New owner...few questions..Torque wrench?

[Grayrider]

I got my new to me 99 RT last week and I've decided that I'm going to try to do some of the routine maintenance myself rather than taking it to the dealer. The bike came with a Clymer maintenance manual that I've been reading. I've decided that I want to do two things first off. Change my own oil and remove my rear wheel so I can get a new tire put on.

 

First question. In reading the manual I saw the recommended torque values for nearly every job, even for changing your oil. I don't own a torque wrench so how important is it to torque the oil filter and drain plug to the specifications. Can I just tighten it until it's tight?

 

If I need to get a torque wrench, tell me what kind.

 

Removing the rear wheel. I'm hoping to save some money by removing the rear wheel myself. I've read the owners manual and the Clymer manual. It looks pretty straight forward to me but I've never done it. Is their anything I should look out for? Back to the torque wrench issue, how important is it to torque the bolts on the rear wheel to specifications?

 

I'm no gear head but I want to learn. Any suggestions would be welcome.

[DavidEBSmith]

Proper torque is really, really important on the rear wheel, and important on the oil filter and drain plug until you develop a feel for how they tighten. Once you know the feel, you can tighten the oil filter about 3/4 turn after it makes contact, and the drain plug you can tighten until you feel the crush washer crush, but until you recognize what those feel like and can coordinate the feel to the torque, you should use a torque wrench.

 

As for which to buy, that's a never-ending debate. It depends on how much you want to spend for fancy features. The basic beam-type torque wrench is reliable, doesn't need to be adjusted, but isn't always convenient to read at funny angles (like on the drain plug). The "clicker" type is easier to use, should really be calibrated occasionally, requires more care, and is more expensive. The bling torque wrench is the Snap-On electronic wrench, which is way expensive but oh-so-sexy to use.

 

You might want two torque wrenches - one for the range of 20 to 100Nm, which covers most of the bolts on the bike, and one for 100+ Nm, for the rear wheel bolts. You can get the cheap beam-type for that, because you won't be using it for much else.

 

As far as brands, don't go to Harbor Freight. Sears Craftsman are perfectly serviceable ones. There's lots of other brands which I'm sure people will chime in on.

 

Tips on the rear wheel: Take off the bags and tilt the bike forward on the center stand onto the front tire. The rear wheel will come off without removing the fender or the brake caliper, though you may not believe it. Don't lose the spacer that fits between the wheel and the hub. When you replace the wheel, tighten all the bolts to 50 Nm in a criss-cross pattern, then tighten them to 105 Nm in a criss-cross pattern.

[chrisolson]

Removing the rear wheel. I'm hoping to save some money by removing the rear wheel myself. I've read the owners manual and the Clymer manual. It looks pretty straight forward to me but I've never done it. Is their anything I should look out for? Back to the torque wrench issue, how important is it to torque the bolts on the rear wheel to specifications?

Its really simple on a '99, just like a car...remove the bolts and remove the wheel. You may need to wiggle it a bit, but it will clear the exhaust and fender just fine. There may or may not be a spacer between the wheel and the hub.

 

You could go to the effort of strapping the front wheel to the center stand to prevent an accidental collapse, but not really required. And yes, the torque specification is important - you need a torque wrench - even a simple beam type will be better than nothing...

[Grayrider]

Thanks guys. That's what I was looking for.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Once you know the feel, you can tighten the oil filter about 3/4 turn after it makes contact...

 

Many aftermarket automotive oil filters even specify something like that instead of torque: "spin filter on until gasket contacts engine, then tighten an additional 3/4-1 turn."

 

Manual: I have not heard many good things about the Clymer manual. OTOH, I have the Haynes manual, and it's pretty good for general maintenance, especially for the price, something like $25. Strongly recommend it.

[Clive Liddell]

To add a suggestion to EB's post - since you are starting from scratch why not get a 5 to 30 Nm and a 20 to 120 Nm which will cover you for the many values under 20 found on these bikes as well as 110Nm for the rear wheel etc. Just between us I use 100Nm for the rear wheel, don't tell the other board members or I'll be done in.

[Ken H.]

between us I use 100Nm for the rear wheel, don't tell the other board members or I'll be done in.

Hee Hee! Let's start a, "What Do You Torque Your Rear Wheel To?" thread!

 

[/hijack]

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Just between us I use 100Nm for the rear wheel, don't tell the other board members or I'll be done in.

 

I also use a 100 N*m torque wrench on the rear wheel; I just turn it up to "11."

[tomk99r11]

How about the good ole extra "umph" on the wrench after good solid resistance to turning the wrench?

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

How about the good ole extra "umph" on the wrench after good solid resistance to turning the wrench?

 

The mantra among the technicians where I work is "a quarter turn past tight, then back off an eighth of a turn."

[Bob Palin]

While it is certainly a good idea to torque the rear wheel properly if you can, I have many times taken the wheel off in the Cycle Center parking lot to get a new tyre put on. On trips I don't carry any tool that can put 100NM on the bolts and have had no problems at all so far, many many thousands of miles like that.

