Nuts and Bolts tip

I have 50 miles on my new toy and found several loose bolts. I've since been pulling them all, one at a time, and putting Permatex Blue (Temporary) thread lock on them before replacing and torquing. There are too many obscure locations to monitor this every time I ride.

Mind telling us which bolts you found loose

All bolts do not need threadlockers. Just more trouble at maintenance time unless called for. On some key bolts it will interfere with accurate torque application. I would also be interested in which ones were loose and whether you determined this by torque or by feel.

Both front seat mounting bolts were backed out 1/2". The radiator mounting bolts provided little to no resistance when loosened with a wrench. The handle bar clamping plate had one tight bolt out of four. I'm not sure why you feel Permatex Blue would be a problem at maintenance time. It's formulated to break loose with a wrench. Not to bash the NC, but I think the fasteners are not exactly state of the art. This should not be surprising with the budget price of this model. It's a lot of bike for the money, so I'm not complaining. However, I did find loose bolts, hence the suggestion. As far as key bolts are concerned, I agree. I have no plans to mess with motor mounts, axles, etc. On my 07 Triumph, it was the shift lever. Many posters on the blog site found them loose or falling off.

Sounds like improper original set-up. Bolts need threadlocker because they would work loose in operation, not because they were never tightened. The manual gives torque specs for nearly every fastener on the bike. Where it doesn't, there is a general list by fastener diameter. You throw all of that guidance out the window when you wet the threads. If you did use the torque specs with wet threads, you would risk over-tightening them.

Obviously it is your bike and you can do what you want. I just think you fixed a problem that didn't exist in a way that makes things worse instead of better.

Okay, I can't argue with your logic here. I do have a good torque wrench and will do all the bolts on the bike. I'll include the ones with threadlock on them after I clean them with a power wire brush and reinstall. I do know that the gear shift clamping bolt on the Tiger loosened up after torquing on mine and other posters on Tiger1050.com. A smooth bolt head against a smooth mating surface may not necessarily maintain the proper torque. After re-torquing all fasteners, I'll keep an eye on them. If any loosen, I'll post a new thread on it. I believe your thinking is sound. If it wasn't, Honda would be telling us to use thread lock.

I appreciate your feedback.

Tigershark said:

Okay, I can't argue with your logic here. I do have a good torque wrench and will do all the bolts on the bike. I'll include the ones with threadlock on them after I clean them with a power wire brush and reinstall. I do know that the gear shift clamping bolt on the Tiger loosened up after torquing on mine and other posters on Tiger1050.com. A smooth bolt head against a smooth mating surface may not necessarily maintain the proper torque. After re-torquing all fasteners, I'll keep an eye on them. If any loosen, I'll post a new thread on it. I believe your thinking is sound. If it wasn't, Honda would be telling us to use thread lock.

I appreciate your feedback.

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Welcome. I am watching for ones that loosen as well. The set-up on my bike looked like a 15 year old kid did it. Torques and fluid levels were all off. Some high, some low. But they are all better now, and we will see if they hold.