I think you missed my point. On the 1100 Honda used normal bolts for the caliper mounting, but on the 1300 they changed to a type of bolt that stretches upon being torqued, I think these are called 'yield' bolts. As such, they eventually stretch too far to be used again and must be replaced, and Honda recommends changing them every time you remove that bolt to take the caliper off. My point was why change something from a simple fastener that works just fine, to a more complicated bolt that works no better and needs periodic replacement. I've seen those types of bolts used on cylinder heads of cars (specifically a 5 series BMW that I did a head R&R) but that's not something that you remove periodically so it might make sense in that application. Also, torquing down a cylinder head is actually torque critical, so yield bolts might have some advantage in that application. Using one on a part of the bike that's removed with every tire change seems strange to me, so I was questioning Honda's rationale for doing so. The reason for posting the torque chart was to show that there are many simple fasteners available that can easily take the 31Nm that Honda specifies for that bolt, and in fact much higher, so using a yield bolt was certainly not because there was no other option available for that torque application. I wasn't suggesting that anyone use that torque chart as a guide for torquing that particular fastener, the Honda torque spec had been mentioned multiple times prior in this thread so I thought that was obvious, sorry for the confusion.
Loctite on Caliper bolts?
- Thread starter Bruski
- Start date
MOST LOCTITE IS NOT SAFE FOR PLASTIC. It will destroy plastic up to 6" away.
+1 and never had to tighten one either (although they get checked at the beginning and end of every season and before every road trip)
Two Brothers
Walking, Talking, and Smiling!
I do not use any. We have found with the heat that can be generated on brakes it can cause them to seize up. We see this sometimes. I have never used any on any of my personal bikes. Just make sure you torque them to proper specks and they will not come out.
How about loctite on the disc/brake rotor bolts?
Not what the manual says (new), but what folks actually do.
Not what the manual says (new), but what folks actually do.
Last edited:
Two Brothers
Walking, Talking, and Smiling!
Yes to that!
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
Its the same issue with the torque there as with 'oiled' vs. 'dry' bolts... the liquid thread lock acts as lubricant (contrary to that dry green or red 'wax' new bolts come with), so you'd need to set your toque wrench like 5~10% lower to not overstressing the threads, or worse crack delicate, expensive aluminium parts. And since those 5~10% are only a 'random house number' as things vary quite largely with the amount of thread lock lacquer applied, Honda goes the conservative and safe way by suggesting 'replace', before folks break things. I take it easy on the amount of thread lock liquid (at max a pinhead sized drop) and rather go 2~3 clicks down on my torque wrenches.
And yes: never use the 'high grade' or 'permanent' thread lock (unless you're absolutely sure what you're doing...), cause it will require to disc- and torch-cut just everything around it to recover that bolt again...
