I'll be devils advocate, not everybody's idea of snug is the same that's why torque values are in the manual. I always use a torque wrench on the derby cover, it is just as easy ( provided you have one) as guessing, you sure don't want to under tighten and lose oil out on the road should screws vibrate loose. Same with drain plugs

 

After over 50 years of turning wrenches, I've got it down. LOL Haven't spilled one drop of oil yet.

 

Yes , good advice up to a point but if one of the threads is already weakened but still serviceable , using a torque wrench will wreck it . If ,on the other hand, you do it manually , you will feel the lack of resistance and back off before the thread strips . The first thing I did was junk those ridiculous Torx heads and fit Allen bolts on my Derby cover by the way.

 

One of the first things I do and owned a lot of Sportsters is switch the Torx Bolts to Allens .. All the same still applies though just a slight snug as all that's needed ..

 

Hi Cj24, I did my clutch too on my 2015 Forty Eight and my HD Service Workshop manual reads to torque them to 90-120 Inch-pounds, taking midway that’s 105 inch-pounds or if you prefer only 8.75 foot-lbs. In my experience, that’s simply a “snug down” like all have suggested. You can always snug up some more if you find there’s a any slight weep. My torque wrench is too big for small torques like this and can’t be trusted until above 10 ft-lbs at least.
Also be very very careful that you maintain the large o-ring in it’s correct position as you tighten on the derby cover - it can slip out of position and slightly snag and cause a weep. My last genuine Harley Davidson service gave me this little surprise to later discover!
Warranties out of the way I do my own servicing now. There is a tightening order too - start at 12 o’clock, then; 8 o’clock, 4 o’clock, 10 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 2 o’clock. Repeat.

 

The torque specs for the Clutch cover are listed in the owner's manual.
(Also has torque specs for the Seat mounting screw, Battery Terminals, Tail light cover, headlamp clamp nut, Headlamp locknut, Air filter screws, Foot controls, Primary/transmission drain plug and primary adjustment cover)

If you do not have your owner's manual you can download one here:

https://serviceinfo.harley-davidson....cle/lookupForm

The HD Parts Manual and Electrical Diagrams are also available at the link above.

 

If it's already weakened my chances of stripping it snugging it up by hand are just as good as using a torque wrench. But if I use a properly calibrated inch/lbs torque wrench all the time I won't weaken the threads in the first place, just tightening them up "Snug Enough" might weaken them because my version of Snug might be different then the spec.

Engineers design things and set specifications for a reason. Follow the specifications and you will reduce your chance of screwing things up.

When we say Torque Wrench we aren't talking about a 3 foot long breaker bar, we are talking about a precision tool that measures twisting force.

Buy a decent 1/4" drive torque wrench calibrated for inch/lbs and use it.

 

I just make sure I use the correct torx wrench. They are a bunch of them and they are close in size. My kit didn't have all the sizes so had to buy the ones not in the kit and some of them are what Harley uses. I used to restore British cars, (Triumph Roadsters) frame up back in the day and have dang near every tool know to man. LOL

 

I have 3 tq wrenches and use them for most things, including drain plugs. The derby just has little consequences, you can always re snug. Plus using anti seize I would have to decrease the value. Same if you use loctite, which I would not


As for T27 I sprayed orange paint on mine. The lesisle black bits are hard to read. I wondered if my first stripped one was cause of that. Though I think the next 2 were in the same spot. So maybe something funny with threads.

 

I have 5 torque wrenches. They are for serious stuff that can kill you or your engine not a light weight derby cover.