 

I have the two Craftsmen torque wrenches that cover the appropriate range, they seem to work fine though I should probably get them calibrated sometime if I can find a place to have it done (nearest Sears 160 miles)

[Lawman]

My owners manual for my 05 RT indicates only 60 NM for the rear wheel studs. Why would there be such a big difference between models?

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

My owners manual for my 05 RT indicates only 60 NM for the rear wheel studs. Why would there be such a big difference between models?

 

a few things come to mind:

 

-different bolt circle diameter? If the bolts are on a larger circle on the R1200 hub, you don't need as much preload on the bolts to generate the same resistance to rotational slippage of the wheel.

 

-different bolt diameter? If you take a large-diameter bolt and a small-diameter bolt, torquing them the same will generate a larger preload on the smaller diameter bolt; the flipside is that for the smaller bolt, it takes less torque to generate the same preload. Don't know the wheel bolt diameters for the 1100/1150 and the 1200, but if the 1200's bolts are smaller diameter, this might explain it.

 

-Maybe BMW decided the huge bolts/torques on the 1100/1150's was overkill, and the bike will hold together just fine with lesser parameters.

[Lawman]

-different bolt diameter? If you take a large-diameter bolt and a small-diameter bolt, torquing them the same will generate a larger preload on the smaller diameter bolt; the flipside is that for the smaller bolt, it takes less torque to generate the same preload

___________________________________________________________

 

That's interesting..I would have guessed just the opposite.

[smiller]

I have the two Craftsmen torque wrenches that cover the appropriate range, they seem to work fine though I should probably get them calibrated sometime if I can find a place to have it done (nearest Sears 160 miles)

FWIW (probably nothing, I know) I tested my three fairly old and never calibrated Craftsmen torque wrenches with the Craftsman electronic 'torque mausurement system' (essentially a calibrated strain gauge which reads out on a digital display) and found all three wrenches to be amazinly accurate and identical to each other, almost spot on. So, the Craftsman wrenches certainly seem to be accurate enough. But they receive pretty careful treatment and I don't doubt that the Snap On equivalent would probably hold up much better under the day in, day out beating they would take in professional service.

[Clive Liddell]

The R1200 range has 5 bolt rear wheels and the bolts are smaller diameter than the previous 12mm bolts on the 4 bolt wheels. The torque should thus be a lot less - I have just looked - for the 1200GS (spoked) it is 60Nm for the 10mm bolts. I have also just noticed that the torque on the front axle is now 50Nm, but it is a different setup...

[bmweerman]

Take if from someone who has broken and damaged a lot of stuff. USE A TORQUE WRENCH....Just tightening it until you think it's tight enough won't do. It's amazing how little some things need and how much others need.

 

Do you really want to guess how much torque is on your rear wheel bolts?!

 

And, as someone else said, definately strap your front wheel to your centerstand.

 

Doesn't matter what kind...the hundred bucks or so you'll spend will more than pay itself back in un broken parts and un stripped aluminum threads!!

 

A lot of torque wrenches in the US are marked in foot pounds only so rule of thumb is 1 newton meter = approximately .74 foot pounds.

 

Happy Wrenching

 

Cameron

[bmweerman]

Correction...I think I got that backwards

 

1 newton meter = 0.737 pound feet

 

If you don't want to do the math

 

the following website will do it for you

 

http://www.onlineconversion.com/torque.htm

[Bob Palin]

Do you really want to guess how much torque is on your rear wheel bolts?!

You are quite unlikely to over tighten the wheel bolts at 110NM, my experience indicates that whatever force can be applied by the roadside is enough. Nevertheless it is best to torque them properly when you can but no need to panic.

And, as someone else said, definately strap your front wheel to your centerstand.

Never done that and have changed probably 15 rear tyres on my RT.

A lot of torque wrenches in the US are marked in foot pounds only

That's another nice thing about the Craftsman wrenches, they have both (though of course NM is evil and should fed to the imperial sharks)

 

You definitely need a torque wrench for many of the servicing procedures, it's amazing how little force the 8NM is for the valve cover bolts. Without the wrench I would probably put double the torque on them to "feel right" and pretty quickly strip them.

[DavidEBSmith]

You are quite unlikely to over tighten the wheel bolts at 110NM, my experience indicates that whatever force can be applied by the roadside is enough.

 

I wouldn't be worried about somebody over-torquing them, I'd be worried about somebody under-torquing them. Especially on the roadside with that stubby little wrench that's in the tool kit.

[Spidey9534]

If you don't currently have a wrench this might be something to try. Using this you can save buying a special tool AND it converts into the three most popular units of measure.

 

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Sears or Craftsman tools except that I have broken a lot of them and they have all been replaced no questions asked. Rock solid warranty.

 

Hope this link works.

 

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.d...UseBVCookie=Yes

 

Good luck.

[bmweerman]

You are quite unlikely to over tighten the wheel bolts at 110NM, my experience indicates that whatever force can be applied by the roadside is enough.

 

 

 

I wouldn't be worried about somebody over-torquing them, I'd be worried about somebody under-torquing them. Especially on the roadside with that stubby little wrench that's in the tool kit.

 

That was my concern!

 

And, in spite of advice to the contrary, I would strap the front wheel to the centerstand. I have had a centerstand collapse and that is NO FUN!!

 

Just my additional $.02