I was going through my post race check and found some loose bolts that need a frequent visit. They have been mentioned before but worth revisiting. Upper and lower left side sub frame bolts and the middle exhaust mount bolt. These were all checked before and assembled with medium strength blue loctite. Also had a strange one come loose... the top cap of the sealed chamber on one of the Marzocci 50mm twin chambers. Should look like this... Later,
Allow me to offer my cheesy yet quite functional way to keep an eye on nuts and bolts. I've been doing it this way for 40 years, on every bike I've ever owned, race bike, street bike... every bike. Get a paint pen from the local auto parts (white and yellow are best)... and after torquing everything, put a dab of paint on the fastener/washer and the fixed point it goes into/thru. Put the paint mark preferably in an "up" or continuous alignment. This allows for a very quick and easy pre-ride/race inspection... if all the paint marks are where they should be, then nothing is loose and you're good to go. You can actually use the paint marks as a torque reference if you need to remove or loosen a fastener and re-tighten it in the field. Yes, your bike is covered in little paint marks, but you know all your hardware is tight and right. C
Seems like many brands of machines I have bought in the past come off the showroom floor with those little paint marks on the hardware, especially Hondas.
More often than not, you see it from the factories on brake parts... everyone does it a bit, 'cept maybe Harley, cause it don't look kool. That may be where I got it from... military aviation. Time is money is civil aviation and time can be life and death in military aviation. If you can get a bird safe in the air in 5 minutes less 'cause of a few paint dots, that can be a real good thing when a boy in the bush is bleedin' out. Honestly... too far back to remember the source. C
Related, I saw a TE250 on a ride with torque numbers written in sharp black marker right on the bike on/near various bolts. This avoids having to reference the manual. I guess you could combine the line mark with a small torque setting at one end on important bolts/nuts. Seems like a good idea, who cares about a few marks on the bike. Cheers Scott in Sacramento
not cheesy at all, its standard mechanical practice (aircraft, race cars, race bikes etc etc) Good tip!
