Altrider Crashbar questions

[Scotcan76]

First time poster and first time owner of a Super Tenere. I have enjoyed reading through the forum. I bought my 2021 just before a Candian winter, and it has barely turned a wheel yet! However, these brutal winter months have been giving me time to bolt of the parts that I want before using it come spring. One item has been Altrider crashbars, and post assembly, I have two questions -

1. The torque settings on the front engine mount bolts "felt" quite high at 75Nm recommended by Altrider. These bolts are M12 galvanised 8.8 with a good yield rating. However, the motor mount threads are aluminium, and I was a little nervous applying torque into those. Anyway, I swear by torque settings, so used the specs stated with Loctite Blue. Did others use these torque settings/have any issues down the line etc?

2. Using 75 Nm on the bolts the front mounts chipped the powder coat on the bars around the washers on the bolt holes a bit. I intend to use the bike as intended come spring, and there will be minor damage to come I guess, but still annoyed that the powder coating chipped immediately. Did others find any chipping/flaking issues around these bolts or with powder coating on the bars in general?

 

[bimota]

as said on facebook, i,ve taken mine on and off a few times over the years and have never torqued them , no issues either

rob

 

[Scotcan76]

as said on facebook, i,ve taken mine on and off a few times over the years and have never torqued them , no issues either

rob

Thanks Rob, appreciate your response. Problem with Facebook, is that there a lot of keyboard experts and many people often give sarcastic or unhelpful comments. Not you I might add!

 

[bimota]

the powder coat flakes off in the uk eventually, had mine re done red

 

[bimota]

no worries, but honestly i,ve never torqued them, when i had them off to powdercoat red, i put them back on and just got a nice turn with spanner no issues

rob

 

[Scotcan76]

the powder coat flakes off in the uk eventually, had mine re done red

They look like a quality job. I am from the UK, but live in Canada now. Winters here are a whole new level...I used to ride mostly all year back home, but out of the question here!

 

[RCinNC]

The powder coat chipped off my Altrider bars when I installed them (I don't have the exact same set as the ones in your photos). On mine, it chipped off the center tube that joins the two bars together in front of the engine. I wasn't too upset, since I'd bought the bars at a big discount in a scratch and dent sale and they already had some powdercoat chipped off them.

I tend to be cautious when screwing something into aluminum threads when it's an aftermarket product attaching to an OEM product. If it's a torque setting from the service manual then I feel safe with it (as long as I'm confident that my torque wrench is accurate). It's been a while since I installed my bars, but I'm confident that I didn't use my torque wrench to install the bolts that thread into the engine. I used the "yeah, that feels about right" method when I bolted mine on. If there's a doubt about it, then you can always add a split ring washer to the bolt to make sure it doesn't vibrate loose.

 

[Scotcan76]

The powder coat chipped off my Altrider bars when I installed them (I don't have the exact same set as the ones in your photos). On mine, it chipped off the center tube that joins the two bars together in front of the engine. I wasn't too upset, since I'd bought the bars at a big discount in a scratch and dent sale and they already had some powdercoat chipped off them.

I tend to be cautious when screwing something into aluminum threads when it's an aftermarket product attaching to an OEM product. If it's a torque setting from the service manual then I feel safe with it (as long as I'm confident that my torque wrench is accurate). It's been a while since I installed my bars, but I'm confident that I didn't use my torque wrench to install the bolts that thread into the engine. I used the "yeah, that feels about right" method when I bolted mine on. If there's a doubt about it, then you can always add a split ring washer to the bolt to make sure it doesn't vibrate loose.

Thanks for the response, much appreciated. You raise a good point, when removing the OEM fasteners from the engine mounts, they were tight (felt at least 75Nm) I have actually been trying to find this OEM spec torque setting for peace of mind. I know that they are 75Nm for my Tenere 700 which is comforting, but can’t find anything readily for the 1200? Anyone have those OEM specs from the manual?

 

[barkingllizard]

a simple hello, Scotcan76...

 

[Scotcan76]

a simple hello, Scotcan76...

Hello back! I think?

 

[Wallkeeper]

Hello back! I think?

this thread was originally posted on the wrong page, "member introductions"

 

[Scotcan76]

this thread was originally posted on the wrong page, "member introductions"

Yeah, I posted in body/frame/paint but it got moved to member introductions? No matter

 

[Wallkeeper]

a couple of thoughts here.

