Is there a secret to not fug the finish torx bolt?

 

They are fine if you use the correct size bit.
To give them a finished look, go to a dealer and buy the chrome caps for them.

 

Use the correct size and put a piece of cloth over the torx bit before you insert it into the torx screw head....

 

Yes what he said. As you have probably found out it is easy to select the wrong size torx especially on your Harley as it has a lot of size 27 torx and many try removing them with a #25.

 

Quality bit and the right size, no trick needed!

 

What others have said above.

And you don't have to make the ones on the derby cover killer tight, just snug.
If you crank those in real tight, when you go to remove them you'll strip them out or snap them off.

 

I took the fairing front off to install a bypass connector for the passing lights and put some new grips on. It sucks when you want to get it perfect and the bolt heads get mucked up, looking like crap. I was using a craftsman 25 and it was the windshield screws, inner fairing bolts and grip collar bolts. All of them are black finish. Not a big deal. The dealer is close by and they only cost a few bucks to replace them all. Still, it sucks to mess stuff up.

I like the screwdriver style, but prefer not to use a bit holder unless there is no other way. The craftsman's are cut pretty clean. Should I go for a better set?

 

Fairing screws are #27 bit.

 

Gentlemen, Thanks for the knowledge upgrade. Sears has #27 torx on sale for $2.44. I got 2.