I dont see anything casual about working on your own motorcycle. you either wrench on it or you dont. That being said, the amount of wear and tear on my tools will be significantly less than someone who works on vehicles professionally. I used to work on cars for a living and I have seen Snapon tools fail as well as the "cheaper" models. So the 3 times a month max (if that much)that I would use my torque wrench does not warrant me spending 300 pluss dollars on one.

 

You will need at least two. One calibrated in inch-lbs and the other calibrated in ft-lbs. Craftsman makes a 3/8" drive inch-lb torque wrench and a 1/2" drive ft-lb torque wrench. They are fine for "personal" wrenching use.

 

Husky, Home Depot, makes a good one to. You don't need an exspensive one. If you look at most of the torque requirements, it's not so much making sure it's tight, but not over-torqueing it and stripping out the aluminum. You will need two for that reason.

 

I mean casual as non proffessional, not your full time job. I use a craftsman torque wrench at home, no way I would buy a snap on torque wrench for home. Parakiller, if you wrenched for a living at some time, you shouldn't fall into the typical"DIY" catagory.

 

I use snap-on but I used to bend wrenches for a living. So my advise to you would be to check into seeing how much it would be to get one calibrated and go to a pawn shop and get one cheap (but a named brand like snap-on, mac, cornwell, matco). Watch the prices at pawn shops cause sometimes the price is higher than they are new.

 

All of the advise given has been good. When using a clicker style torque wrench ALWAYS RETURN IT TO IT'S LOWEST CALIBRATED SETTING. NOT HIGHER OR LOWER. When I was in the AF my lab had to certify these wrenchs and we had to condem a lot of them that had been not reset to the lowest setting after use. I'm not talking about every time you torque something, but when you are finished for the day, reset it before you put it back in it's case. If you leave them cranked up the spring will compress and cause an inaccurate torque. When this happenes the wrench is JUNK and must be replaced. It usually can't be calibrated out. We saw the Craftsman wrenches in the AF and they were as good as any.

 

I bought two from HF. The inch pounder is 1/4" drive, and the 3/8" drive is for foot pounds. They seem to work just fine, and I picked up both of them for under $50. BTW, and FWIW, when I bought them, I asked about a warranty. I was told, as long as I have the receipt, I can bring them back, anytime, anywhere, for a free replacement. For the amount of time I use them, this deal could not be beat. I own nearly all Craftsman tools, and swear by them, but, like I said, these torque wrenches seem to be the better deal. Also, while at Sears the other day, one of the tool guys told me the Gear Wrench brand, also sold right next to the craftsman brand (for less money), now carry the same replacement warranty as all craftsman tools. (it was news to me) LOL

 

First, consider buying two: A 3/8"-drive up to about 150# and a 1/4"-drive for the more delicate jobs measured in in-lbs.

Second, I'll cast another vote for Harbor Freight TQ wrenches. I've owned two for years and they are both accurate and durable. I had a $300 Snap-On for a couple of years, but both my HF wrenches are much more accurate, and I recently sold the Snap-On. They wanted $40 to calibrate it, but both of these HF wrenches were tested at within 1# across their entire range and have never required an adjustment, so they're the keepers. The larger wrench cost me $11 (on sale) and the smaller was $20 (now $29). Here's a link

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2696

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...Itemnumber=239

I just noticed the larger wrench is on sale for $10. This has to be the best bargain in the tool business.

 

I bought both HF wrenches too, and they seem to be just fine...I compared them both to my Dad's Snap-Ons and they were calibrated well. One thing from HF I have NOT been happy with is the torx socket driver set....they have the small rounding of the tip and I've hosed up a screw here and there. Ground the ends flat and they're much better...still great for the money, though.

 

My family owns an industrialtool distribution company.They sell to all of the big manufacturing plantsin the US & internationally, as well as to local machinists & do it yourself'ers. I like to think I know a little bit about tools, quality and affordability. May not be the best at wrenching on things - but I know the tooling industry.

What a lot of people don't realize is that when things are supposedly "American" - its usually based ona percentage of what all was used to make the product. Far from being what consumers think is "100% American Made". Additionally, I have personally seen companies remove other countries stampings/etchings on tools & parts- and instead, place USA & American Made on them - in order to qualify for certain "American Made" contracts.

With that said - in my experience - cheap tools can be fine, as some have said - for the right situation. I don't use tools every day (like a full time mechanic)- so the brand or country of origin is of no matter to me. I bought a cheap torque wrench (yes, at Harbor Freight & not the family business)that only specifies foot pounds (doing the math to determine inch pounds is a piece of cake & most manufacturers actually provide a cheat sheet to boot). Two torque wrenches is not needed.

I have bought bargain tools out the yin yang - and they're all fine. Why? I don't use them every day. Only occasionally. The only difference, usually, isn't about measurements of the tool & proper calibration - but about the durability & strength of the materials used. So if you have one bike & one car - buy cheap. Use common sense & be careful, with any tool - but the extra money you'd spend on certain name brands just isn't worth it.

As many mechanics will tell you & others have already said - you can buy top shelf - and guess what? Even they still break without warning - on the first use even. Happens all the time. Go ask your local snap-on & craftsman folks how many returns/exchanges they process on a daily basis.

If you only need a torque wrench for your one bike that you'll be doing routine maintenance on & upgrades - get the cheap $20 - $30 torque wrench. It'll be just fine & won't provide any "unecessary risk" to your riding.