Tightening linkage bolts order?

Titan777
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Titan777
Hi guys,

2018 KX250F question:
Is there an order to tighten the linkage / tie rod bolts?
Which should I torque first?

Thanks!
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kb228
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kb228 4/22/2019 1:21pm
4/22/2019 1:21pm
I dont think theres an order. Just do them evenly
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mx317
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mx317 4/22/2019 1:22pm
4/22/2019 1:22pm
I never went in any order, but I always tried to put a little downward pressure on the seat as I tightened them. This is with it off the stand of course lol.
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Titan777
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Titan777 4/22/2019 2:28pm
4/22/2019 2:28pm Edited Date/Time 4/22/2019 2:29pm
kb228 wrote:
I dont think theres an order. Just do them evenly
What do you mean by evenly?

It's my first time greasing the linkage alone. I thought I'll torque the bolts from right to left (right being the rear shock tie rod).

Did you mean torque a little bit each bolt until they are fully torqued to spec or can I just torque each one to spec while the others are loose?
pCp 252
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pCp 252 4/22/2019 9:32pm
4/22/2019 9:32pm
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first with a T handle. And then torque them to spec. The bottom shock bolt can’t be tightened with a traditional socket with the bike loaded with its own weight, for that bolt I put the bike back on the stand.
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Titan777
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Titan777 4/23/2019 5:55am
4/23/2019 5:55am
pCp 252 wrote:
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first...
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first with a T handle. And then torque them to spec. The bottom shock bolt can’t be tightened with a traditional socket with the bike loaded with its own weight, for that bolt I put the bike back on the stand.
Awesome! Thanks for the help.
So I assume I should torque the bottom shock bolt last.
cdncombatmedic 4/26/2019 11:15am
4/26/2019 11:15am
pCp 252 wrote:
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first...
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first with a T handle. And then torque them to spec. The bottom shock bolt can’t be tightened with a traditional socket with the bike loaded with its own weight, for that bolt I put the bike back on the stand.
Titan777 wrote:
Awesome! Thanks for the help.
So I assume I should torque the bottom shock bolt last.
That's what I do.
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soggy
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soggy 4/26/2019 1:41pm
4/26/2019 1:41pm
pCp 252 wrote:
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first...
Tighten them with the tires on the ground, not on a stand. No sequence is necessary, but I snug up all of the nuts up first with a T handle. And then torque them to spec. The bottom shock bolt can’t be tightened with a traditional socket with the bike loaded with its own weight, for that bolt I put the bike back on the stand.
Titan777 wrote:
Awesome! Thanks for the help.
So I assume I should torque the bottom shock bolt last.
cdncombatmedic wrote:
That's what I do.
just fyi, on some bikes that isn't possible, my kx250 the dog bones cover up the shock bolt, you'd never get a sock on there with them in the way.
JM485
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JM485 4/26/2019 10:06pm
4/26/2019 10:06pm
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a few bolts loaded in double shear, as long as they're tensioned correctly it's not going to make any difference if there's weight on the bike or not. The first time your shock rebounds hard in the air it's going to undo any previous loading that you've done with the bike on the ground (assuming that there's a small amount of play present which is normal).
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kb228
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kb228 4/26/2019 10:17pm
4/26/2019 10:17pm
JM485 wrote:
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a...
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a few bolts loaded in double shear, as long as they're tensioned correctly it's not going to make any difference if there's weight on the bike or not. The first time your shock rebounds hard in the air it's going to undo any previous loading that you've done with the bike on the ground (assuming that there's a small amount of play present which is normal).
The theory is to tighten your swingarm pivot, engine mounts, and linkage with the suspension loaded so that everything is aligned properly for its use.

To my knowledge its just a theory and not much proof of it being THAT critical. Because youre right, things will shift regardless. I guess just try to have stuff close to where it wants to be so it doesnt slam as hard
JM485
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JM485 4/27/2019 8:40am
4/27/2019 8:40am
JM485 wrote:
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a...
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a few bolts loaded in double shear, as long as they're tensioned correctly it's not going to make any difference if there's weight on the bike or not. The first time your shock rebounds hard in the air it's going to undo any previous loading that you've done with the bike on the ground (assuming that there's a small amount of play present which is normal).
kb228 wrote:
The theory is to tighten your swingarm pivot, engine mounts, and linkage with the suspension loaded so that everything is aligned properly for its use. To...
The theory is to tighten your swingarm pivot, engine mounts, and linkage with the suspension loaded so that everything is aligned properly for its use.

To my knowledge its just a theory and not much proof of it being THAT critical. Because youre right, things will shift regardless. I guess just try to have stuff close to where it wants to be so it doesnt slam as hard
If there's that much play in any of those assemblies to where that would make any difference then there's some major issues. There's no way having your bike on the ground when tightening anything like engine mounts is going to make a difference, if your chassis was flexing that much just from the weight of the bike I'd be terrifiedLaughing

This is like the stupid ass video vital just did about re-torqing your chassis to improve handling, give me a freaking break. Torque on dry bolts is a pretty poor indicator of actual bolt tension as it is, so getting a consistent and accurate reading isn't even likely in the first place, let alone anyone being able to actually feel that on the track. I will admit to tightening my seat bolts loaded though, but that's just to make sure when the seat slides down the bolts don't get rotated and loosen slightly. It's probably just as dumb, but I guess we all have our own stupid methods for thingsSilly
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aees
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aees 4/27/2019 2:49pm
4/27/2019 2:49pm
JM485 wrote:
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a...
I'm really struggling to see a reason why you would tighten any of your linkage bolts with the bike off the stand. We're talking about a few bolts loaded in double shear, as long as they're tensioned correctly it's not going to make any difference if there's weight on the bike or not. The first time your shock rebounds hard in the air it's going to undo any previous loading that you've done with the bike on the ground (assuming that there's a small amount of play present which is normal).
It can for sure make a difference, specially if you are checking/setting sag directly after.
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Rotaholic
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Rotaholic 4/27/2019 5:43pm
4/27/2019 5:43pm
Always tighten in the A/C/B/D fashion, not to be confused with the 1/3/2/4
NHtoWA421
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NHtoWA421 10/9/2025 8:58pm
10/9/2025 8:58pm

I’m kind of in a bind. Away from home and putting my bike back together, and can’t find the torque specs online. Does anyone know the torque specs for a 2017-2020 kx250f swingarm, linkage and shock bolts? 

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