Safety Wire use?

My commando has drilled bolts for just about every engine/brake related item though when I bought it there was no safety wire on it anywhere except the exh nuts. These were wired to a hole on the fins. I removed that and rewired them around a bolt on the Exh rocker covers. What other items do folks see as needing to be safety wired for normal use? Yeah, I know the old joke...

Q: "What should I safety wire on my Norton?
A: Anything you want to keep!"

But in reality, from experience, what's really necessary?

Hola Mike, it sounds as if your bike, or at least the motor, was once used on the track. I use locktite on all my fasteners, it seems to keep everything together well enough. Cheers, Don

"it sounds as if your bike, or at least the motor, was once used on the track"

Yeah, kinda what I was thinking - the drain plug on the side of oil tank is also drilled. But if loctite is sufficient, I have plenty of "blue."

Thanks

Hi Mike,

My vote is for the high-octane red stuff, at least on the larger fasteners; Fred Eaton convinced me of this. When you need to remove hardware, a little heat and steady brute force has always worked for me. I use the blue stuff on small (less than 1/4") fasteners.

Keep in mind that loctite is not very effective on parts that see high temperatures. I'm using standard locktabs on my exhaust nuts, but honestly I don't have enough miles on my rebuild to confirm if they work (it's still raining here in Seattle).

BTW, Harley supplies new hardware with its fasteners pre-coated with a loctite-type material.

Just thinking back to the day, 60 bhp was really hot stuff.
when I was in college, riding a triumph 650, I got a part-time job at a grocery store. the commando-owning produce manger befriended me, as he raced his mostly stock 750 on weekends, and tried to convince me to join him.
Though the times he loaned me his bike affirmed to me "someday I'm gonna get one of these", seeing him on mondays limping and bruised, and his bike duck taped together, dampened my urge to compete with a bunch of other like minded lunatics.

I personally dont use lock wire or loctite on anything, (except the cam follower plates), not even the exhaust rings. If bolts are properly tightened, using spring washers where appropriate, nothing will come undone.

I have been using my '71 750 since 1978 & can honestly say that the only thing to fall off is the tax disc holder, which cracked through the mounting hole.

Mind you, the amount that some of you guys seem to take your bikes apart all the time, maybe the nuts & bolts are all worn out!

Regards

Bob.

After blowing a top end during a 500 mile trip through the rocky mountains in the 70's I'm a big fan of safety wire. The right side cover prevented the oil tank drain plug from falling right out but enough oil escaped past the loose threads to require new pistons and a rebore. You can't always get your threads clean enough for loctite that conveniently so wire does the trick.

Cam followers and Exhaust roses , thats it
Except when I decided to "race" my ride to work Commando after a drunken night egged on by my friends. My normal race mount was a F1 P&M Yoshi Suzuki at that time and I'd exploded it big time just before a local race round a local circuit(Beveridge park)
After an excellent start in the first two practice sessions passing TZ's GPz900R's and the like I got carried away and in the third session outbraked myself going up the snake, commando cartwheeled across the grass and was in a sorry state, all the lock wire never helped :lol:
And guess what, limped into work the next day feeling rather sorry myself (and the Commando) Everytime I service it and see the hole in the sump filter for the wire it still reminds me of that day!

Bobolink said:

I personally dont use lock wire or loctite on anything, (except the cam follower plates), not even the exhaust rings. If bolts are properly tightened, using spring washers where appropriate, nothing will come undone.
Bob.

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For the road, safety wire is not needed, but for racing it's required.

Gino brilliant story!
We are up at Knockhill in the summer with the CRMCC. Come out & play?
If the fella I am allowing to parade my bike does not make the journey I may have a spare berth.
all the best Chris
ps thanks for the update on the committe meetings. My computer cant open the clubs attatchements!!!!
all the best Chris sec Sussex Branch

When I'm doing final assembly I locktite lots of stuff. Most of my bike's fasteners are currently common locking nuts, many of them Nylock brand. I do use safety wire on the header nuts and possibly I'll safety wire the engine drain bolt next time in there.
Over here in the US we can get out on the freeway for thousands of miles and Nortons will do a bit of dissasmebly if not prepared.
The racing stories make me laugh as I gave that up myself after crashing and basically losing my bike for most of a season.
It's funny that I don't recall minding the limping as much as having no bike, ah youth, it's wasted on the young.

Cookie said:

When I'm doing final assembly I locktite lots of stuff.

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I normally find that despite the best of plans a good application of loctite normally ensures that it is the semi final assembly :roll: