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It's always a joke when I attempt to do anything mechanical because I haven't a clue..... so could you tell me if I got the right thing.

I went to Sears today to buy a torque wrench. I wasn't real sure what a torque wrench was, but I read the thread in the 1150R section about torque wrenches and Craftsman was the only tool name I recognized. And 3/8 in. drive was the only drive that sounded familiar too. But I read that some times they are too big to work on a motorcycle, so I was certain to tell the guy that this torque wrench was for the purpose of working on a motorcycle. I wasn't too worried about me breaking the handle, like some others had experienced.

I was not real confident in this guy's competence as I listened to him, but what do I know? I don't even know the right questions to ask (this is VERY frustrating). So would you look at this and tell me if I got the right one for general purposes for my bike, like replacing a cylinder head cover and guard? I've not opened the package so it can be taken back if it is the wrong one, but I do know it was the smallest they had at the Sears store I went to.

I didn't know if pictures would be needed or not, but I've included them as well. The wrench is about 13" in case you can't tell perspective in the following pictures.





Thanks.

I'm no expert on this but it looks good to me.

You should be able to do rear wheel nuts and handle bar mounts..and most other bolts on the bike..but it may be a little big for something like valves..but then maybe it will be ok even for those..maybe I better not say anything because I really don't know..one day I will buy one myself.

IMO you got the right size...any smaller and you could not use it for things like wheel nuts..it should be fine for things like cylinder head cover and guard.

That 3.6-29.0 (Nm) are the important things..does anyone know what the typical torque setings are for our bike?

DJ

That's not a bad torque wrench, but being a 3/8" drive, it may be a little small for torqueing larger items like wheel lug bolts or axles. Typically the smaller torque wrenches are for smaller torque values, which would be fine in your example of torqueing valve covers. Notice it's rated in inch/pounds, not foot/pounds. There are conversion sites for converting all of those crazy numbers (from inches to feet, and to that wacky metric newton-meter measurement).

FWIW, I use a 1/2" drive model, which can torque up to something like 120ft/lbs - much more than what's needed on these bikes. The drawback is it's not as accurate at the lower torque ratings required on some bolts. Someday I would like to get a smaller one to supplement the one I already have.

I'd keep it.

I forgot to add it says:

25 to 250 in-lbs./3.61 to 29.03 N

I can't see myself torqueing wheel lug bolts or axles, so perhaps this will be adequate for me to start with then, right?

I have the same one, but in the next size up. By next size, I don't mean moving to 1/2 drive, I mean getting one that goes up to higher value foot lbs/nm's. Yours only goes up to 29 nm, and I'm pretty sure there are some things that get torqued at 30-35 nm. It would probably be good for most items, but if you want one wrench that does it all, I'd get a 3/8" drive with a higher ft lb rating.

This may help GypsyRR....so by looking at this it may be to big...or is ft/lbs and in/lbs different?

DJ

Oil Filter 8 ft.lb
Engine oil drain plug 23.5 ft.lb.
Gearbox oil drain plug 17 ft.lb.
Rear wheel drive oil drain plug 17 ft.lb.
Locknut valve adjust 6 ft.lb.
Cylinder head cover 6 ft.lb.
Generator to bracket 14.5 ft.lb.
Tension multiple ripped belt (Poly-V) 6 ft.lb.
Spark plugs 14.5 ft.lb.
Fuel tank to rear frame 16 ft.lb.
Fuel pump to tank 4.5 ft.lb.
Adjustable handle bars 14.5 ft.lb.
Quick release axle thread (axial) 22 ft.lb.
Quick release axle clamp 16 ft.lb.
Brake caliper -- front / rear 29.5 ft.lb.
Bearing bolt swingarm to gearbox / rear axle
(Locktite 2701) 110.5 ft.lb.
Idler bearing pinon on swinging arm on
gearbox / rear wheel drive (Locktite 2701) 5 ft.lb.
Locknut (Locktite 2701) 77.5 ft.lb.
Rear wheel retaining studs 77.5 ft.lb.

Here we go..I just found a better list in Nm

Oil Filter 11 Nm
Engine oil drain plug 32 Nm
Gearbox oil drain plug 23 Nm
Rear wheel drive oil drain plug 23 Nm
Locknut valve adjust 8 Nm
Cylinder head cover 8 Nm
Generator to bracket 20 Nm
Tension multiple ripped belt (Poly-V) 8 Nm
Spark plugs 20 Nm
Fuel tank to rear frame 22 Nm
Fuel pump to tank 6 Nm
Adjustable handle bars 20 Nm
Quick release axle thread (axial) 30 Nm
Quick release axle clamp 22 Nm
Brake caliper -- front / rear 40 Nm
Bearing bolt swingarm to gearbox / rear axle
(Locktite 2701) 150 Nm
Idler bearing pinon on swinging arm on
gearbox / rear wheel drive (Locktite 2701) 7 Nm
Locknut (Locktite 2701) 105 Nm
Rear wheel retaining studs 105 Nm

Notice the oil drain plug (32Nm)...So it may be a bit small afterall...or buy two..a large one and a small one...

DJ

AUGH!!!! MATH! I can't.

Could you tell me if there is a special formula for the conversion or is it just a basic conversion of feet to inches, Since this wrench is rated in in/lbs I'll need to convert.

