Torque Specs Matter

Just to be clear, we’re not torque-specification police around here. Many things can be tightened within a reasonable variance of the spec with just experience and muscle memory, but this latest one just begged for a post.

Brought in a customer’s bike for a new chain and sprockets. We were going to adjust the gearing a little by going down one tooth in the front. Fast forward a couple of days, a couple different pneumatic impact guns (one over 1000 lb/ft), a1/2-inch drive breaker bar with a 4-foot pipe on it, and more. The target? The front sprocket nut on a 2007 Kawasaki ZX6R. Although they are notorious for being difficult to remove on these bikes, this one can be considered “above and beyond”.

Eventually, we had to resort to using the Dremel to cut a partial slot in the nut and using a hammer and chisel to spread the nut and get it to turn. The moral of the story…the last person to work on this machine should have paid attention to the torque spec (92 lb-ft), put down his pneumatic air gun, and tightened the nut the proper amount. The goods news is that the next person who needs to work on this bike won’t have the same experience we did.