I am a new Harley rider and just learning about my bike and Harleys in general so go easy when responding to my question. I just purchased my very first Harley. It is a 2003 1200 Custom. With the vibration that things bikes have, don't I need to be worried about bolts or nuts loosing while I ride? Again, I am new and just wanting to know if this is something that I have to be more aware of that with other Hondas that I have owned.

 

6 years, 105,000 miles & the only lost bolt was an aircleaner screw I knew was loose anyway.

https://www.hdforums.com/m_2535127/tm.htm

ps. I don't use loctite. There is another post about that out there somewhere.

 

It doesn't hurt to check, when I purchased my bike I found two engine mount bolts that were loose, and just the other day I lost my rear turn signal lens because the screws came out. I am not saying it's something you have to do every time you ride, but maybe a once a year thing.

 

You should dip the entire bike in



Thats what I do.

 

Use the correct torque values and loctite

 

I detail my bikes once a month even if they don't need it. This is when I check for loose bolts. Never lost one yet.

 

once every 3 months or so, its a good idea to check all the bolts and nuts to make sure nothing has loosened up. retorque to specific values and use blue loctite, you can never have enough of that.

 

Blue loctitie on anything that you might want to take off in the future
and red loctite anything that you don't ever want to take off is generally the rule of thumb when it comes to the Milwaukee vibrators.

 

Get your hands on everything when you wash the bike. Then, at the service intervals check it all over withwrenches.

 

I don't check every bolt but I do check the most important nuts and bolts like axle, brake calipers, engine mounts, handlebar etc. Blue Loctite is a must