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Locktite Blues

Bentouttashape

Well travelled
Hello there fellow RE Inmates: does anyone know what kind of cheap locktite RE uses?

What an ordeal removing bolts on this bike, I have broken 2 drivers in removing different bits and pieces.

Now when removing the forks to install the YSS kit, I snapped a M8x30mm bolt deep inside.

This is one of 4 used on the steering stem assembly.

Yes I took my time, yes I heated it up, yes I went both directions.. but snap goes the allen head bolt. So I'm down to 3 bolts to hold the lower clamp tight on the fork tubes.

I tried EzyOut, and 2 other bolt removal tools with no success. And yes I have spent more than enough hours over the last half century wrenching old and newer iron.

Any comments on just running with 2 bolts per fork clamp rather than 3??

Alternative is an expensive new Steering Stem Assembly.
 

johnny42

Well travelled
Location
NY State
I have no experience doing that, but some have said to use a soldering iron to get the bolts hot. Not a heat gun or blow dryer. Did you try the soldering iron?
 

Dreamer

Well travelled
Location
Isle of Man
Think I had the same problem on my Continental GT. I'd only just bought it & just wanted to raise the forks a bit so I could bolt the clip ons above the top yoke to raise the bars. 3 of the clamp bolts on the bottom yoke released ok, but one sheared. Couldn't see any sign of thread lock on the bolts I got out, but dunno about the bit that was still left in there. The lower 2 bolt holes go right through the yoke, but the upper 2 are blind. The bolts are all the same length, so I wondered if one had been over tightened & bottomed out in the blind hole. Anyway, I was lucky, my local engineering shop managed to drill out the remnants of the bolt & clean out the thread. I've since fitted some slightly shorter bolts in the upper holes
 

Bentouttashape

Well travelled
I am thinking that the cheap locktite is a cost cutting part of manufacturing, along with all the supposedly dielectric areas they slather on the electric connectors.... I cleaned every connector I could find and sparingly applied real voltage enhancer. End of Lucas Electrics Syndrome
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Never had much luck with EZY OUT or similar.
Locktite needs to get pretty hot to break the bond - pros use a very quick application with a oxy torch but you probably don't have access with your bolt without heating the triple too.
Last time I drilled right through the bolt with a 3mm drill then enlarged it a bit and them hammered in a slightly sharpened Torx bit and it worked OK.
Other alternative is to drill the broken piece out and have a thread insert fitted, most dealers will have a kit , or the $50- "Thread Repair Kits Set" I bought on Ebay a few years ago was surprisingly good quality and has worked perfectly for me.But in this situationn it will always be a bit of a botch , unless you drill rightn through and insert it from the inside!
Dont think loosing one bolt out of eight will be a big deal in normal riding, there are plenty of bigger bikes with a four bolt set up and the Hima set up is a bit overkill anyway!
 

Bentouttashape

Well travelled
Agreed about bolt removal, I have a selection of tools "designed" to remove those suckers. The older the tool the better the metal in my experience.
Usually depends on the phase of the moon and sacrificing a goat.

I'm reaching out to Hitchcocks to see if theres a yoke available and in the meantime I'll install the new fork gaiters and new upgraded brake pads then re-install the forks.

Am anxious to see how much the front suspension has changed with the new springs etc. , the fork oil that came with the RE was very light and two different amounts in each leg. It took a 460 ml refill in each leg using the height measuring tool
Went with Spectra 15W fork oil.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Bentouttashape - have you resolved your issue? If not, I'd take the tripple tree off, good time to change out the steering stem bearings, and take to a machine shop and have the shop do it. I use Alpine Cords at 925 Dunford Ave in Langford for machining and engine work. Had Cords remove a broken engine case bolt on my 1200 engine and install a helicoil.

Fork oil can be had at any motorcycle shop - Spectra 15 weight as well. I just installed the YSS suspension upgrade front/rear. Good reasonable upgrade for the Himalayan. After fork oil in, did an air gap of 150 mm. Recommended by Kenco to use the air gap for the install because you can never get all the old fork oil out unless you remove all the internal fork components.

Good luck.
 

Bentouttashape

Well travelled
Rednaxs60: thanks for the info and the referral to Cords, agree they are good for machine work. Managed to EZ out the remainder of the bolt and replace.
I used a 140 air gap with the new springs plus 2.5 turns on the adjustment from zero. Combined with the YSS no resevoir rear shocks plus the Touring seat the bike is transformed into a great solution for Island back roads, plus it gets sideways on gravel roads 🙈so sweetly
got oil via Amazon
used same oil for my BMW K75 forks
 

Attachments

Trickie Dickie

Finally made it
Location
England
Hello there fellow RE Inmates: does anyone know what kind of cheap locktite RE uses?

What an ordeal removing bolts on this bike, I have broken 2 drivers in removing different bits and pieces.

Now when removing the forks to install the YSS kit, I snapped a M8x30mm bolt deep inside.

This is one of 4 used on the steering stem assembly.

Yes I took my time, yes I heated it up, yes I went both directions.. but snap goes the allen head bolt. So I'm down to 3 bolts to hold the lower clamp tight on the fork tubes.

I tried EzyOut, and 2 other bolt removal tools with no success. And yes I have spent more than enough hours over the last half century wrenching old and newer iron.

Any comments on just running with 2 bolts per fork clamp rather than 3??

Alternative is an expensive new Steering Stem Assembly.
This was mine, the bolt was screwed into a blind hole and stuck solid. I took it to a local engineering company and they turned up an insert so that they could drill it out, the insert kept the drill central. I still have the insert if you need it let me know. They managed to re-tap and fitted a new Allen bolt.
17C4FC0A-2DAA-4767-8770-30A8126834C9.jpeg
 

Bentouttashape

Well travelled
Hi and many thanks for the offer.... thats the exact bolt that I broke on my RE.... your solution was more elegant than mine for sure. I am good for now, not sure whether I can remove the bolt and replace it though. have to admit that working on old BMW nuts and bolts is a far different level of engineering quality than the RE. I have spent my life working on bikes and cars of alll ages and origin and the RE is just a wee bit like a Lada from the late 70's: French translated into Russian by an Italian which was the worst of all worlds.
 
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