Broke bolt holding intake tube

[matt]

Well was removing items for a serious cleaning and adding some stuff. Everything was going good clutch lever side got spark plug cover off move to throttle side all three outside bolts holding add on spark plug cover on, they go thru intake tube into head. get first 2 bolts to come out after spraying then and working back and forth. Not so lucky with 3rd one it broke. Spent 3 hours messing with thos bolts. Had head off an about an hour and fifteen. Now order new gaskets and wait till next day off and set head up in drill press.
Bolts on left head had anti-seize bolts on right nope.

[Savage]

Doesn’t sound like fun.
If you’re having trouble with steel bolts into aluminum threads, use heat!!!

[3W-lonerider]

went threw this several years ago working on another riders valkyrie. broke one bolt taking off those spark plug valance covers. ended up drilling the bolt out and going with the next size up bolt. vowed and declared if i had to work on another bike with those things on it that the customer would be removing them and putting them back on. if they broke a bolt it was on them because i wasn't going threw that again. sad part was i went to their house to work on it and did'nt have all my tools available to do it the way it shoulda been done. live and learn. the new bike i have now is getting no extra chrome of any kind and a bare minimum of upgrades.

[RonW]

Somebody said, "chrome don't get you there." Wondered what they meant by that.

[gordonv]

Bolts on left head had anti-seize bolts on right nope.

None would have had anti-seize, so the left must have had those bolts out before.

I add anti-seize to every threaded item I touch.

[gordonv]

Loctite blue goes elsewhere on bikes with no problems. 

But don't you only us a drop on the item? Would this then may/may not coat the whole length of the threaded section?

[Pluggy]

Loctite blue goes elsewhere on bikes with no problems.  

But don't you only us a drop on the item? Would this then may/may not coat the whole length of the threaded section?

Yes.  On a big bolt we use more than a drop.  But, there is less volume in the junction of threaded fasteners than some folks think.  Loctite hardens in the absence of air, and if you drench a nut and bolt, it doesn't harden effectively.  Henkel Loctite has useful instructions.  Loctite blue in the "chap stick" dispenser is the easiest to use.

By the way, the only fasteners to loosen on my '03 are the bolts holding the right muffler on.  One fell out.  I don't think Honda used a thread locker on them.  All four of those bolts now use Loctite green.

[RonW]

But don't you only us a drop on the item? Would this then may/may not coat the whole length of the threaded section?

If you're still using the liquidy locktite, it's hard to keep a 'drop' from running the entire threaded length of a bolt. As Pluggy stated, the gel version works better. Less waste. No drips all over the place. I haven't tried the 'chap stick' dispenser yet. They weren't around when I bought my last tube of locktite. But gel in the tube dispenser that I use is good too. If I went with the chapstick dispenser, I'd prefer the one with the spout (bottom pic).

[Pluggy]

Hey, Ron.  Nice pics.  A little stripe of that "chap stick" blue stays on the bolt until you install it.  Easy to use while working on your back under the old truck.  I still use anti-seize, and it is a must on old bikes where the fork tubes screw into an aluminum casting.   Of course, that's not a fastener.  On fasteners, it is Loctite, most often the low-strength blue.

[Bagger John - #3785]

I tighten those valance bolts "gently"; they come out twice a year for plug inspection/storage prep in the fall and cleaning/gapping (as required) in the summer. A little dab of anti-seize is applied if needed.

Probably done this through at least a hundred storage/prep and general maintenance cycles across multiple Valks I've owned and haven't had a problem.

[h13man]

Bolts on left head had anti-seize bolts on right nope.

None would have had anti-seize, so the left must have had those bolts out before.

I add anti-seize to every threaded item I touch.

+1. With these bike's being so smooth and pretty much vibration free, Loctite can be more a enemy than a help IMO. Don't get me wrong it's good stuff but I haven't needed it for anything but on backrest pad mounting on my VT1100C Shadow. 

[Pluggy]

Yes.  A product in my past was a precision measuring device for control systems for making plywood.  The vibration our device had to endure was 100G's.  Our customer requested it be assembled using high-strength Loctite Red.  The unit would not come apart under vibration.  And, if you wanted not take it apart for a repair, it was difficult-to-impossible.  The same can happen if we use the strong stuff on a motorcycle.

[da prez]

  Liquid Teflon pipe sealer for gas or water lines. Works as well , will not harden, will come apart and will stay where you put it.  If in a pinch , Teflon tape will help as a thread locker and is removable.

                                           da prez

[rug_burn]

Matt: 
    You know about left-handed drill bits?   They're made for getting out broken off bolts, and work so well, that usually the screw comes out before you get done drilling out the hole for the EZ-out , which then ends up being 'plan B'.

McMAster-Carr has them