TOPIC:

Can anyone recommend a good reliable torque wrench? Don't trust the one I have, as it was dropped once... Well, not so much dropped as thrown at the brick wall when I snapped off one of my valve cover bolts last year...

I'd prefer the ratcheting kind.

We use alot of torque wrenches where I work, and we are located next door to a WW Graingers. They carry a line wrenches by Proto. Our wrenches get alot of use, and we re-certify them every year. The Proto wrenches will last 3 or 4 years before they're too inaccurate (± 5%) to use.
I think that with care and the limited use a personal tool gets, it should last a long time.

Here's the link to the Graingers on-line catalog page:

tinyurl.com/2cf6dz

been using craftsman digitork for years without issues;)

What kind of range should I look for? Most of the ones I looked at are like 50-250 ft-lbs. Wouldn't I need something below that for some stuff?

Thanks for the advise, by the way.

Post edited by: kzrider, at: 2007/05/25 12:28

Just so happens that there's a torque table (from the KZ900 Shop Manual) in the Filebase here on KZr.
But the torques are all over the place, from 17 in-lbs for the spoke nuts, to 108 ft-lbs for the engine sprocket nut.
If you really want to be able to torque every nut and bolt, you'll need a few wrenches to cover the span.

It pretty much requires having access to two torque wrenches. I have a 1/2" drive job I bought at the local farm store that goes from 10 to around 150 ft/lbs and I borrow a 3/8" drive Snap-on that is calibrated in inch/lbs. Between the two there isn't a bolt I can't get torqued at!

ive built many bikes,car and truck and boat motors over the years using nothing but that good ol 1/2" digitork;)

what size, drive, are you looking for, that will change the range quite a bit.
one other note, always back it down to zero when finished using

I like Proto but use a Craftsman 3/8" 180lb and a 1/4" Chinese 200 inch pound. Calibration is easy to check with a vise, some weights, and basic geometry. Craftsman and Snap On use the same spring.

The est thing you can do with your torque wrench(s) is play and pay attention until you have a good feel for torques. That way whwn you get stuck using a box wrench in a tight spot, you can still get things in the ball park.

when I was wrenching all the time I could hit 40, 70 and 120 foot lbs by feel, but then when you do it day in day out

3/8 Craftsman Digitork does it all for any bike.
Good stuff for the money ,
Spend the extra <$20 and get a the case .