Recommend me an Impact Driver?

[Easy-X]

Just having a browse of Screw Fix for a battery powered impact driver. The cheap ones run from 100 to 250Nm.

Obviously bigger is always better but how much do you actually need to do the tough stuff on a bike?
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[barrkel]

I have a cordless 300Nm and had a corded 450Nm.

Cordless 300Nm has a lithium battery and I think it's been going strong for the past 8 years or so and only been recharged maybe 5 times. It's pretty rare to pull out a impact wrench, you only need them for things like fork retaining bolts, sprocket nuts, and on some bikes wheel nuts (my Brutale uses a single big nut with 100s of Nm torque). You'd see a lot more use tearing a bike down for parts, but for general maintenance it rarely comes out. I use it to speed up removing all the drive belt cover bolts on SH300s, that's about it.

(I've seen a bunch of final drive gear damage from people using impact wrenches to remove wheels from scooters, or worse change weights / clutch. Just don't. Breaker bar and clutch / variator wrench. Safer to take wheels to bike shop than let tyre monkeys near a scooter.)

My cordless 300Nm has some third division brand name, I don't recall, I got it in B&Q. I used it just today, to drive some concrete screws home. I doubt I spent more than £50 on it about 8 years ago.

The 450Nm I got for a stubborn fork bolt. It was a Clarke cheapo, about £50. It came with spare brushes for the electric motor, but the stops that the motor impacts on to do the actual impacting gave way long before that. I gave it a good whack at a stubborn seized bolt when removing an engine from one of my SH300s and it just stopped hammering - I believe the stops the impact hammers onto just snapped off, and it just turned into a noise generating machine. I probably wouldn't buy the Clarke cheapo again.

I recently replaced my main drill with Makita, and have a recipro saw that uses the same battery. I'd get a scaffolding-rated impact wrench on the same system if I needed more oomph or was replacing my current driver. I reckon 450Nm is more than what you need for a bike, but experience tells me that 300Nm may be a bit short for situations like fork bolts that need the shock to avoid spinning freely.

Whatever you do, make sure you get Lithium battery if buying cordless. NiCd dies way too soon.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
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[Riejufixing]

[barrkel]

[Easy-X]

If I had the space I'd get an air compressor and never start such a thread

There were a few things I did recently that needed the "aggression" of an impact driver that I just muddled through. Specifically though I need to swap the flywheel on my Fazer and I wondered if it'd be easier to take off the big bolt with an impact driver?
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Riejufixing]

[Polarbear]

I have a compressor and air gun but 90% of the time I use my Einhell battery wrench. It's just more convenient.

However I have changed my battery stuff to Einhell and Ozito which both use the same 18v Lithium battery system.

Ok it's not Makita but it's a fraction of the cost and I don't use it enough to justify those prices.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[chris-red]

There's not much you will need an impact gun for on a bike.

I have used my 10v dewalt one on my bike but mainly out of convenience the only things that wouldn't do I reckon is the rear axle and clutch hub nut. The rest it blitzs through. The only time I've needed an 18v one is when working on car. Mine is 200nm and eats through everything I have used it on. I don't think you would need more unless you are a full time car mechanic or work on bigger vehicles.

I think if you are solely working on a bike a battery ratchet would be more useful IMO.

I have this and love it to bits, I rarely use a standard one any more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-CP1202KIT-Ratchet-Drive-2-Batteries/dp/B074JD1MWC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25Q86SPM9FBCR&keywords=sealey+ratchet&qid=1564394573&s=gateway&sprefix=sealey++retche%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1

Buy that and a 3-4ft long breaker bar, probably cheaper than an impact driver and I bet you will use them far more (on the bike anyway).
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[chris-red]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

A brutal tool of last resort, I'd have thought, for when a breaker bar won't do the trick. I bought a Clarke 450NM mains-powered impact wrench to remove a front sprocket nut. It still took several goes before the nut came loose. I can't think what else I'd use the wrench for, but it was worth it just to get that one job done.

[Riejufixing]

[WD Forte]

[stinkwheel]

They really come into their own on the few occasions you need to remove something which is on a rotating part. So yes, clutch centre nut and the bottom bolt in forks mainly. Rarely needed but when you get it out, it makes the job a piece of piss. I had a spinning fork damper rod at the weekend, 2 seconds with the burp-gun and out it came, no pissing about with sawn in half broom handles.

Also used mine on gearbox mainsharf bolts on old brits, front sprocket nuts and on an odd couple of huge, heavily torqued and rarely removed nuts like the stub axle on a single side swingarm.

Air tools are cheap and highly effective but you do need a compressor.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Easy-X]

Fuck it, YOLO

Bought a 400Nm Ryobi - 3 speeds + it's an actual 1/2" driver rather than the usual hex bit socket.

The cited cases are the sort of things I'd use it for. But yes: breaker bar first, impact driver second.

Thanx guys!
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[G]

Bit late, but it took mes ages to find something that the Ryobi wouldn't eventually do if held on - and I had a load of other Ryobi tools, so shared batteries etc.
Now got a Dewalt that will hit 1600NM undoing - was doing some work on the van where the Ryobi was struggling, so justified it to myself!

The Ryobi makes changing car/van wheels a few-minute job if used on the jack as well as the wheels. (But do check torque by hand.)

[Andy_Pagin]

Once in a while Lidl do a mains impact wrench for about £40, 1/2" drive and even comes with three sockets and spare brushes. Obviously won't be up to continuous professional use but made short work of dismantling my Ford Explorer front suspension.
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Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[Polarbear]

[G]

Yes indeed - though I believe they are effectively the same; but the driver's generally don't seem good as impact wrenches.
However, the other way around works fine; you'll find tests for people using impact wrenches for driving *big* screws into wood.

On that, I've also got a 1/2" square to 1/4" hex an adaptor so I can use a wrench as an adaptor. (For when I'm travelling fairly light.)
Even the 400NM Ryobi, while it drove the 100mm screw in very fast, it actually bent the PZ3 bit! (Should be fine on a lower setting, to be fair.)

I haven't tried it on the Dewalt which is listed at 950NM for doing up.

[Easy-X]

Haha! Yes, see my Show & Tell thread to see what it did to a cheap flathead bit. I need to get some decent "high torque" screwdriver bits to replace all the cheap shit I have. Triton a good brand?
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Riejufixing]