Maintenance Reminder- Torx vs Allen

[xfjr]

I try to pay attention to all my maintenance tasks on my 2010 R1200R...but I missed this detail.

Why BMW would feel the need to insert 2 Allen head plugs in a bike full of Torx head bolts is beyond me. Anyway, I missed the difference and stripped out the head on the final-drive fill plug. It’s not the easiest thing to see and I used a 40mm torx, several times, before it stripped.

I ordered a replacement (thanks MaxBMW for prompt service) and thought maybe I would get lucky and the allen wrench would grab enough to remove it. But It didn't, so I used a thin punch to hit on the perimeter and spin it out.

I feel fortunate that I was able to remove it without any more drama and just wanted to remind others of this quirk in the care and feeding of a BMW. Oh, and the other allen head is on the transmission fill plug. Are there others I have missed?

Ed

[BoxerSteve]

I hate those damn torx fasteners, why do they use them anyway? Just to make it harder for the home mechanic to work on their own bike, so we have to go buy new tools. What was wrong with plain old allen head bolts? I think the torx fasteners strip out more easily than allen head ones.

[dbrick]

I didn't much like buying more tools either, but my experience is that Torx fasteners are considerably more resistant to stripping than allen key heads.

[cug]

A torx head can survive a higher torque than allen/hex, plus they are much less likely to strip as long as you a) use the correct sized tool, b) have high quality tools in good condition, and c) don't angle it wrong while applying force.

A torx can also be used with more torque on low profile heads where allen bolts strip very easily because you don't have enough surface to grab.

From my perspective, as long as you have a good set of torx bits, torx is preferable to hex in pretty much any application.

[David R]

engine oil drain plug is allan.

Torks work better for high speed assembly. Its that simple.
Torx are lighter.
torcks take more torque to strip.

OK I spelled it 3 ways. They are more tamper proof.

I like it. When someone is looking at my bike in total awe I show them all the torx fasteners and steel braided brake lines as original equipment.

David

[MTBeemer]

I didn't much like buying more tools either, but my experience is that Torx fasteners are considerably more resistant to stripping than allen key heads.

True. Have never stripped a Torex; not so with Allen head.

[deilenberger]

I try to pay attention to all my maintenance tasks on my 2010 R1200R...but I missed this detail.

Why BMW would feel the need to insert 2 Allen head plugs in a bike full of Torx head bolts is beyond me. Anyway, I missed the difference and stripped out the head on the final-drive fill plug. It’s not the easiest thing to see and I used a 40mm torx, several times, before it stripped.

I ordered a replacement (thanks MaxBMW for prompt service) and thought maybe I would get lucky and the allen wrench would grab enough to remove it. But It didn't, so I used a thin punch to hit on the perimeter and spin it out.

I feel fortunate that I was able to remove it without any more drama and just wanted to remind others of this quirk in the care and feeding of a BMW. Oh, and the other allen head is on the transmission fill plug. Are there others I have missed?

Ed

Engine oil drain plug.

[Jed]

Engine oil drain plug.

I''m guessing, transmission oil drain plug and fill as well ??
What about the final drive drain and fill ??

Does no one make torx heads for these parts? It does seem odd to have so few often accessed items be Allen head. I can imagine the logic but it only barely makes sense.

cheers,

[xfjr]

So, I guess we are up to four Allen head bolts...at least on my 2010 R1200R.

Final Drive fill
Trans. fill
Oil Drain
valve lash adjusting screw

Thanks for the input from everyone. Next weeks project is installing new Ohlins shocks after 43,000 miles.
Ed

[deilenberger]

So, I guess we are up to four Allen head bolts...at least on my 2010 R1200R.

Final Drive fill
Trans. fill
Oil Drain
valve lash adjusting screw

Thanks for the input from everyone. Next weeks project is installing new Ohlins shocks after 43,000 miles.
Ed

Five - the stud that holds the top fitting on the telelever ball-joint is a 7mm allen.

[MTBeemer]

- the stud that holds the top fitting on the telelever ball-joint is a 7mm allen.

Ask him how he knows........

[Steve H.]

The most interesing for me when in some cases metric mixed up with sae system(not on BMW-s)buth on other wehicles like older Ford cars.
Joke aside,once you learn it, it is a lot simplier than SAE.1000-100-10-1-0.1-0.01-0.001 etc.It is EASY.Just got to get used to it,and that is fast.Come to Canada 22 years ago ,I know to use both systems eqally.That wy I know metric is easyer.

Best regards,Steve H.-ing

[captaincable]

Rebuilt a large deck this past year used torque head screws and was worried about them not having used them much before except on the past two BMW bikes , even using my teen age boys to screw down the decking and railing system there was not one failure or stripped head in the pressure treated lumber (Southern Yellow Pine) which I think is amazing and am now sold on the torque head. The phillips head on the other hand must be one of the poorest designs ever, the tapered nature forces the screw driver upwards out of the hole stripping it if it is in there very tight or corroded.
Am getting used to the metric system as well .It is fun when metric and standard are mixed on some things though.
Mike