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Posted

I have two motorcycle issues. One is my 74 Harley and it rattles every nut and bolt loose. I have tried lock-tite and one gas tank mount bolt keeps coming loose. Any better options?

Second issue is my 1960 triumph exhaust spigot keeps coming loose, I have tried high temp sealant but it just burns up. I seem to be taking this apart more than riding it. Any very high temp sealant options?

Thanks in advance,

Posted

Hadn't thought of locking tabs. That may work for the Harley, but I doubt it will work for the triumph.

Posted

Like the webmaster I would suggest wire.  Several decades ago I rode a Norton and a riding buddy like to kid me

about a trail of falling parts behind me as we rode...safety wire fixed it.

There are, perhaps, better adhesives available today however. Check the loctite web site. http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products.shtml

Posted (edited)

never lost a part or had one come loose on my 850 Norton Commando...every time we went out for a weekend ride the Harley guys wanted to trade bikes and ride the Norton..well so did a few of the HOnda boys...the CBX1000 was a fair trade off for enjoyment...

Edited by Plymouthy Adams
Posted

As part of my prepping my BSA Rocket 3 for salt racing I drilled the bolt heads of most every bolt on the engine and wire tied everything. Long tedious job but it worked.

 

I no longer have the 1969 BSA but that glass door cabinet pictured above the motorcycle is now hanging on the wall above my work bench and the pie safe in front is now in my dining room. Wish I would have kept some of my old vehicles.

 

12-18-057.jpg

Posted (edited)

that was mr barney bad butt at the time for the off the show room available bike...then the Kawasaki 2 stroker hit...that was now  king of the heap for acceleration...of course you still got the good ole widowmaker in the background...Vincent Black Shadow..never got to ride one...but seen a number of them in life..

Edited by Plymouthy Adams
Posted

I always wanted an Ariel Square 4

 

attachicon.gif1958-Ariel-Square-Four-7.jpg

Don, I also would like a square four. Not exactly sure why, but I guess they're just cool. My brother had a 500 Arial single for a time. Thank goodness for compression release.

I've seen auction results where Square fours went for under $5k. Looked ok, might not have been as nice in person. Last year I considered bidding on one, when it passed $10k I got over it. I think it went a little north of $18k. I don't have that much in my Boss Hoss! Guess I'll just keep riding it.

Posted

Oh, on the subject of Locktite, don't ever use it around plastic. Their literature tells you not to use it on plastic nuts. It doesn't tell you it'll destroy any plastic it comes into contact with. Ruined the trunk lid of a new 1500 Gold Wing some years ago when I was trying to keep the luggage rack bolts from working loose.

Posted

On your shovelhead, are you sure vibration is not the root cause of the problem?  I had a 77 SH stroked to 86", high compression pistons, Branch flowed heads, etc. etc.  It did vibrate, but never to the point that anything actually loosened up or fell off.  Maybe the crank pin has allowed the bottom end to shift out of true?  

Posted

I've used nylon lock nuts on non-heat affected bolts & some type of lock nut that doesn't use nylon-I think the outer end is slightly tapered [?] (don't know what they're called, but got them from a shop I worked at years ago) on heat affected bolts on my '62 Panhead with good results. The nylon gets weak if you R/R them quite a bit, just replace if needed. The only ones that loosened up were the ones without lock nuts. I'm sure there will be negatives with these, but they work for me.

Posted

 & some type of lock nut that doesn't use nylon-I think the outer end is slightly tapered [?] (don't know what they're called,

 

They're called Stover Nuts. One thing to watch when using locking nuts is to keep the speed down when tightening. Don't use a high speed impact gun to run them down. The will heat up and loose their locking ability.

  • Like 2
Posted

The Harley gas tank bolt, I should have said stud. The nut side is stupid tight with lock tite. It is the side that goes into the tank that is backing out. I am think a good two part epoxy.

The triumph the only part that seems to come loose so far is the exhaust spigot. Other than that it is the most reliable of my old vehicles. Thinking maybe getting the slightly larger thread option.

Posted

They're called Stover Nuts. One thing to watch when using locking nuts is to keep the speed down when tightening. Don't use a high speed impact gun to run them down. The will heat up and loose their locking ability.

 

Googled "stover nut" images....that's exactly what they look like. Usually run them up tight with a ratchet & back-up wrench. Thanks for the info.

Posted

I use various Loctites for various stuff, but I've used other things too.

 

Once I had a carb float stick on the old B&B & had to pull the air horn out in some deserted parking lot at night. I ripped the gasket too. :(

 

I had used loctite to keep the carb screws in & that glued the gasket down enough to rip. Now I had nothing but a few tools, plus a badly ripped gasket that was gonna leak like a sieve all over the exhaust header.

 

The one store open there had a tube of Krazy Glue for 99 cents. I glued the gasket back together carefully & dried it & then soaked it from the edges with the glue until it swelled a little. I hung it to dry while I cleaned all the screw threads.

 

Once it skinned well (the core of the gasket was still not quite cured) I put it all together with Krazy Glue on the screw threads too. I never changed that gasket & that carb never leaked. Hot gasoline evidently does not dissolve Krazy Glue

 

Until I switched to a Holly model 1920, I modded that B&B many times, and several times I re-used carb gaskets which I'd soaked in Krazy Glue.

Posted (edited)

The Harley gas tank bolt, I should have said stud. The nut side is stupid tight with lock tite. It is the side that goes into the tank that is backing out. I am think a good two part epoxy.

The triumph the only part that seems to come loose so far is the exhaust spigot. Other than that it is the most reliable of my old vehicles. Thinking maybe getting the slightly larger thread option.

 

Epoxy will probably work fine if it isn't subjected to high heat while under stress & some are more heat resistant than others.

 

If this bolt is right above the exhaust header, epoxy might not be the best thing.

 

Also, if you use epoxy with powdered metal fillers, they will rust if not painted. Actually the stuff I used rusted through my paint too. I shouldn't have wet sanded it.

 

You might want to make up a custom stud with really tight threads on the tank end, so it literally jambs tight metal-to-metal and galls there forever. Otherwise braze it in and re-paint your tank   :(

Edited by Ulu

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