all torque wrenches needed

jumper23
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jumper23
Starting to do things the right way what torque wrenches do I need for motocross bikes running a KTM 125sx
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Falcon
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Falcon 6/24/2021 3:59pm
6/24/2021 3:59pm
All the bolts on a motorcycle are large enough that you don't need a fine-gauge torque wrench. Just pick up a Standard bar-style or a digital torque wrench. That's all you need.


Unless you're talking about "TORX" wrenches. Do KTMs still use those weird screws?
Rider 5280
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Rider 5280 6/24/2021 4:12pm
6/24/2021 4:12pm
I'd scan the torque specs in the front of your User's Manual and see what the smallest and largest torques you'd ever need to measure on your particular bike. My guess is that you can get by with a 3/8" drive, 0-100 ft*lb wrench for 98% of your needs. Ideally you'd have ~ 3 torque wrenches to cover your bases (1/4" drive that measure in in*lbs, 3/8" drive mentioned above, 1/2" drive for axles, steering stems, etc.), but it's not necessary.

Good man striving to improve your motorsickl'n skills.
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kb228
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kb228 6/24/2021 5:32pm
6/24/2021 5:32pm
Need 1/4” 3/8” and 1/2” torque wrenches. 1/4” should go to 80in/lbs or so and the 3/8” goes to 100ft/lbs or so and the 1/2” should go up to the 250ft/lb range.

The 1/4” is used on cam cap bolts for example. 3/8 for damn near everything else but the axles.
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MKMX
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MKMX 6/25/2021 5:48am
6/25/2021 5:48am Edited Date/Time 6/25/2021 5:53am
Snap-on QD2FR75B is what I use and it does everything from oil filter cover bolts to the rear wheel nut.

Edit: if you can get a norbar, they are great quality and usually fairly priced. You’d be surprised who they make torque wrenches for.

The Shop

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murph783
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murph783 6/25/2021 7:06am
6/25/2021 7:06am
If you’re willing to spend the money, the snap on 3/8” digital one will do 95% of what you need on a motorcycle. I have the 1/4” and 1/2” ones too, and they barely ever get touched.
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m21racing
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m21racing 6/25/2021 7:31am
6/25/2021 7:31am
I have all three of the snap on torque wrenches mentioned above. I also use a snap on dial inch lb unit for suspension internals. However, I used the new harbor freight premium model torque wrenches when I helped a friend with his harley. They worked well i have to say. They are reasonably priced, and may be worth looking at as well.
dancolvin633
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dancolvin633 6/25/2021 7:55am
6/25/2021 7:55am
Take a look at my site, dcmxtools.com

I sell Gearwrench and sell the digital torque wrenches. They are the way to go since they do ft lbs, inch lbs, nm, kg, snd angle.
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spimx
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spimx 6/25/2021 9:57am
6/25/2021 9:57am
The cheapest one from Harbor freight
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skypig
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skypig 6/25/2021 4:26pm
6/25/2021 4:26pm
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs)
Seems insane.


But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil applied to the thread!!)
Feels like a steering damper is installed at 30nm (Which is tighter than I would ever normally do up a steering head bearing.)
ElliotB16
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ElliotB16 6/27/2021 4:29am
6/27/2021 4:29am
spimx wrote:
The cheapest one from Harbor freight
I made that mistake. Bolts were barely hand tight
kb228
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kb228 6/27/2021 2:20pm
6/27/2021 2:20pm
spimx wrote:
The cheapest one from Harbor freight
No way. Ive had many of them and they never click. Icon good Pittsburgh bad
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40acres
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40acres 6/27/2021 5:22pm
6/27/2021 5:22pm Edited Date/Time 6/28/2021 9:37pm
spimx wrote:
The cheapest one from Harbor freight
kb228 wrote:
No way. Ive had many of them and they never click. Icon good Pittsburgh bad
Just added an Icon 1/2" to my lineup for the larger fasteners on cars/trucks. Took that and my 2yr old 3/8" craftsman to my brother in law to calibrate. The craftsman was reading 5% under actual torque and the Icon was dead on all the way through. I was pretty shocked, but have had great luck with the Icon since.
BeachMX
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BeachMX 6/27/2021 7:28pm
6/27/2021 7:28pm
spimx wrote:
The cheapest one from Harbor freight
kb228 wrote:
No way. Ive had many of them and they never click. Icon good Pittsburgh bad
I stripped a lower shock bolt with a BRAND NEW torque wrench from Harbor Freight... It never clicked...

