| Author | Message | ||
     Rendog |
In the owners manual, it always has you putting loctite on the fasteners. Is this really necessary? I've come from the Jap bikes side, & you never need to loctite those. Is it the Buell vibration creating the requirement to loctite everything ??? | ||
| Samiam |
That makes sense to me... | ||
| Teddagreek |
Remember the manual calls for High Heat/High Strength loctite.. I didn't even find the correct loctite at 2 harley dealers. I ended up getting it in another brand at NAPA... The early buells were bad I've seen pics of more than on of bolts for the front disk brake backed out | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Fellows, I like to safety wire those things that you have access to, such as axle nuts, drain plugs, header nuts and especially the front motor mount bolts but am real careful using too strong a loctite going into aluminum such as disc bolts as I have pulled threads when disassembling and using too great a holding compound. There are a wide variety of holding strengths. When I do use it I always heat the area first to relieve some of the holding properties of the loctite before removing the bolt. Ted, highheat/high strength seems fine for steel but be careful with aluminum. And yes Sam (Rendog) the vibration inherent in Harley motors does create the problem. One thing I always do is constant monitoring of fasteners to see if they are loose especially before a long ride. Just my personal experiences FWIW. | ||
| Patrickh |
depends which fasteners you are talking about. did you have a particular part you were pulling off? as a general answer to your question, yes, the vibration of a 45 degree V twin does vibrate out some fasteners. i do not loctite EVERY fastener on my bike, even though the manual suggests it. of course i also keep an eye on those pieces and i am not afraid to use a torque wrench | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I use a little drop of blue, medium strength Locktite or Permatex on most fasteners, because I got tired of replacing, or re-tightening them. It may seem like a pain at first, but after a while it becomes automatic, and really doesn't take much time. The 45º vee twin is one of the most out of balance of all production motorcycle engines, and it does loosen fasteners a lot more than an I4 or 90º twin. Using a torque wrench is always a very good idea, but of course even a properly tightened fastener can vibrate loose. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
I am with Jon on this one. use blue on just about every bolt i take off. I have just switched from the liquid to the paste type of locktite, I like it much better. I have a simple saying for this "I only put locktite on the stuff I do not want to fall off."  | ||
| Bake |
yup, just follow the manuals instructions. | ||
| Jerseyguy |
I'm also using blue on the fasteners prone to loosening. | ||
| Blake |
Ted, The high heat red is called for in only a few very specific applications where there is a large bolt which is exposed to high heat, the pinnion shaft nut for example. If you use the red Loctite on a small bolt, you risk twisting off the bolt trying to remove it. |
