

Any one recommend a decent make/brand of torque wrench for me CX500? I'm buying tools as I need them, (can afford them) and I gather even putting plugs in would benefit from one, might even move to getting me self a socket set at some point
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YB100 v. Ford Sierra (1982 I came 2nd place) Honda H100S (Currently 0 - 0) CX500 Cafe project (me 1 - wife 0.... maybe!)

[Teflon-Mike]

You shouldn't need a torque wrench to put spark plugs in!

Not MUCH point in having a torque wrench, unless you have sockets to stick on the end of it.

Torque wrench really only any use if it measures.... NOTE 'MEASURES' the necessary torque range.

Its a measuring implement for setting the final tightness of a fastner NOT a fancy ratchet!

You'll generally need a high-range torque wrench for stuff that has to be done up effoff tight without shearing the bolts, like brake caliper bolts or cylinder head nuts.

You'll more often need a LOW range torque wrench, working on motorbike engines to avoid stripping threads from fine pitch holes in aluminium cases.

End of the day, most manuals will specify a torque setting withing reletively wide limits.

MORE IMPORTANT than accuracy is 'reliability'..... if book says you have a torque setting of 16-20ft-lb, you don't need a wrench accurate to 0.1ft-lb... it doesn't matter.... as long as you are within 1-2ft-lb of the limits.

What's important is getting ALL the fastenings on a flange the SAME setting, as close as possible.

So, you dont HAVE to have the 'best' torque wrench; even a cheap chitty one will usually be accurate 'enough', IF you use it right.

So when you tighten a set of studs; say a primary drive cover... you put the bolts in and do them up finger tight, then you give them a 'nip' preferably with a spanner, but if you have to with a socket and STANDARD wratchet.

THEN you 'set' the torque with your torque wrench. Which as a contientiouse mechanic you will find in its box 'zeroed' on the scale so that the spring latch that clicks at torque setting isn't weakened by in stoirage being left under tension.

Then you set about HALF the book torque setting...... and you MAKE FUCKING SURE you read the book properly and are SURE you are setting the right UNITS...

Commonly quoted are ft-lb (Foot-Pounds-Force); Kg-m or Kgf-m (Kilogram-force-meters) or Nm (NewtonMeters, the SI unit of torque)

a Kilogram Force is the force of one kilogram under acceleration due to gravity.... its nearly ten times as big as a Newton Meter.

A pound is just under half a Kilogram, and a foot just about a third of a meter, so a ft-lb is roughly half way between a Kg-m & a Nm.

Ie read the wrong scale and your nuts will be too loose, or you'll shear them!

And I've watched FAR too many times; enthusiastic ameteur mechanic grabs the Haynes manual, wants to be 'diligent' so finds the torque wrench settings for the M5 oil pump screws he's tightening up; sees a number like 16 'somethings' that might as well be greek to him... grabs the bog off big torque wrench for setting cylinder head studs, cant find 16 on the scale, so sets 160, then "OOOPS" as tiny little screw SHEARS under VERY big strain!

So, having double checked both the units in the book, and the units on the wrench; looked at the size of the fastener, and the size of the wrench and applied QUICK bit of cocum.... "Little screw; do I need BIG wrench?"

You set HALF the book torque setting, and LOCK the setting on the wrench with the lock screw.

This means you cant accidentally change teh setting half way through doing up a fastener...

And you tighten ALL of the screws on your flange to THAT setting, WITHOUT changing it.

Now, you undo the lock screw, and wind the setting up to 3/4 of the specced torque; lock the scale again, and repeat, taking ALL the fasteners in the flange up to the new setting.

Then you unlock, and wind up to the LOWEST number of the book's 'range' of torque settings, lock, and again work round ALL the fasteners, giving that 'almost' final tighten.

LASTLY, you set the mid point of the book torque and give all the fasteners in the joint a final 'check' setting.

THAT way, you get them all tightened to within the specified tolerence, but more importantly, within a nice close tolerence of each other, which is normally the more important.

