Harley General Torque specs
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,837
Likes: 8,745
From: Edmonton, Alberta
I cannot speak for any of the technical upgrades and service details. No apologies, I just ride.
I shared this story about new handlebars put on my bike during the purchase (February) a few years ago. Delivery in March so I finally took her on the road for a test ride in April. Maybe a half mile down the road, I am now looking at the road in my mirrors because my handlebars were not tight and slipped. WTF! So having only an old rusty Allen wrench I tightened them the best I could. Went another 10 miles and everything was just fine.
So I took the bike to a local HD shop (not the dealership I purchased from, 2 hours away) and asked for a once over and tighten the riser/clamp to HD specs. So a week later on a group ride, I get about 3 miles down the road, same thing. Tighter and not "sloppy" but not right. I was able to get through the ride, but I gave up. I am now tightening this as much as I can. Hopefully I wont strip anything and nothing will break. Has been fine since. I check it once every few rides to be sure.
So I took it to a local custom shop. New to us. The guy was very knowledgeable and seemed trustworthy and came recommended. So getting a new rear tire, I asked him to check the clamp. So picking up the bike yesterday he says they were very loose. You need a wrench with a long arm to tighten those bolts properly. NOT NECESSARILY a torque wrench. He shared some examples of things I honestly didn't understand, but the upshot was that most Harley torque specs are BS.
I don't even know what or who to believe anymore!
I shared this story about new handlebars put on my bike during the purchase (February) a few years ago. Delivery in March so I finally took her on the road for a test ride in April. Maybe a half mile down the road, I am now looking at the road in my mirrors because my handlebars were not tight and slipped. WTF! So having only an old rusty Allen wrench I tightened them the best I could. Went another 10 miles and everything was just fine.
So I took the bike to a local HD shop (not the dealership I purchased from, 2 hours away) and asked for a once over and tighten the riser/clamp to HD specs. So a week later on a group ride, I get about 3 miles down the road, same thing. Tighter and not "sloppy" but not right. I was able to get through the ride, but I gave up. I am now tightening this as much as I can. Hopefully I wont strip anything and nothing will break. Has been fine since. I check it once every few rides to be sure.
So I took it to a local custom shop. New to us. The guy was very knowledgeable and seemed trustworthy and came recommended. So getting a new rear tire, I asked him to check the clamp. So picking up the bike yesterday he says they were very loose. You need a wrench with a long arm to tighten those bolts properly. NOT NECESSARILY a torque wrench. He shared some examples of things I honestly didn't understand, but the upshot was that most Harley torque specs are BS.
I don't even know what or who to believe anymore!
Personally I tend to trust the ones who designed the bike over someone who thinks they've reinvented the wheel.
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,434
Likes: 384
From: Arkansastan
He could use the grunt method... 1/4 grunt for light duty 1/4 to 7/16 fasteners, 1/2 a grunt for 1/2-9/16 fasteners, 3/4 grunt for 5/8- 7/8 fasteners, and the mighty one grunter for any over 1".
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