[eaglemike]

Just thought of another thing to share. I know all the experienced wrenchers know this but - please don't use the top or bottom 10 percent of a torque wrench unless you know FOR SURE it's accurate in those areas.
I've seen a bunch of busted fasteners from guys trying to use a 1/2 torque wrench when they should be using a 1/4. Or even a 3/8" ft-lb wrench instead of and inch-lb. Thinking they could even just get by just this once. After all, 7 ft-lbs is 84 inch-lbs, right? Once a guy sent me a cylinder with 7 of the 8 bearing bolts broken off and the 8th one stretched so much it was only about 1/16" inch in the necked down area.
If one absolutely doesn't have the right tools, the beam type wrenches are a safer to use than the click type. Still have to pay attention.
There's also a guy promoting excessive torque on the doo adjustment bolt. I personally don't think that's a good idea. It clamps the doo against a slightly uneven cast surface. This actually embosses it into the surface a little, making it a less likely to release and adjust properly. In the past I machined some of those secondary cases, removing just enough material to get it smooth and flat, and putting a Timesert in the hole. It's really not practical for everyone to have their case machined. It would have been nice if Kawasaki had done that. The case surface has a layer that is a bit soft, and very easy to impress the lever a few thou, then it can stick. 72 inch-lbs is enough.
Also, I get calls often about stripped holes in the cylinder head, usually the right front. It can be repaired in place, but it's a lot easier if one doesn't strip it. I only use 55 inch-lbs torque, and never had a leak problem. The book allows up to 69 inch lbs, and that frequently is a problem.
I know Harbor Freight wrenches usually test ok, but I've had a few literally just fall apart, and they were never dropped or abused. They are cheap beam style on Amazon that would work fine. They might need a little more care to get an exact number while tightening, but maybe less likely to break stuff.
One can easily pay for nice torque wrenches by doing one's own wrenching. Save a bunch of time too. Also handy if something fails while away from home. Most important - independence from the dealer mechanics!
Good luck!

 

[Tom Schmitz]

Good torque wrenches are expensive because they are quality tools that will be quite accurate right out of the box. They still should be checked, though, which is quite simple to do.

Poor quality torque wrenches are even more expensive than good torque wrenches, as you have to figure in the cost of a thread repair kit and, perhaps, paying a guy like Mike to fix what you screwed up.

I once bought a Harbor Freight 1/4" inch-lb torque wrench and ran it through its paces. I reported on it here; it was a complete POS. After disassembly, some stoning (the wrench innards, not me), grease, re-assembly, and calibration it worked like it ought to, but it was still a POS.

ETA: I prefer beam-type torque wrenches. Less to go wrong.

 

[KBear]

I once bought a Harbor Freight 1/4" inch-lb torque wrench and ran it through its paces. I reported on it here; it was a complete POS. After disassembly, some stoning (the wrench innards, not me), grease, re-assembly, and calibration it worked like it ought to, but it was still a POS.

Most, and I mean "Most", of every tool I've ever purchased from Harbor Freight was, and is, a POS. Over the years I've made it a point NOT to give in to my cheap temptations and steer very clear of Harbor Freight. I apologize to you Harbor Freight devotees but that has been my experiences with that cheap outlet. If you insist on continually giving them your money, then peace be with you.

 

[Norton 850]

For small fasteners, especially the ones that secure the valve cover to the head, I do not use a torque wrench. Instead, I use the "feel" method. For these fasteners it's pretty easy to feel when the rubber do-nut below the fastener has compressed completely and you are now compressing metal against metal. The instant you feel metal to metal contact stop torquing.

Regarding torque wrench accuracy, I had a brand new 3/8" Craftsman clicker wrench that I could not be calibrate. So I took it to reputable torque wrench calibration company in Houston, Texas and they couldn't calibrate it either.

But even with an accurate torque wrench, fastener preload accuracy is off by +/- 25%. And remember, most stated torque values are based on dry threads.

Jason

 

[PeteK]

Ditto Mike’s and Tom’s comments on bending beam torque wrenches. Maybe not as convenient as the click type, but impossible to come out of calibration, assuming you set pointer to zero.

 

[Pig685]

I recently purchased a Proto brand 1/4" inch/lb torque wrench (40-200 in/lbs). It came with actual test results across it's range, and the HIGHEST deviation was only 1.8% or something. It adjusts with a locking collar, a little different from most others I've used, but the small head helps in tight clearance areas. I bought it because my existing torque wrench didn't fit between the frame and cylinder head.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

One of the hi-frickin'-larious things about the Horrid Fright 1/4" torque wrench was that it was built on a 3/8" torque wrench "chassis". Huge head for a 1/4" torque wrench.

This is further support for my 332nd most applicable thought on Daily Life - "Don't buy forks from people that eat with sticks. They've not got the faintest idea what it is they are making."

 

[skypupbob]

Then there is the problem of getting the wrong spec. from the 'book'. Was helping a buddy with his pickup and he looked up the torque spec for the rear main bolt ,and it said 95 ft.lbs. I got under the truck and got it to about 70 on a beam type wrench, I told him "man this thing is tight"' do you want to check the spec.again before I bust the head off this bolt. We checked a couple of other sites before we came up with the real torque value of 65 ft. lbs. It could have been bad had I kept pulling on it.
I rarely use a torque wrench, just observe the size of bolt and what material it is threaded into and wrench accordingly. I have NEVER stripped a bolt!
I worked with a heavy handed guy that stripped or broke about 1/4 of everything he touched. I finally told him to not touch the machines! Come and get me to work on them. It was a pain getting interrupted all the time but way better than all the' easy out' time I spent before.

 

[KBear]

I rarely use a torque wrench, just observe the size of bolt and what material it is threaded into and wrench accordingly. I have NEVER stripped a bolt!
I worked with a heavy handed guy that stripped or broke about 1/4 of everything he touched. I finally told him to not touch the machines! Come and get me to work on them. It was a pain getting interrupted all the time but way better than all the' easy out' time I spent before.

I'll agree. I rarely use a torque wrench. I've had far more issues with "Factory" settings than my own settings. The only reason a bolt has failed on me was due to factory settings, fatigue or rust related factors. I've had my share of easy outs break on me.

I worked with a kid that believed only an impact wrench turn up to its' highest setting would do for everything he worked on. Whatever.