Evo Miles
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Ye Gods! What an experience. Best of luck sorting it out and getting your bike back on the road.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,200
Likes: 3,089
From: NW AR
Graham, the A40 is one of our local club members. He used to race English cars in the 50's and 60's and had a repair shop with a dyno in New Jersey. He had to eventually create a "I will not work on Jaguar V12's" rule. It was a Riley that broke the U-Joint. As I think about it, it was probably the 2006 show, because in 2007 we moved to a nicer hotel. That red one in the 2K7 pic could be him or the guy with the spare. We had a lot of Loti at the 2K7 show. For us anyway. Usually it's my car and maybe 1 other.
razorbacksrule, that's pretty weird for a head bolt to come off. Hmmm. We need to think about this. Of course, first off try to just put another one on and see what happens. Otherwise, if it was just loose (weird), it would be why there was a leak at the rear. If the threads are stripped, the rear jug is coming off. If they are not stripped, then I suggest putting the new one on and torquing it down. You could torque it to the book spec of so much plus a quarter turn, or tighten it down until you feel a large increase in resistance at the end of the torquing, which would be about the same, but you have to have a feel for doing that. As we are just talking a single bolt here, it isn't being done "proper" anyway.
razorbacksrule, that's pretty weird for a head bolt to come off. Hmmm. We need to think about this. Of course, first off try to just put another one on and see what happens. Otherwise, if it was just loose (weird), it would be why there was a leak at the rear. If the threads are stripped, the rear jug is coming off. If they are not stripped, then I suggest putting the new one on and torquing it down. You could torque it to the book spec of so much plus a quarter turn, or tighten it down until you feel a large increase in resistance at the end of the torquing, which would be about the same, but you have to have a feel for doing that. As we are just talking a single bolt here, it isn't being done "proper" anyway.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 848
Likes: 8
From:
my 1990 FLHTCU has 61K on it (andrews EV13 cams, S&S 10 over pistons and rings and crane roller lifters done at 25K). Rear base gasket leaks a little. Primary cover leaks a little. Bike runs great with no issues. I am a huge fan of the EVO motors.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,200
Likes: 3,089
From: NW AR
I've heard of that too, from reading on the board here. Unfortunately, I suspect that is what happened. The fix is to helicoil or Timesert it, which isn't that much more work than just doing the base gasket, which it needed anyway.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Reminds me of my Velocette Thruxton! Did much the same thing and needed a helicoil repair to fix a crankcase stud. Best of luck fixing yours.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 579
From: Ft Smith Arkansas
Bolt
Got the head bolt in today what do you guys think torque it down with a torque wrench to factory specs ? will this damage the head since its not the right sequence ?
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 15
From: Senoia, Ga., by way of Miami, Fl..
I would think that the damage may already be done.. But, because its an air cooled engine, I'd just run with it.. I woul dtighten it to spec, but I'd also recomend checking the others too.... The problem with that is that you'll have to pull the rockers to do the inside bolts.. At the very least, see if you can put a wrench on them and go by feel to make sure they arent falling out.. It may not be the "right way", but if you may as well do the base gaskets if you were going to do it the "right way"... I'd save that for winter.. JMO
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,872
Likes: 83
From: Canton, Michigan
I would think that the damage may already be done.. But, because its an air cooled engine, I'd just run with it.. I would tighten it to spec, but I'd also recommend checking the others too.... The problem with that is that you'll have to pull the rocker (boxes) to do the inside bolts.. At the very least, see if you can put a wrench on them and go by feel to make sure they aren't falling out.. It may not be the "right way", but you may as well do the base gaskets if you were going to do it the "right way"... I'd save that for winter.. JMO
Although, assuming the new part will thread 'all the way' onto the stud, I would just tighten it down to spec and ride it. See if any other issues develop, then make a game plan from there.