Thanks.

I wish you guys knew how utterly humiliating it is to not know anything about what you are trying to attempt, and not even know the right questions to ask, without sounding like a complete idiot. I'm sorry.

...Ummm... Remember, foot-pounds is not inch-pounds. You have to multiply by twelve. That wrench will go up to 20.83333 foot-pounds, which is a bit over one-quarter the torque needed for wheel lugs.

(If I remember my high-school physics correctly.)

Seems to me that most people have two wrenches. One like you have for the small stuff, and a bigger one for their high-torque needs. You don't want a huge torque wrench with a high capacity for everything, 'cause the accuracy at low torque suffers. It's hard to see the difference between five and six foot-pounds on a wrench that reads up to a hundred.

One Newton-meter is 8.651 inch-pounds, or .737 foot-pounds.
One Foot-pound is 1.356 Newton-meters.

DJ Downunder wrote:This may help GypsyRR

Engine oil drain plug 32 Nm

Notice the oil drain plug (32Nm)...So it may be a bit small afterall...or buy two..a large one and a small one...

DJ

Hmmmm. I just used the information MikeCam gave in the FAQ section on how to tighten the drain plug and the oil filter. I didn't torque them. So far so good......

According to that list, it looks like one torque wrench won't "do it all", sort of like motorcycles, purses, shoes, jewelry, boats, etc. etc.

Gypsy,

I have the exact same wrench you have. I also have the larger (75 foot lbs) wrench. You really need both. As far as converting inch pounds to foot pounds, don't bother - just use the newton meter (nm) scale that's imprinted on the other side of the wrench. Easier that way.

Happy wrenching!

.... and fly rods. Definitely need more than one fly rod.

Thanks Taosport. That is a lot easier. I'll be tackling the project later in the week. I'm sure there will be crying involved.

Lots of shoulders on this board to cry on so go for it Gypsy!

Fly rods...yes, I think I may have 5 or 6. You can never have too many! Kinda like bicycles...I have 8 of those...or is it 9? Need to go count them now.

It's always a joke when I attempt to do anything mechanical because I haven't a clue.....

Well Gypsy, just imagine most guys trying to figure out something in the kitchen... I think it's a safe bet that most of us here admire and respect you for not being a "helpless female".

I just looked at what Craftsman offers in the way of torque wrenches, and I'd offer the suggestion of exchanging the one you bought for a different model. The one I suggest is #44596, it's range is 5-80 foot-pounds which should just about cover everything you're likely to need on the 'R. Actually, it would be nice to have both (I do) so you can correctly torque a wide variety of fasteners, but for many years I just had the higher torque version.

Yes, I agree, get the 5 - 80 ft lb model, one wrench does it all (it's the one I use). Also, don't bother with inch or ft lbs,.. just use NM's, which is what the maint manual uses anyway.

Okay, then that is what I'll do, but I'll try a different store.

In the meantime I can't get the $*&(# Givi windscreen brackets off the #^$&@ bike. (he sold me a tool to do that too! It doesn't).

GypsyRR wrote:Okay, then that is what I'll do, but I'll try a different store.

In the meantime I can't get the $*&(# Givi windscreen brackets off the #^$&@ bike. (he sold me a tool to do that too! It doesn't).

Take a picture of the tool as you're using it? Maybe we can see why it's not doing what it should be doing....

I finally resorted to another tool I had and when I was mad enough......... the strength came. It's off. It just takes a while for me to get really 'mad enough.' But the spare screen (sportster screen) has a bolt? that doesn't fit right, so when I take the torque wrench back tomorrow I'll get the part I need to get this other screen installed.

Great... another tool store experience.

Knowing how tight to tighten things is what separates the good/great mechanics from the novices, mediocre mechanics and people that really should hire a professional.

I recommend you keep the 250 in-lb T-Wrench. The nuts/bolts most easily damaged or lost from undertightening are the small ones. The wrench will slowly teach you the correct torques and ensure the job was done right. It'll be hard to duplicate the hand force on a 13" torquewrench to a 7" combination wrench (Box & open-end wrench) or a 3/8 drive ratchet wrench. You can grab the clicker type T-W in the middle to learn the forces and it'll still work right. That's the drill when you're ready to ween yourself off using the T-W for every little thing. It'll also come in handy when you've advanced enough to do your own valve adjustment.

For front/rear wheel removal you'll need a bigger T-W, like a 100 or 120 ft-lb size 1/2" drive. You can do it and the money you'll save on your first carry-in tire change will pay for the T-W.

You GO Girl !

GypsyRR wrote:Could you tell me if there is a special formula for the conversion or is it just a basic conversion of feet to inches, Since this wrench is rated in in/lbs I'll need to convert.

I use this site - an excellent place to convert almost anything to anything!

http://www.onlineconversion.com/

Specificly for your current needs: http://www.onlineconversion.com/torque.htm

I got myself two torque wrenches, a small one for small torque values and a large one for big mothers like the lug nuts and such. The small wrench has values in inch-pounds so I use sites like Online Conversion to convert values. Although the site says for example "pound inch" instead of inch-pounds, it's easy enough to use.

A couple of things about torque wrenches: once you select a torque value, don't forget to lock it before using it. Also, when you're done with it, ratchet it down to its minimal value and store it like that.