Torque Wrench for F800GS

[Trailblazin]

Just bought a new bike and lookin forward to workin on it. Will someone do the shopping for me on amazon and pick out a torque wrench, preferably not over $100, that will do the majority of the work on my bike please! I'm just now getting into maintenance and don't wanna invest in a tool that I don't know much about... I'll probably end up buying the wrong thing.

[Butters]

Well I won't do your shopping for you, but if you want a good, affordable torque wrench, I'd suggest Gearwrench. They are made in the US and can be had under $100. I think you'll want two, however. A larger 1/2" drive that will cover 50-150 or so, and a smaller 1/4" or 3/8" that can handle the inch pounds for the smaller fasteners.

Another tidbit: I was in HomeDepot the other day, and am 99.9% sure their US made Husky torque wrenches are simply rebadged Gearwrench ones - right down to the part numbers. So if you want to see them in person, you can head on down to HD.

If you want cheap, people like the $10 Harbor Freight torque wrenches. I DO NOT recommend the Craftsman clicker type torque wrenches. The Craftsman beam type is fine - and cheap.

[Trailblazin]

If I was to buy one for now to do the basics like oil changes... Would u recommend a 3/8 or 1/2 or 1/4

[Plaka]

Originally Posted by Trailblazin

Just bought a new bike and lookin forward to workin on it. Will someone do the shopping for me on amazon and pick out a torque wrench, preferably not over $100, that will do the majority of the work on my bike please! I'm just now getting into maintenance and don't wanna invest in a tool that I don't know much about... I'll probably end up buying the wrong thing.

Snowbum has a bit on his site on recommended torque wrenches.

Don't worry about the drive size, you can adapt those up or down as you please, for cheap. You want the correct range wrench for the work you will be doing. Look in your manual at the maintenance section. There will be a table of torque values for various thing. Get the big number.

A clicker wrench (sub $100) is accurate up to about 80% scale. So your big number will be 80% of the max the wrench can do.

Then go do your own damn shopping. If we don't get you strait now you'll be back asking someone to look up which way to turn a drain plug to get it loose!

[DanMac]

If you can be more flexible on price I highly recommend the CDI torque wrenches. From what I've read (do your own research for personal confidence) they are snap-on wrenches in every aspect except name and the head(part that the socket connects to) is made is Taiwan instead of america. Again, that is just what I have read.

I have two CDI torque wrenches and they are just utterly fantastic. Even the in/lbs is very easy to use. In my experience cheaper wrenches have a tendency to give a very weak 'click' so you can easily miss the in/lbs torque level. Not so with the CDI's.

Anyways:

http://www.amazon.com/Torque-2503MFR...+Torque+wrench

and:

http://www.amazon.com/Torque-1501MRP...+Torque+wrench

That generally covers everything.

You'll want to read through your factory service manual and see what torque specs you need on the bike and get the wrench(s) that best match the range.

Cheers!!

P.S. IMO, torque wrenches are the most important aspect to spend money. Its the difference between an engine running 100k and it running 8k before the head gasket goes because you didn't torque it just right...

[acejones]

You say you just bought a new bike and you're looking forward to working on it. You shouldn't have to work on a new bike. You should have bought a used bike if you wanted to work on one.

[kingby]

Originally Posted by acejones

You say you just bought a new bike and you're looking forward to working on it. You shouldn't have to work on a new bike. You should have bought a used bike if you wanted to work on one.

3100+ posts on this site and you haven't figured out 99.99% of new bike owners will be wrenching some farkle onto their bike within the first 30 seconds of ownership .... just kidding you a little. Although I wouldn't have the will power to leave my new bike alone.

OP: If you haven't done much wrenching previously, a good torque wrench (and a factory guide for the correct torque values) will help save on some of your mistakes. It is easier to snap a bolt that you think.

[markk53]

Car Craft (I think it was April 2013) did a torque wrench article that ended up focusing on the Harbor Freight wrench and the Harbor Freight torque adapter that uses an electronic strain gauge. Seems the torque adapter was extremely accurate when tested on a bench tester used for calibration. Fact is the low buck special wrench was very accurate too. Easily within the industry standard 4%. It ranged from dead on to 1 ft/lb light.

Key thing they found in the test was a secondary test. They left the torque wrench set at 70 ft/lb for 60 days. It lost something like 10 ft/lb over 30 days and more over the 60 days. In other words back the wrench off when not in use.

