Sounds like the install was fine You may have gotten a defective gasket. I'd return it and get a new one.

 

Few thoughts.
1. Sure you got all the oil off the cover before putting it back on? If you do not it can give the appearance of leaking until it all runs out forward of the seal area
2. If you pull it back off clean it off and without gasket put 3 screws in just about 3-5 turns and slide the cover up to to primary cover. While holding it at the edges and pushing in see how much rock you have. I had a Harley replacement cover (made in China) that rocked a 1/32. Since I had come by it on e-bay I took a piece of 320 emery cloth and taped it on my Sears' cast iron saw table and flattened it out. Took me an hour to break thru the chrome but once into the Al it got flat.
3. Just use one small drop of blue locktite from a toothpick if you must. I do not use any. I just torque with my torx socket on a straight handle drive and when hot check it it a few time. Never had one come loose. Since I do all my work I keep an eye on thangs. Fixed many striped out holes because someone poured locktite all over it and had brought the soft Al threads of the primary out with the screws.

 

I did find out something. It's not 108 ft lbs, it's 108 in lbs. Used a conversion calculator to convert in lbs to ft lbs and came up with 10 ft lbs = 108 in lbs. Used my 1/2 torque wrench and set it to 10 ft lbs (I don't trust it) but had no other options at the time. Guys at HD Service said they never use a torque wrench and since this new gasket came out, never a problem. They did say they are for one time use only.

3rd gasket went in last night. Still leaking. I will check to see if it rocks a little before I tighten it down completely as advised (that's a good idea). Getting a little pissed off at this point and ready to put on some gasket maker and say f**k-it.

 

10 ft lbs is 120 inch lbs.

 

Yes you are probably correct, I was just shooting from the hip when typing those numbers, but now that you mention it, dividing by 12 does make sense.

At first I tightened it to 8 ft lbs and it leaked so then I went to 9 and it leaked, hence 10 which is a little tighter than recommended. Without looking at the directions right now, I believe that they call for a range between 84 to 108 ft lbs, which I thought was a relatively wide range and quite open to skepticism on how tight to go.

Yeah, man I don't know what to do other than checking to see how flat the Derby Cover is at this point. It's a pretty impressive piece, when you consider the material, the weight of it and the machining. I've installed a thousand items over the years from HVAC parts to 4WD parts and haven't had this much trouble with such a quality looking piece. I'll post up tomorrow and let you all know where I'm at.

Thanks for the input all!

 

I know I'm in the minority but any work done on your bike that requires a specific torque value should be done with a torque wrench. Some guys can do it by hand but I invested in a 1/4 drive torque wrench and as far as I'm concerned it pays to have the right tool in the long run. You keep talking in ft / lbs and its in/ lbs you want. The bottom range of 10 ft lbs on a 1/2 in drive wrench is very inaccurate. One thing I always do is incremental tighting. Start at 25%, then 50%, the 75% and finally 100%. Takes longer but makes me feel better.

 

I agree about the 1/2 drive being inaccurate, but I've tried 3 gaskets at different torque values and there is something wrong with either the Derby Cover or the Primary Cover. I went to a local hardware store and they didn't have a 1/4 in or a 3/8 in torque wrench or i would have bought one for sure. That's why I asked the dealership what they do and they said they just tighten and never use a torque wrench. I caught 3 mechanics on break, so it wasn't just 1 man's opinion, however two of them looked like all they do is change oil and polish, but the third was definitely a Vet.

I also have the habit of torquing in increments all the way around in a star pattern until I get the final value. Thanks for the feedback!

 

To be honest, whether you torque it or not, as long as it's within the "ball park" figure and you've tightened them all up to approx the same value in a cross pattern there should be no leaks. The amount of torque you're applying isn't your problem - as has already been said, I'd put money on there being a fault with the new derby cover. If it wasn't leaking with the original, then it shouldn't leak with the new one - whether you torqued it or not.

I had mine off a few weeks ago and popped it back on with a new gasket - no torque wrench, no sealer required and it's fine, done about 400 miles on it so far and no leaks at all. Take the cover back to where it was bought from and get a replacement.

D

 

I just redid my Derby cover install. Went and purchased a new gasket from HD. And I noticed a few things from the previous filter.
1. The pilot holes on the filter were torn. And looks as if it allowed the Oil to seep through.
I'm not 100% but that my view.
Anyhoot, I reinstalled a new gasket. And todate... No leaks.

 

Do not use a torque wrench on this type of cover that will be taken on and off many times. You are just going to strip out the aluminum threads. Just use the straight handle drive like a screw driver. Run all up snug crisscrossing. Do a little more and you will fill the gasket starting to squeeze. Do not crush the gasket flat. Drive it around the block and give it another snug just to see if its loose. Keep an eye on it and check back in a week. Bet you will find it snug and once from here next time you need to open it you will need the little 1/4 breaker bar handle to get screws to pop loose.
Let me add that I use torque wrenches on critical fasteners but never convert from inch pounds to foot pounds thinking you can use a 1/2 drive foot pound torque wrench on it. A small 1/4 drive inch pound wrench if you must. But like I said three or four times doing this and the fifth going full torque will pretty much guarantee the female threads are going to be gone.