Harley Sportster Buell Torque Sequence

[headcoats]

My Buell needs a top end gasket replacement as the original ones ,especially the base gaskets are no good.
Was watching a Dell boys garage video where he puts an S&S top end on and in tourqing down the head/barrels, he did a 3 point torque then a quarter turn on the main head bolts which I get but he then undid them and did it all over again.

I did my Triumph and that had quarter turn at the end etc but no mention of undoing them

So is this the normal procedure for sportster motors ?

I know you all secretly have Harleys 🤣

[beardy]

From what I’ve heard it’s to “ pre stretch” the studs/bolts?

[headcoats]

Would that be on new studs only though

[beardy]

I must admit after I posted I wondered the same thing. I’ll ask my son who’s more knowledgeable than me on this.

[beardy]

I just asked my son. On the vehicles that require them to be done up and then undone. He said that the first torquing up is usually about 20nm. This is to settle everything down, and then it is undone. Then it is torqued up following the manufacturers guidelines for whatever vehicle. This is his experience working on cars.

[headcoats]

Interesting stuff so that is just one stage torque down and not the full sequence with the quarter turn after the final torque

[rigga]

I've never heard of torquing down a head, then removing and doing it again. I can understand the partial setting to settle things down, again never done it, but certainly going full monty twice sounds plain wrong.

[headcoats]

That's what I think too

[geoffers997]

Aren’t Harley bolts and studs made out of old dinosaur bones……just sayin’ 😉

[rigga]

I did do a quick search , and nothing mentioned about the above procedure, indeed sportster head torque figures seem low and simple to adhere to.

Some bolt snappag when going off piste seems common.

Really don't see where this has come from.

[headcoats]

Youtube LOL 😆