1. Properly applied powder coat should not crack and flake like that under a washer. When it does, it is likely the result of poorly prepared substrate, undercured powder or a combination of the two. No way to fix it after the fact. Best bet is to let it get to a point you do not like then take them in to be blasted to bare steel and recoated. I am curious if bimota's recoat is also flaking?

2. I do not like putting carbon steel or galvanized into aluminum. Whenever I remove bolts going into aluminum I try to replace them with Stainless.

Good luck

 

[Wallkeeper]

Yeah, I posted in body/frame/paint but it got moved to member introductions? No matter

no problem...every web site has idiosyncrasies........

 

[magic]

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking bike. Unless specified otherwise, torque specs are always for dry threads. The Loctite will act as a lubricant and the torque spec should be reduced by maybe 20% or so. Most torque specs are usually reduced by as much as 30% when assembled with oil or anti-seize compound.

 

[Scotcan76]

a couple of thoughts here.

1. Properly applied powder coat should not crack and flake like that under a washer. When it does, it is likely the result of poorly prepared substrate, undercured powder or a combination of the two. No way to fix it after the fact. Best bet is to let it get to a point you do not like then take them in to be blasted to bare steel and recoated. I am curious if bimota's recoat is also flaking?

2. I do not like putting carbon steel or galvanized into aluminum. Whenever I remove bolts going into aluminum I try to replace them with Stainless.

Good luck

Thanks for the response, much appreciated. The bolts are actually yellow zinc plated stainless (my mistake, I referred to them as galvanised in my original post). I am trusting Altrider on their engineered torque specs....hopefully they have this right as these bars have been out for many years now right? Bit disappointing that high end crash bars have flaky powder coating, but from what I understand now, it's quite common. Oh well, they are crash bars I guess, and as you say, can get them redone if they become too scabby.

 

[Scotcan76]

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking bike. Unless specified otherwise, torque specs are always for dry threads. The Loctite will act as a lubricant and the torque spec should be reduced by maybe 20% or so. Most torque specs are usually reduced by as much as 30% when assembled with oil or anti-seize compound.

Thank you! I am putting my faith in the engineering guys at Altrider that they did their maths on the specs. They state loctite and 75Nm on threads with Loctite. No issues going in (which I thing is probably where they would bind/strip) so hopefully they come out in the event that I need to remove them. I actually went to 70Nm as opposed to 75Nm as I always go a little under to compensate for wrench inaccuracies. It does beg the question though, is there a rigidity or structural reason for 75? I can tell you that the bolts from the factory (stainless) were at least this tight

 

[Wallkeeper]

Unfortunately, many manufacturers do not understand coatings. Many view it as a necessary evil and something that is low tech. It is neither. In my experience, Powder Coatings are generally the toughest general industrial coatings out there but they are unforgiving of poor prep and application.

I am guessing from their size that Altrider does not do their own coating in house so they are at the mercy of who ever is doing their coating and contract coaters vary widely in their quality.

 

[Scotcan76]

Unfortunately, many manufacturers do understand coatings. Many view it as a necessary evil and something that is low tech. It is neither. In my experience, Powder Coatings are generally the toughest general industrial coatings out there but they are unforgiving of poor prep and application.

I am guessing from their size that Altrider does not do their own coating in house so they are at the mercy of who ever is doing their coating and contract coaters vary widely in their quality.

For sure, and it's a shame that they don't put more onus on the finished product. The bars get great reviews for protection (which I appreciate is the biggest reason to have them) but the consumer sure would appreciate nicer and more robust finishing. I am pretty sure that my local powder coating guys could do a nicer job, and time will only tell when i will be knocking at their door!

 

[bimota]

a couple of thoughts here.

1. Properly applied powder coat should not crack and flake like that under a washer. When it does, it is likely the result of poorly prepared substrate, undercured powder or a combination of the two. No way to fix it after the fact. Best bet is to let it get to a point you do not like then take them in to be blasted to bare steel and recoated. I am curious if bimota's recoat is also flaking?

2. I do not like putting carbon steel or galvanized into aluminum. Whenever I remove bolts going into aluminum I try to replace them with Stainless.

Good luck

no the red altrider bars are perfect, the same guy red powder coated my first sw motech bars to, they were on the bike for 5 yrs after the red was done and when i bought the altrider bars i sold the red sw motech ones that had been on the bike 5 yrs they were still brilliant.