Tank Tab Bolt Stripped

tdragger

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Fredericksburg, VA
Self inflicted wound...

Started my winter maintenance and have run into a problem. The button head bolt/screw that holds down the front of the tank has stripped the top where you use a 5mm hex wrench to turn it. My allen wrench just spins in it.

One thought has been to use a hack saw and cut a groove across the head for a using a large screwdriver for turning.

Any other tips or suggestions?
 
Probally the best solution but I would use a dremil with a cuttin wheel do a neat job and save a headache later, I use a rubber washer under the s/steel washer and you don't need to tighten it so much:)
 
Small cold chiesel, good and sharp, tap straight down to get a good groove/purchase point. Then lean chiesel at a 45 and tap to loosen. As soft as Triumph's bolts are this should work pretty easy. Just be careful and a towel to protect the tank would probably be wise.
Good luck,
Lonnie
 
I'd go the hacksaw myself .. poor quality (soft) nuts and bolts are a problem that's for sure. Don't take much to strip them out i've found. Replace it with a quality allen head and a smear of grease on the thread , working my way round bike doing the same.
 
Probably a hacksaw the best given the tightness of the position. But before you try that I'd get a torx head socket (with a couple of extension bars) that's just too big to fit and give it a good clout or 3. It just might bed in enough to allow you to get the bolt out. Any 6mm hex head bolt can then be used as a replacement for the one you destroyed.
 
Small cold chiesel, good and sharp, tap straight down to get a good groove/purchase point. Then lean chiesel at a 45 and tap to loosen. As soft as Triumph's bolts are this should work pretty easy. Just be careful and a towel to protect the tank would probably be wise.
Good luck,
Lonnie

I'm with Lonzol on this. Button heads tend to be tough to remove sometimes. I've had luck with a centre punch at the edge of the head.

AH we can tell who has the Machinist background here. I am with them have done it many times on many different hardness of bolts.
 
Yep, change out those allen heads

Any 6mm hex head bolt can then be used as a replacement for the one you destroyed.

i'm with Canberra, I have put normal 6mm bolts with an 8mm hex head in several spots on the bike where you will normally be removing them several (many) times. I am a tranny man, so I have a large assortment of 6,8,10 mm bolts that manufacturers use in fastening pumps, valve bodys, etc, in automatic transmissions. The important thing is they are GOOD quality bolts, usually grading of 8.8 or more (higher number is better). Many of the 6mm bolts do not have any visible grade markings, but I can assure you that bolts such as I just mentioned are at least up in the 8's unlike many of those soft bolts that Triumph uses in what they must consider "non-critical" attachment points.
FYI: I should add that because transmission bolts are usually fastening aluminum parts together, the majority of them are of what is know as "washer head" bolts, meaning that they have a wider flange under the hex and more surface area to clamp the pieces together. Warp9 mentioned this and he is right, most of the time we do not use standard hex head machine screws and bolts....more surface is better.

If you are looking for cheap, good quality bolts try visiting your local tranny shop. Most of us techs have several cans filled with spare bolts of various sizes and lengths. I doubt they would charge anything, (I know I wouldn't), although you will have to spend a little time pawing through hundreds of bolts.
 
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