Hitchcocks Forum

Does anyone have any idea of the rough torque setting for the bolts holding the oil filter cover on on the bottom of a modern EFI bullet? I'm trying to get the happy medium of not losing the bolt, keeping the oil in and not stripping the threads. Given that one of the bolts disappeared on the way back from the dealers, I'm assuming they erred on the side of caution. They're only 5 mm diameter with an 8 mm head on them so I suspect they will be easy to over-tighten and do some damage to the crankcase.

While I'm at it, what are the recommended settings for the oil drain plug?

Ta!

That should be in the owners manual. It appears to be backwards in my Electra X manual 8NM for the stud and 17NM for the nut.

I haven't found it in the manual yet...the first eight pages are largely warnings about how likely the bike is to cause a sudden and grisly death. But thanks for the info.

You probably want the service manual rather than the owners booklet: 6Nm.
With a little screw, get the hand on the spanner as close to the head as possible (less leverage) and nip them up, they go into easy to strip alloy. The cover requires little mechanical strength, just enough to seal it closed.

If in doubt then "as tight as tight and no tighter".

Magneticplugassy Crankcase Drain 20Nm (C5, E5 and G5, prolly 2012 models)

I.E. not a lot, they're not wheel nuts for a car.

Loctite !

These days you can look up general torque values for different thread sizes on the 'net. They are usually close enough if you select the values for the right materials. Also check if the value is dry or lubricated - makes a big difference.

Top quality answers, ta muchly! You are a knowledgeable bunch...