Check if your bolts and screws are still there

[Philip]

I have lost one of the bolts holding the front fender and caught one of the rear fender bolts barely hanging half-way out.

Check and tighten all your tiny bolts guys, most of them are pretty loose from the factory. I am going to use Loctite on all of them from now on.

Additionally, check the four bolts that hold the "radiator shrouds". You can see them from the front of the bike. Those who own(ed) Altas would be surprised to learn that these bolts screw into the infamous brass inserts. Yeah. Do not overtighten those. Use blue Loctite instead.

 

[AgileMike]

I always try to use loctite on everything. I'm very curious to see if the lack of engine vibration on the Stark results in bolts loosening much less than ICE bikes. It's my theory, but only time will tell. We seemed to have many more problems with bolts/nuts loosening on our KTM 2 strokes vs KTM 4 strokes.

 

[Theo]

I'm very curious to see if the lack of engine vibration on the Stark results in bolts loosening much less than ICE bikes.

I hoped the same thing, but I've noticed that they become loose quicker than I expected and not less than with an ICE bike. Especially the first couple of times I checked their tightness, I used the torque wrenches for every of them to get an idea of how many were loose and found some looser than what the specification said. Now I don't always use the torque wrench for every bolt, for example not for the front fender, but I keep them checked regularly, especially the most important ones.
I've made a spreadsheet that I attach with the values taken from the manual and from videos; the idea is that you can use the filters to do things like checking all the ones with, e. g., 40 Nm torque so that you set the torque wrench to 40 Nm and then check all, or all of them which require a T30 tool. Usually I arrange them from the highest value of torque to the lowest.
The Tool column is still to be completed.
Besides:
• the list doesn't include the torque of the shaft shown here at 9:31, since I haven't found the specification

• some torque values are stated differently in some videos: I chose the ones that felt more convincing to me; of course I can't know whether they are correct.

EDIT: since the sheet is protected to prevent modification of the hours of the bike in a sheet different from the specific one, I notice that it's not possible to rearrange data; now I'm busy but I'll find a solution to this; you can always unprotect it, there is no password.
SECOND EDIT from 10:00 PM, Zulu time, august 31st: fixed.

 

[AL_V]

I have lost one of the bolts holding the front fender and caught one of the rear fender bolts barely hanging half-way out.

The front fender bolts are not installed at the factory, either installed at the dealer, or the customer.

 

[Ross Shafer]

thanks so much for the Torque value list!

 

[Foss]

What would be nice is adding some part numbers to this excel spreadsheet. Some parts are difficult to locate, for example I14583-080030-10 (Side plate top bolt). I over torqued this bolt and broke the head off one day due to dirt trapped in the threading on the side plate. Also some parts are recycled like this bolt I believe is the same bolt used for the front brembo bolts. Also some other bolts and nuts are updated in material, the VCU bolts are a new material and charging port bolts. These with the older bikes easily rust. Just like the axle locking nut. Any black bolt has been replaced with a metallic raw grey color bolt.

One other important take away is the torque spec frequently updates and might not be consistent with Starks database. The Side top bolts I used above were posted 40nm and in videos as well being the “supposed” correct torque spec, but reaching out to Stark this has dropped down to 20nm.

Also I am just stating this for others who might not be aware. If you add lubricants to the threads, this changes the torque spec. Threads should be cleaned with contact cleaner, but I would avoid lubricants used on threads. So blue loctite or thread locker materials could change the torque spec. Only a very small amount should be used. If I use thread locker materials I will place it inside the thread well and not on the bolt allowing it to dry a little

 

[MadpdXabbott]

My experience has been zero loose bolts , and nothing to worry about. Like AgileMike said, its lack of Engine vibration.

 

[Theo]

What would be nice is adding some part numbers to this excel spreadsheet. Some parts are difficult to locate,

I know, actually my personal version has links to pictures saved in a certain folder; in those pictures each fastener is shown while being tightened, but those pictures are screenshots from Stark's videos and I didn't feel like sharing them because I didn't want to have copyright issues.
Another idea could be to take some pictures of one of our own bikes, so there would be no copyright problems, and add arrows and writings.

If anybody improves that spreadsheet, please share it.

One other important take away is the torque spec frequently updates and might not be consistent with Starks database. The Side top bolts I used above were posted 40nm and in videos as well being the “supposed” correct torque spec, but reaching out to Stark this has dropped down to 20nm.

Thank you for this piece of information. After all it's a completely new bike, quite different from the rest, so it's understendable that there are changes like this.

My experience has been zero loose bolts , and nothing to worry about. Like AgileMike said, its lack of Engine vibration.

It makes sense: people with multi-cylinder motorcycles used on the streets don't have these problems, AFAIK. I think that maybe the vibrations from the bumps etc. in the dirt can have the same effects of single cylinder vibrations. I read some forum about downhill bicycle riders and found out that they have to retighten fasteners, too.