Torquing drive shaft bolts

[Zombie Master]

With the position of the drive shaft bolts, it's not possible to use a standard torque wrench. How do you get it done? These are a one time use bolt, so you have only one chance to tighten them.

1984 R100

[ME 109]

With the position of the drive shaft bolts, it's not possible to use a standard torque wrench. How do you get it done? These are a one time use bolt, so you have only one chance to tighten them.

I use the oe 10-12mm 12point ring spanner from the toolkit. Torqued by hand to 'ouch'
Never loosened. Never broken.
I've used my 81> bolts many times over. I may have bought two replacement set in 24 years. I know for sure I've bought one set.

[Zombie Master]

Yea but you're the Lord of the Bings. How do regular folks get it torqued properly? BTW did your bolts have washers?

[ME 109]

Yea but you're the Lord of the Bings. How do regular folks get it torqued properly? BTW did your bolts have washers?

No washers, re-usable bolts. The washer type apparently are one use, but that wouldn't happen all the time, I bet.
Some folk use a short torque adapter arm. Someone will have a pic.....

Lord of the Bings, yes. The title of 'Lord Flangebolt' belongs to a bigger dick than I.

[PAS]

I also have reused the bolts many times over! Short bolts no washers and blue loctite. Use the wrench from the tool kit, hold down the brake lever and tighten as hard as you can.
1981 R100RT 169,000mi

[dougie]

Hey ZM.
SnapOn make an adapter for such things.
https://store.snapon.com/Standard-mm-ch ... 31799.aspx
I used it with a little purple thread locker ( oil resistant). It effectively makes your torque wrench slightly longer so I decreased the torque applied slightly. Don't remember the math, maybe 5%
I used new bolts 'cause I'm not brave like Jeff.

[Duane Ausherman]

I also have reused the bolts many times over! Short bolts no washers and blue loctite. Use the wrench from the tool kit, hold down the brake lever and tighten as hard as you can.
1981 R100RT 169,000mi

Even Butler and Smith reused those bolts on the Super bike for racing. We very rarely replaced them with new. Never saw any issue either. Yep, tighten down to ouch with the typical short wrench. We didn't even use Loctite.

We reused them going all the way back into the /2 era, except we would replace the early type with the shallow Allen bolt head.

[Zombie Master]

What I often do when I can't get the torque wrench in a spot:
I'll lock a nut on the vise and tighten a bolt with a torque wrench to the specified torque. I'll loosen it by hand to get a feel of how tight it is. Then I'll tighten it up to where I think it should be by hand, then use a beam torque wrench to loosen it, to see at what torque it releases at. Does this make sense, or am I just a dweeb?

[Duane Ausherman]

ZM, makes sense to me, but someone else might consider you a dweeb, not me of course.

You are going to be just fine with those bolts.

[George Ryals]

When you are tightening a bolt with a torque wrench, you are working against the sliding coefficient of friction until you hit your goal. Say at 25 Ft Lb. To loosen that same bolt you have to overcome the static coefficient of friction to start the bolt moving. It may take 28-30 ft lb to start the bolt moving. So, the break away torque is a good bit higher than the torque required to get to the target torque. With a beam type wrench its easy to test this.