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CVO Technical => General CVO discussion => Topic started by: SIKBIRD on February 28, 2018, 07:45:35 AM
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So I was doing some general maintenance last night getting ready for riding season, I took my fairing cap off to tighten my handlebar clamps like my trusty manual says and first of all without removing the inner fairing there is no way to get a torque wrench on the lower clamp bolts. In fact I had to cut an Allen wrench down with an angle grinder just for it to fit. Anyhow I put the camel-clutch on the Allen wrench and tighten it as hard as I could (hope it’s not too tight as I have a history of breaking bolts). So that got me wondering...the manual says to tighten the bolts to 30-40 ft lbs but from all the torque charts I have found the maximum torque on a 1/4” coarse thread grade 8 bolt is 12 ft lbs. So is Harley way off on this torque value or can these bolts hold a much higher ft lbs. I know there is no way 12 ft lbs would hold my handlebars so what gives?
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The torque spec on the upper handlebar clamp bolts is 12 - 16 ft-lb (16.4 - 21.7 Nm). The lower clamp (riser) bolts are the ones with the 30 - 40 ft-lb (40.7 -5.2 Nm) torque spec.
Jerry
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Dough!!!! Ok my bad, guess I should go back and loosen them or is the damage done and I should just leave em? Will be deleting this thread shortly...no need in ALL the forum members to see my dumba$$ mistake
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Too late!!!
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Dough!!!! Ok my bad, guess I should go back and loosen them or is the damage done and I should just leave em? Will be deleting this thread shortly...no need in ALL the forum members to see my dumba$$ mistake
Some of my greatest lessons have been from my dumb mystakes misstakes mistakes. Thank God for Jerry...... ;D :2vrolijk_21:
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Too late!!!
For what? Fix the damage or keeping my mistake from the forum members? Haha!
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Both. :huepfenlol2: I have read more than a few times that most amateur mechanics tend to over tighten bolts. I would have to plead guilty to such a charge. I try to follow the manual's torque specs.
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Both. :huepfenlol2: I have read more than a few times that most amateur mechanics tend to over tighten bolts. I would have to plead guilty to such a charge. I try to follow the manual's torque specs.
I was following the manual just using specs for the wrong damn bolt and using my forearm torque gauge (which is known to have an error of +/- 300%)! I am slowly learning that I either need to quit wrenching, quit typing, quit reading or maybe all three!
Seriously though, if it were your bike would you just leave it, loosen it, or pull it out and replace the bolts and or risers...the latter being my least desirable option.
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I was following the manual just using specs for the wrong damn bolt and using my forearm torque gauge (which is known to have an error of +/- 300%)! I am slowly learning that I either need to quit wrenching, quit typing, quit reading or maybe all three!
Seriously though, if it were your bike would you just leave it, loosen it, or pull it out and replace the bolts and or risers...the latter being my least desirable option.
This is not my area of expertise but in light of the 300% error, I would certainly want to back off on the torque. Based on that, I would pull the bolts and inspect. I doubt you're going to find any damage but I would retorque with some blue Loctite.
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The most vulnerable part is the riser, not the bolts. You might want to remove the bolts and make sure you don't have any pulled threads from the risers; if OK I'd install some new bolts (discard the old ones) and call it a day. Btw, you're definitely not the only person around here who overtightened stuff. I've got a feeling pretty much any of us who've turned a wrench have made similar mistakes, so don't worry about it.
Btw, another tip you may not be aware of. When you're dealing with a bar clamp designed like this one, you don't need to worry about getting your torque wrench on those front inaccessible bolts. Just get them snug, then use your torque wrench on the opposite bolt. As long as you don't bottom the top half of the clamp out on the riser portion (leave a gap on both sides), the load on the two bolts will be equalized. If you need to be convinced, try it on one of the other clamps where both screws/bolts are accessible, like the one for the brake handle and master cylinder to handlebar. Finger tight on one, then use the torque wrench on the other, then check the first one with the torque wrench. You'll find the torque is equalized for both fasteners.
Jerry
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Thanks Greg and Jerry. I will pull them and have a look. The problem I ran into last night was getting a hex socket and torque wrench into the bolts...there isn’t enough room between the bolt and bottom of the inner fairing (just below the stereo) so that’s why I had to cut off an old 1/4” Allen wrench just before the bend in order to get it in there.
The only reason I even messed with it is out of fear...last year my dad’s handlebars stripped out while on a road trip so we had to perform emergency surgery on it with borrowed tools on the side of the road in Bryson City, NC. We ended up drilling a hole through the clamps and through the handlebars and used self-tapping screws to lock it down because his clamps were bottomed-out and the bars were still loose. Wasn’t pretty but it worked and besides it was all covered by his nacelle (03 Road King). I don’t understand why HD doesn’t use 1 piece top clamps on the touring models like the other models, especially with the weight of these bikes and all that stress on the handlebars.
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I don’t understand why HD doesn’t use 1 piece top clamps on the touring models like the other models, especially with the weight of these bikes and all that stress on the handlebars.
i don't know about all of them, but i can say that my 2007 road king, 2010 road glide custom, 2012 road glide custom, and 2013 cvo road glide have all used the one piece top clamp. if yours doesn't have it, you can always replace your two piece clamps with the one piece. in fact, i know that wild one handlebars recommends it with the purchase of their handlebars.
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i don't know about all of them, but i can say that my 2007 road king, 2010 road glide custom, 2012 road glide custom, and 2013 cvo road glide have all used the one piece top clamp. if yours doesn't have it, you can always replace your two piece clamps with the one piece. in fact, i know that wild one handlebars recommends it with the purchase of their handlebars.
Must just be the older bikes that have the 2 piece...mine is 2004 and my dad’s is 2003. I have contemplated either the wild ones or the Yaffe bars so if I decide to swap them I’ll definitely get the 1 piece. Also like the ones with set screws in them.
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If you are a seasoned tech and tighten bolts for a living, you get a "feel" for torque on bolts. However, it is the master technician that always uses a torque wrench. I have a $600 Snap On digital torque wrench that is super accurate. Where using the correct torques (and may I add the lower value spec) is with the fluid drain bolts. Owners who change there own fluids usally tighten thes drain bolts too tight and create big issues!!!! JM2cents.
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Dough!!!! Ok my bad, guess I should go back and loosen them or is the damage done and I should just leave em? Will be deleting this thread shortly...no need in ALL the forum members to see my dumba$$ mistake
YUP TOO LATE!! :vrolijk_6:
To be honest, I made the same mistake. I then bought a nm torque wrench to prevent future brain lapses.
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My mistake was looking at the Torque value of the wrong bolt rather than not having a torque wrench as I have several, but that was nearly 8 months and several thousand miles, so I guess it’s ok...
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You may want to replace those over torqued bolts with new ones. It would not be unheard of for them to fail at a later date. Riding a bike with handle bars with loose or no connection to the bike can be an exciting event. I've seen it happen. :o