Torque Wrench and Fuseblock queries.

[Malcolm Leick]

Hi all.

I have to change the brake discs on my F650GS twin and I'm thinking of investing in my very first torque wrench to do the the job. It looks like it will cost about the same as the service charge for BMW doing the job and I would like to have the option of doing more of my own maintenance in the future.

But which one? Looking at the Halfords site there are wrenches covering a range of settings. Which one should I go for, and is there anywhere else I can get one cheaper?

Second part of the question...I have just bought a Fuzeblock from Nippy Norman to better manage the spaghetti of wiring that I currently have coming off the battery. The only problem is that I can't find anywhere under the fairing or saddle where it will fit. The small space in front of the tail light is already taken up with the Autocom unit.

I have made a bracket which mounts the box onto one of the struts of the Wunderlich screen, but I am concerned about the unit being exposed to the elements. I'm not sure how rugged it is given that it has a relay switch inside aswell as the fuses. Has anyone fitted one of these Fuzebocks before on the F650 twin? If so, where did you put it?! I'd prefer somewhere with easy access that doesn't involve taking the dummy tank fairing off.

Thanks.

 

[Smythson]

Hi,

I went for Draper. There are better out there but i'm not a mechanic and only use it for maintenence on my car and bike. I bought two to cover the range of torques - the 3/8" and 1/2" drives. I also only use them to torque up to spec as opposed to replacing my regular socket wrench.

I bought them BNIB off eBay which was a fair bit cheaper than anywhere else i could find at the time.

I hope i'm not teaching to suck eggs but... one thing to remember with torque wrenches is to adjust them back to zero/minimum setting when finished otherwise the spring will deform and not be accurate.

Can't help with second bit i'm afraid.


Best,

S

 

[StumpyFingers]

I bought a Torque wrench from Halfords to do the Rear axle when adjusting the chain.
I went for the 60-300Nm wrench I have yet to get the smaller one but as long as it overlaps the big one for the lower torques then that will be fine.
As for placement of the fusebox that is harder to answer.

 

[chas820]

I have the Centech fuse panel on mine and it just squeezes in behind the battery.The dimensions on NN seem to indicate that they are the same thickness.I am of course assuming you have the same space, as mine is the 800.I know you dont want to remove the dummy tank cover but its only 6 screws and the wiring is protected from the elements.

 

[tosh23]

It depends on what you need the torque wrench for, If its just your bike then a torque wrench that goes up to 150Nm should be enough,((what is the highest torqued bolt on your bike) possibly your rear spindle) if you want it for your car then a higher Nm range is needed.
As always, try and buy the best you can afford, Its a one off payment and a tool that you keep for life...

 

[Dave78]

I've got a couple of Draper torque wrenches. Like someone else said, I only use them every now and then, and so far seem to be ok. And yes always return them to the lowest setting for storage.

In terms of the wiring, from what I can remember, last time I had the fake tank cover off my wifes F650GS (Twin). There is a small gap between the battery and the airbox. I was thinking about putting her autocom in that space. Taking the view that once installed we shouldn't need to get the the autocom that often.

That then frees up the same space under the tail for me to put the fuseblock. That way if a fuse does blow then it is just remove the seat to get at it, which can easily be done by the side of the road.

 

[STUBBS]

halfords pro range

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchCmd?srch=torque+wrench&department=all&action=search&storeId=10001&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&cm_mmc=GooglePPC-_-W%20-%20Workshop%20-%20Own%20Brand-_-Torque%20Exact-_-halfords%20pro%20torque%20wrench&source=ppc&_$ja=kw:halfords+pro+torque+wrench|cgn:Torque+Exact|cgid:4650186469|tsid:35582|cn:W+-+Workshop+-+Own+Brand|cid:74971669|lid:39392894029|mt:Exact|nw:search|crid:17489396029

 

[Wizard]

Torgue Wrench

You need two. One up to about 40Nm, the other up to about 150Nm. Any name brand will be fine.

Electrics

On the 800 it'll fit behind the battery (as mentioned) or on top of the airbox under the body panel. Another optionwould be to visit Maplin, get a wee box, and what's called "potting compound". Potting compound is used in electronics to seal boards and components that can be exposed to stuff they don't like. Just use a wee bit to seal around the cable hole in the wee box.

 

[Malcolm Leick]

Thanks guys. All very useful stuff. I will explore the space behing the air filter, which I currently have stuffed with a couple of relays which will become redundant. It sounds like a good space for the autocom...with the fuzebox under the saddle where I can get to it more easily.

I'll check out all the options suggested on the torque wrenches.

 

[Wizard]

Thanks guys. All very useful stuff. I will explore the space behing the air filter, which I currently have stuffed with a couple of relays which will become redundant. It sounds like a good space for the autocom...with the fuzebox under the saddle where I can get to it more easily.

I'll check out all the options suggested on the torque wrenches.

Had two different autocom units in around the battery area, both got interference. Could just be my bike, but maybe do a quick fit to test first and save yourself a load of hours wasted work

 

[Malcolm Leick]

Thanks Wizard! I will do a test fit before commiting myself.

 

[Homer1968]

Re torque wrenches i bought a Draper one from Amazon for about £30. Its a 3/8 but i bought the adaptor to 1/2 inch from flea bay for a coulple of quid. It covers from 10nm to 80 nm, so as previously mentioned you might need a 2nd to do the rear wheel . Mine is 100nm so i will need to borrow one for that

 

[bowser]

If your going to get one, then get a good one, and look after it.
Norbar TruTorque, is a good brand comes with a certificate of calibration, they rarely go out of calibration, and when adjusted to a specific torque then they stay there. You can get them off amazon in various ranges.

We use them at work and they are spot on.

 

[anglian001]

I have a Draper 3/8 and 1/2 as well, i can give a thumps up for these as they seem well built a who cares if they are 1-2 nm out.
I am certainly not a professionally mechanic but they are 100 times better then throttling a bolt which i have done in the past with a socket set!
Its amazing how little force you need on things, or maybe its my club hands!