THEN you unlock the scale setting screw, wind it back to zero, give the wrench a wipe with an oily rag, and put it back in the box.

Used like THAT, you dont 'need' a really good or expensive wrench.

I have had a 'cheap' £10 Torque wrench I got at a motorfactors closing down sale almost twenty five years ago, last and do the job , often and repeatably for over fifteen years, until I was given a fancy expensive one by a magazine; and when I checked the calibration on the old one, it was within 2ft-lb of the expensive one, despite much abuse!

As for where to get one; I always seem to end up at machine mart. Cheaper than Halfords for similar quality, and I get served by some-one old enough to shave, who doesn't answer any question with "sorry, I only know about the bicycles"

Also about the only place I have found a low range torque wrench for under £80 in recent years; think it was £25 or something daft, last year, when I realised I had always had the borrow of one!

But as said; if you dont have sockets to stick on the end; as yet rather like buying a plough before you got a tractor to drag it!
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[cb1rocket]

Mike, that post was erm over the top, but I agree with you.

A torque wrench is over the top for most things on regular service for motorbikes.

How many time have I hear people stripping oil sump bolts using a torque wrench, EVEN some of the figures quoted from the manual for torquing things up are beyond a joke!

I personally did something up and whoosh, oh dear stripped treads. Everything I do, pretty much comes down to feel.

[flumpy7]

I dont own a torque wrench, never have. I do all jobs myself except for tyres and never had any probs. Save yourself a few quids and just tighten till it feels right.

PS i cant be held accountable if you dont do your wheel axle nuts up tight enough and your wheel falls out lol
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2012 Sinnis apache

[Rogerborg]

https://www.parktool.com/uploads/images/blog/repair_help/tw5.jpg

Deflecting beam torque wrench. Use it to tune your mechanical sympathy, not as a substitute for it.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Timmeh]

Hi

I've only tend to use a torque wrench on cylinder heads bolts and things that move inside the engine, where its the same amount of torque on the bolts rather than the actual value itself which matters most.

The rest of the bike I put together by feel alone. Using the right tool for the job and stopping when I can't move the spanner with one finger seems to work for me.

As others have said, the torque settings you read aren't always correct, and I can attest to some fairly expensive and time consuming mistakes by improper use of torqies.


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GSXR400 x2 | '94 RVF400 | '93 TZR125 4DL (again)
20:22:30 BLUEX5: i would love to be forced to undergo a**l plugging with different sizes
20:48:18 Temeluchus: comp you hunk of smouldering homos3x you

[Yosh]

I'm still learning how to maintain my YBR and my next big job is going to be replacing chain and sprockets. I would like to get a wrench that would suit this job.

I've had a look at the Machine Mart page and their prices seem fair and their tools are usually good enough quality. Can someone tell me what size wrench might be suitable for this job, also if I wanted to use a torque wrench on a range of jobs on the bike, might I need to buy a small and a large one?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[The other Paul Rudd]

[cb1rocket]

[Copycat73]

[Copycat73]

[chris-red]

[The other Paul Rudd]

This subject comes up every few weeks and reaches the same conclusion. So rather than dragging up two year old threads why doesn't a moderator create a sticky where people can post about their tools and review them, like the workshop guides thread.

[P.addy]

[The other Paul Rudd]

[Copycat73]

[MartQ]

My torque wrenches are 44 years old and been in daily use for those 44 years. They have a 5 step main setting with infinite adjustment in between each of those settings:

1 white knuckle, 2 white knuckles......5 white knuckles.

Clutch nuts are 5 white knuckles, cylinder head nuts are 3 white knuckles etc ...

[Chalky.]

[The other Paul Rudd]

[P.addy]

[The other Paul Rudd]

[Chalky.]

[Clutchy]

I'm one to rage when someone posts the same topic over and over again such as the new licensing laws, but this guy actually used the search function.


WELL DONE
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[Yosh]

Thanks for all the help guys, even you Paul, you grumpy sod