It just goes to show that you can find some bargains.

I personally use the beam style because they virtually never go out of calibration and are almost indestructable. I checked mine on a MAC bench tester and it was well within spec that would be called for with the high buck ones.

[Plaka]

Originally Posted by markk53

Car Craft (I think it was April 2013) did a torque wrench article that ended up focusing on the Harbor Freight wrench and the Harbor Freight torque adapter that uses an electronic strain gauge. Seems the torque adapter was extremely accurate when tested on a bench tester used for calibration. Fact is the low buck special wrench was very accurate too. Easily within the industry standard 4%. It ranged from dead on to 1 ft/lb light.

Key thing they found in the test was a secondary test. They left the torque wrench set at 70 ft/lb for 60 days. It lost something like 10 ft/lb over 30 days and more over the 60 days. In other words back the wrench off when not in use.

It just goes to show that you can find some bargains.

I personally use the beam style because they virtually never go out of calibration and are almost indestructable. I checked mine on a MAC bench tester and it was well within spec that would be called for with the high buck ones.

Did they test how long the thing lasted when it was in use? That is, how many hours could you have it wound up and/or how many wind up/ unwind cycles would it take before it's out of calibration. Doesn't sound like their spring metallurgy is too great.

I've been taught to never leave them wound up a minute longer than you have to. So I don't.

[jslyter]

Originally Posted by Trailblazin

If I was to buy one for now to do the basics like oil changes... Would u recommend a 3/8 or 1/2 or 1/4

I hardly ever use a 1/2 on my bikes unless I need to torque an axle nut for tire changes or chain adjustments. Most jobs can be done with 3/8. I probably use the 1/4 inch more than the 1/2, for things like valve cover bolts on the BMW boxer engine which are pretty low torque.

[clintnz]

Check the lower value on the wrench also, a 3/8" on is a good size but many only go down to 20Nm, & your bike likely has a bunch of M6 bolts that will require 10Nm. I have a 10-100Nm SP Tools 3/8" clicker which will do almost every fastener on my bike.

I had been told that torque wrenches are not accurate right at either end of their range but I checked the calibration on this SP one & it was right on at 10Nm & even when wound off the end of it's scale at 6Nm it was still close enough.

Cheers
Clint

['05Train]

https://www.protorquetools.com

CDI/Pro Torque makes Snap*On. Great stuff.

[moriver]

Originally Posted by Trailblazin

If I was to buy one for now to do the basics like oil changes... Would u recommend a 3/8 or 1/2 or 1/4

Well this tells me the best place for you to start might be a Tech Day or something like that. A nice GS might not be the best place to give wrenching a go if you get my drift. That being said a basic run of the mill tool is more than enough for the job. If you want to have something cool that you pay to much money for get the top of the line model.

[racer1735]

I have used Craftsman torque wrenches for the past 20 years, but one finally gave out on me last year. So I used a readily-available coupon and got the Harbor Freight 3/8" torque wrench. Compared it to a friend's recently-calibrated wrench and it seemed to be within spec. haven't had a lick of trouble with it and trust it on my cars and bikes. More recently, I was replacing tires on a couple bikes, so got the accompanying 1/2" wrench for the axle nuts. No problems. I know there will be nay-sayers and HF flamers, but to each their own. I have 2 wrenches for under $30, that are doing the job.

[markk53]

Originally Posted by Plaka

Did they test how long the thing lasted when it was in use? That is, how many hours could you have it wound up and/or how many wind up/ unwind cycles would it take before it's out of calibration. Doesn't sound like their spring metallurgy is too great.

I've been taught to never leave them wound up a minute longer than you have to. So I don't.

No, the test was simply to leave it at 70 ft/lb for the 30 days and 60 days, testing the accuracy at that point. The spring was under load to click at 70 ft/lb. I'm thinking that it is entirely possible this could be the case with about any spring load device like that. The one test not done would be to readjust and retest to see what would happen from there. A better test would be to test a variety of the most popular brands.

I have to believe there was a reason you were taught to not leave them set. I also have to believe that might also have come about long before HF started selling their low cost version. I'm betting it can happen with the best.

That is also the beauty of the beam and dial type. They only go under any sort of load when in actual use, no springs to have fatigued. And only one has no mechanically moving parts that may have calibration issues. That's the type I use.