Moto520
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Moto520 6/28/2021 7:33am
6/28/2021 7:33am
3/8 and 1/2".....anything smaller just use feel and don't overtighten. 8mm bolts could strip if not careful with the smaller torque wrench....less room for error. I would go by feel on the small bolts.
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Rickyisms
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Rickyisms 6/28/2021 2:40pm
6/28/2021 2:40pm
skypig wrote:
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs) Seems insane. But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil...
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs)
Seems insane.


But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil applied to the thread!!)
Feels like a steering damper is installed at 30nm (Which is tighter than I would ever normally do up a steering head bearing.)
Have you seen the torque specs for a YZ250? 75 ft/lbs for front axle and 90 ft/lbs for the rear axle!
526
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526 6/30/2021 5:23am
6/30/2021 5:23am
I have a 1/2" and a 3/8" drive a 1/4" would be nice but I get by just fine and I torque everything. Check out CDI Torque they actual manufacture the torque wrenches.

Pit Row

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murph783
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murph783 6/30/2021 9:13pm
6/30/2021 9:13pm
skypig wrote:
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs) Seems insane. But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil...
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs)
Seems insane.


But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil applied to the thread!!)
Feels like a steering damper is installed at 30nm (Which is tighter than I would ever normally do up a steering head bearing.)
Rickyisms wrote:
Have you seen the torque specs for a YZ250? 75 ft/lbs for front axle and 90 ft/lbs for the rear axle!
450’s 100 ft/lbs on the rear
skypig
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skypig 7/1/2021 3:31pm
7/1/2021 3:31pm
skypig wrote:
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs) Seems insane. But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil...
The rear wheel nut on my Honda VFR400 requires 120nm (88ft/lbs,1062in/lbs)
Seems insane.


But not as insane as the 50nm on the steering bearing (with oil applied to the thread!!)
Feels like a steering damper is installed at 30nm (Which is tighter than I would ever normally do up a steering head bearing.)
Rickyisms wrote:
Have you seen the torque specs for a YZ250? 75 ft/lbs for front axle and 90 ft/lbs for the rear axle!
murph783 wrote:
450’s 100 ft/lbs on the rear
Not going to rattle loose!!

I’d need to stand on my biggest breaker bar to get it that tight.
Shapi
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Shapi 7/5/2021 8:06pm
7/5/2021 8:06pm
2- as noted a 1/4 and a 3/8ths...I have tried a few mentioned here all have been good, Precision, Kobalt from Lowes was surprisingly good, but I have landed on Sonic. I also have the 1/4" st from Husqvarna power parts, its a Husky branded Sonic and is good for spokes to 10nm case bolts and 20 nm triple clamps
debun
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debun 7/6/2021 10:10am
7/6/2021 10:10am
I'm going to plug Harbor Freight hard here. I worked at a manufacturing company where I had access to torque calibration equipment. Between the engineers in the office we checked 3X 3/8" and 1X 1/4" drive wrenches. All the 3/8" were dead nuts on across the full range and more accurate than some of the equipment used on the production line. The 1/4" was less accurate but still well within spec with the greatest deviation at the lower range. As you went up in torque it became more repeatable and accurate. Bottom line, I was blown away by how accurate and repeatable they were. Harbor Freight can be a bit of a crap shoot and I would never recommend using equipment without calibration but from my experience out the box the harbor freight click type torque wrenches kicked ass.
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yota
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yota 7/7/2021 6:36pm
7/7/2021 6:36pm
with cheap tools it's often how long they last that is the issue. if I need something I may only use once or a couple of times HF is fine. if it's something I want to last for decades I prefer US made, even if they are used.
debun
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debun 7/8/2021 6:22am
7/8/2021 6:22am
yota wrote:
with cheap tools it's often how long they last that is the issue. if I need something I may only use once or a couple of...
with cheap tools it's often how long they last that is the issue. if I need something I may only use once or a couple of times HF is fine. if it's something I want to last for decades I prefer US made, even if they are used.
That's very true. It's a crap shoot with HF. My 3/8" wrench I checked after owning a few years and it was spot on. I have owned it now close to 10. The 1/4" I checked when it was brand new. The take away is all the HF torque wrenches in the office we checked were mostly more accurate than the production equipment. Might not be a fair comparison since those get used every day and not by the brightest of folks but for home garage they will likely surpass your expectations. I only use mine a dozen of times each year and always store it with the torque set to zero. The reason I bought the 1/4" is because I checked my 1/4" US made wrench and it wasn't that great. The new HF 1/4" although not as accurate as the 3/8" still better than the US made 1/4" wrench. I just need to sell it on ebay to cover the cost of my HF tools hehehehe.

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