Whilst doing some more work on the bonnie, one thing I noticed was the myriad of fixing types and sizes used on the bike, for instance the chainguard has one allen head bolt and one torque head of two different sizes. The exhaust uses three different size nut heads, 12mm for the footpeg, 13mm and 14mm for the clamp bolt, though I suppose it means you don't need two of any size spanner or socket! Also the front and rear brake calipers have different size bolt heads which strikes me as illogical and lets not forget the speedo drive is a philips screw! Not a complaint, just an observation and maybe it is just me who finds the use of so many different fixings and sizes odd. I'll get my coat
well the bolt diameter is generally determined by the forces that will be exerted upon it, these could be shear, tension or bending moments for example. but as for the bolt head sizes I agree with you as I have used many M8 fasteners that have 12mm or 13mm head sizes, but I have no idea why afraid I am not much help really so will watch this one myself
Jerry, I’m so glad it’s not just me. They aren’t exotic sizes, but why do I need 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 13mm wrenches, a 6mm hex wrench and a T50 Torx bit to swap out my catalytic converter for a Meerkat crossover? If the Bonneville was Japanese I’d need maybe two different sizes. Fascinating.
This has been an issue that has frustrated mechanics for years. I worked as an auto mechanic at one time. Why do I need 3 roll around boxes full to be well equipped ? I used to hate to work on anything made by GM. They were great for coming up with fasteners that were just plain WIERD. I won't own any of thier products to this day ! ...J.D.
just to drop the back wheel, I need six different spanner/socket sizes plus one allen key and one torx driver....
Oh, no suprize. I have been collecting tools for over 50 years. Even to this day sometimes I have a project held up because I have to order the tooling before I can start the job. Just comes with the territory friend ...J.D.
Thats unusual even by what I have seen so far. Not actually tried to remove the tank yet....will look tomorrow
I found one side of the exhaust silencer clamp, 13mm does not fit tight in a socket, though a bit better with a ring spanner.
I find that Triumph has a nasty habit of using M-6 bolts where they should have been a bit bigger. On my Legend I drilled them out [both tank & seat mounting bolts] and tapped them to M-8 because some previous person had stripped the threads. With the larger size, I have had no further problems. I found this on 2 of my old Hinckleys bikes. ...J.D.
You really don't want a bike built by people like me... I'd get bored half way through and end up making a spreadsheet cost model to prove it would be more cost-effective to hire someone with actual practical qualifications instead of finishing it.
Ah, there is the traditional image of the accountant, shoe box full of receipts that get turned into boring, backwards-looking statutory documents, and then there are those of us in management accounting. I work with people to plan and execute projects, helping them build a business case, getting vendors set up in advance to avoid bottlenecks and delays, getting things ordered on time, keeping track of spend so the project team can use the back of their fag packets for useful things instead, make sure suppliers get paid so they'll happily work with you again and then, cough, hide the overspend so it looks like it all worked seamlessly and the project team get praise from on high. It is however still fecking boring and not a career I'd ever recommend!!!! And iI's true, I have indeed met DD, but I cannot reciprocate and say he too is "perfectly normal" cos, well..... .
"Perfectly normal"? …We are all perfectly normal except in the areas of our life where we are not. That is where it gets interesting. That is usually where we make money too. ...J.D.
You should work on some of the stuff that ends up in America! A confusing mess of American Standard and Metric. I go to work on something like this and spend more time putting the tools away than the damn job took!
Spare a thought, I have an old 1952 MG TD and I believe the tooling was from France, metric threads but imperial heads!
I think they threw some of that in the mix here too. There's some hex cap bolts I run into where no size fits right..talk about frustrating!!! I've made every effort to have every hex wrench, torx bits, spline wrenches, etc, etc known to man and still haven't got it all...
just out in the garage to try a new seat on the bike and change the combined grab rail/rack that came on the bike for the grab rail only, and of course you have to drop the rear mudguard which uses both torx screws, ok I can live that but to drop the rack you need two size torx screws and allen screws, all good except two of the screws are under the frame in the mudguard are where it is impossible to applay any pressure to the stuck in place torx screws, an allen screw would have been fine or a normal hex nut/bold but a torx is just impossible to apply any leverage to it ffs
as an update, I bought a set of long handled torx keys similar to allen keys, previously I was using torx hex bits in a screwdriver handle, maybe the extra leverage of theses keys will work, otherwise it is angle grinder time.....
I used some 1/2 inch socket based torx bits with a ratchet handle for those bolts. They can be tight as the threads can get a bit corroded due to location.
