b***ocks!!!

[Wapping]

According to my Haynes manual....

We know you are using a Haynes manual, you told us. I only posted the link's info as it allegedly came from BuMW's own service ROM (by chance for the same year of bike)....

....Check with your BuMW dealer when you take the bike there to have the ripped thread repaired. From memory I have never torqued the handlebar bolts, just tuned the spanner / socket on each in a sequence (so they bedded down evenly) until they seemed sensibly tight. 'Gently tightish' and up to a quarter turn - using a reasonably sensible length of decently made spanner, is often not a bad rule of thumb. BuMW seem to have torque settings for just about every bolt on the bike, including the wing mirror nuts...... no doubt someone, somewhere, will have torqued the wing mirror.....

You can't rely on the torque settings for other bolts (for instance the fork slider pinch bolts in your example) as it will depend on the bolt's size, purpose, material and the material it is bolting into.

PS I echo the learning curve sentiment. You have made an innocent mistake, which is easy and not too expensive to mend. Nobody has died and at least you have had a go

I would though maybe think hard about getting a bit of professional help with the cutting out of the new thread. Cock that up and you will be in trouble.

 

[thornley]

As a general rule if the new longer bolt engages on more than 1.5 times its diameter it will be fine. So 8mm bolt needs 12mm useable thread, 10 mm bolt 15mm thread. If you have this should be ok.

 

[h0wz3r]

PS I echo the learning curve sentiment. You have made an innocent mistake, which is easy and not too expensive to mend. Nobody has died and at least you have had a go

I would though maybe think hard about getting a bit of professional help with the cutting out of the new thread. Cock that up and you will be in trouble.

Thanks Wapping, I certainly wouldn't want to try this myself, I'd much rather pay someone to do the job properly for me.

I think the replacement bolt I've used will do for now as it's certainly as tight as the original bolt was. It'll do until I can get it repaired properly but as I said I wouldn't want to risk it over a long distance.

A lot of guides I've been reading mention putting the component containing the stripped thread in a vice so it can be drilled accurately. Unfortunately in my case that's a lot easier said than done. I can remove the handlebar very easily but removing the top yoke itself is another matter. Should a good mechanic be able to drill it in situ without actually taking it out?

Can't do anything about today as everywhere is closed. I'll have to find somewhere this week I think..

 

[Steptoe]

You must have some american in your blood using a torque wrench for handlebar clamps.

 

[Owen Snell]

.......Should a good mechanic be able to drill it in situ without actually taking it out?.....

Yes

 

[thornley]

Yes

+ 1

 

[Kremmen]

Just to add a small amount of confusion to the discussion ... i have an 06/09 Rep-rom and the M8 x30 clamp bolts have a tightening figure of 28Nm...... But as noted above i would always tighten these by feel & experience definitely not by torque wrench

 

[h0wz3r]

Well fingers crossed I've sorted myself out. I remembered that my work colleague's boyfriend works at a garage just up the road from where I work.

He said they have all the tools needed, including thread inserts of every variety so it won't be a problem. It would be a lot easier if I could take the yoke off and just drop it in but I'd rather not attempt that as it looks complicated. As the bolt holes are readily accessible once the handlebars are removed, however, he said it won't be a problem to do it that way.

It won't be for a week or two but he said he'll stay behind one Saturday lunchtime when they close and do it then as it won't take 10 minutes or so with the right tools.

Until then, I've swapped all 4 clamp bolts for the longer ones I had lying about and at least the bike is rideable. They seem as secure as the original bolts actually, including the stripped hole, but I'd still rather have the job done properly for my own peace of mind.

A lesson learnt is a lesson learnt

 

[theop]

Doing some service work on my GS this evening and thought I'd adjust the handlebars as they've been bugging me. No problem I thought, just loosen the 4 bolts that hold the clamp, rotate the bars and re-tighten.

Being a stickler for detail I thought I'd do the job properly and tighten the bolts back up to their proper torque values which according to the Haynes manual is 28Nm.

So I set the torque wrench to the correct value and proceeded to tighten the bolts back up. All went well, tightening each bolt in turn gradually (top, bottom, top etc) until I got to the 3rd bolt when suddenly the wrench went loose in my hand. I knew what had happened straight away, bugger I've stripped the thread!

Took the bolt out and there was loose thread wrapped around the bottom third of it. B***OCKS!!!

Sorted it for now by using another bolt that's slightly longer than the one I took out but I don't think it's the bolt that's the problem as it seemed fine. I seem to have stripped the thread in the top yoke where it screws into which would be VERY expensive to replace, not to mention labour costs if I had it done by someone else.

What would you recommend in this situation?

dude! torque wrench? on a flipping handlebar M6 bolt? have you ever done any spannering before? Cause you are truly a spanner of legendary proportions....

you should tighten by "feel" dude.... Only geometry affecting nuts and bolts like engine mounts etc need torquing.... ANd after you ve torqued a handful, then feel is used for the rest..... You think every mechanic in the garage runs around with a torque wrench everytime you leave them your pride and joy?

 

[h0wz3r]

dude! torque wrench? on a flipping handlebar M6 bolt? have you ever done any spannering before? Cause you are truly a spanner of legendary proportions....

I think we're done with the wrist slapping now Theop but yes, again, I agree with you. It's an M8 bolt actually...

In case you haven't worked it out yet I'm a complete nonse when it comes to mechanical things of any description so I'm learning as I go along. We all made mistakes in the beginning I'm sure.

Just for the record, that torque wrench is staying in its case now until it's REALLY needed!

 

[Ogmios]

nobdies perfickt

.... We all made mistakes in the beginning I'm sure.
...

in the beginning,
the middle and....
i've not reached the end yet but,
if i can stop someone making as many mistakes (or at least the same mistakes ) as me and hope that others think likewise than there's hope for us all.

 

[Bingham Dave]

I've always found that tightening the bolt until it snaps then backing it off a quarter turn is about right