Tappet lock nuts, how tight?

[zman]

When I first adjusted my valves the bike had 9K miles, good chance the valves were factory set and had not been touched before , I went to loosen the adjustment nut each had a nice crack when loosened, told me each was nice and tight, I have checked the valves every few thousand miles since but I don't get that nice crack when loosened , they are all tight but no crack.
Am I just being over cautious ? am using a standard 10MM wrench and getting them really tight as far as I can tell, haven't used the long handled 10MM yet, are these tappet screws easy to break?

 

[joedrum]

hmmive never had one loosen up and i dont think mine crack either ..

 

[dan filipi]

Never cracked loose for me either.
How tight I've always done by feel.

 

[Ansimp]

They are only a 6mm bolt so they don't need to be super tight. The initial crack was probably due to the fact that they hadn't been loosened in ages.

 

[slabghost]

I'm afraid of snapping them with a 4" 1/4 drive ratchet.

 

[Ansimp]

I use a 2 finger technique and don't grab at the end to reduce leverage and torque level

 

[zman]

OK, , I feel they were tight enough, they have a hefty nut but the stem doesn't look sturdy..may be the smallest tappet stem I've adjusted..Thanks for the replies.

 

[mcgovern61]

'81 and '83 engine adjusted several times.....no crack.

 

[zman]

mcgovern61 » Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:32 am[/url]":8jvozusu]
'81 and '83 engine adjusted several times.....no crack.

Thanks Gerry, think it was like Tony said..must have been from sitting. sure wish there was a special wrench to be sure, my ham fisted popeye arms cant be trusted to get any torque right. Maybe try the two finger method mentioned.