torque values?

[DonGee]

It was a nice day today, so after a late morning ride, I decided to go ahead and do an oil and filter change and gear oil change. The previous owner had the oil done as part of winter storage prep a year ago and he drove the bike only about three miles since then, but I figured I'd do it in preparation for this off-season storage. As you know, it is very easy, and everything was going great until I knocked the oil filler cap somewhere into the inner sanctum of the bike. After about ten minutes of fishing around, I saw it and was able to maneuver it to where I could grab it. I put a 2x6 and a piece of 3/4" plywood under the kickstand and the bike sat up darn near perfectly straight. But just to be sure, I sat on the bike and got my little extension mirror and was able to eyeball the oil level in the glass (it helps that I know it takes exactly three quarts with the filter). The gorilla who put the filter on last time really had it on there. Thankfully, I still had my oil filter wrench from my old Subaru, so it fit perfectly for the Suzuki filter. The gear oil was even easier. I didn't see a gear oil change in any of the previous owner's records, so I figured I might as well. I had checked the coolant/antifreeze last week and it's topped up and I checked it with a test strip and everything looks great. Still have to check the brake and clutch fluid.

Now, onto the real point of this thread. Maybe I'm just blind, but I don't see anywhere in the owners manual or even the shop manual where they mention bolt sizes or torque values for this basic maintenance. I know it's easy enough to figure out what size the drain plugs are and in the case of the drive shaft, the filler bolt. But it would be simple enough to mention it. The bigger issue is the torque values for these things. Okay, to be honest, in the years I've been driving and doing my own oil changes, I've never really tightened these things to a torque spec. You can sort of tell when it tight enough and it hasn't failed me yet. But I thought I'd be a good new owner and follow the recommendations from Suzuki. Hell, I even went and bought a 3/8" drive torque wrench just so I'd be ready. Well, the torque values are nowhere to be found. So I went back to my old "That should be tight enough" mode.

Why don't they add that info? Or if it is in the manuals, where is it?

[navigator]

This statement says it all:
You can sort of tell when it tight enough and it hasn't failed me yet.

Drain and fill plugs typically don't have a torque requirement.
Other useful torque values are on page 2-17 of the service manual.
Copy that page and tape it to the wall in your shop...this will impress your friends.

[DonGee]

Now that you mention it, I did find that page, but the values I was looking for were conspicuously absent. Now I know why. Thanks.