cedarbrook63
Junior Member
I told ya I thought that Honda guy was just pulling the chain :bigsmiley20::bigsmiley20:
Tool Sizes
- Thread starter cedarbrook63
- Start date
I told ya I thought that Honda guy was just pulling the chain :bigsmiley20::bigsmiley20:
whatyardwork
Banned
Just a request for clarification. A guy I was chatting with the other day (he's manager of a local Honda dealership) warned me against using my good old Stanley hex keys on my Sportster because he said "Harleys use Whitworth sizes not English Imperial". Now I thought that Whitworth was a term applied to the threaded part of the fastener and not the head but I would value any of your views on this if I'm wrong coz I really don't want to damage a fastener. Wikipedia doesn't contradict my current understanding as far as I have read it. Thanks folks.
Not Whitworth but I have found ball head allens to come in handy from time to time.Theres a Cornwell guy selling them for short money on e bay.
guess what ive got some whitworth tools they are sized by the thread size
although the distance on the bolt head across the flats (af) is the same so whitworth tools will fit imperial heads just dont look at the size marked on the tool
imperial tools in uk were generally called af as the tool size is the across flats size rather than the thread size
all metric tools are mesured across the flats
all my imperial tools are the correct sizes for the harleys so you have the correct tools
perhaps the honda guy has never used anything but metric tools and is getting mixed up between head size and thread type
ww very course thread
unc course thread
unf fine thread
metric fine thread
metric fine very fine thread
you will find unc unf and metric threads on your bike just be carefull if you need to change a fastner that you have the correct thread
Brian
although the distance on the bolt head across the flats (af) is the same so whitworth tools will fit imperial heads just dont look at the size marked on the tool
imperial tools in uk were generally called af as the tool size is the across flats size rather than the thread size
all metric tools are mesured across the flats
all my imperial tools are the correct sizes for the harleys so you have the correct tools
perhaps the honda guy has never used anything but metric tools and is getting mixed up between head size and thread type
ww very course thread
unc course thread
unf fine thread
metric fine thread
metric fine very fine thread
you will find unc unf and metric threads on your bike just be carefull if you need to change a fastner that you have the correct thread
Brian
cedarbrook63
Junior Member
Thanks Brian.
An excellent and very clear explanation (I presume af means American Fine - am I correct?). This site really is the business for learning about motorbikes.
af is "across the flats" meaning bolt head size...typical SAE & Metric "rough" tool size designation for a given bolt size...
UNC is universal numeric (no. of threads per inch) course
UNC is universal numeric (no. of threads per inch) fine
UNC is universal numeric (no. of threads per inch) course
UNC is universal numeric (no. of threads per inch) fine
cedarbrook63
Junior Member
Thanks for that. My learning curve continues upwards but I get a little further up it with each passing day.
The Whitworth thread is redundant now, replaced by the Unified and Metric threads, so I doubt you would find it on a modern Harley. Here's a handy conversion table for Metric/Imperial.
hjacobson1
Active Member
I don't think it was underdog, wasn't it Rocky and Bullwinkle? And let's not forget Fractured Fairy Tails with Edward Evert Horton!:bigsmiley20:
Cagetender
Member
I had a preunit TRiumph that had whitworth thread and luckily the guy who sold it to me threw in a tool set for another 20 quid.My 1968 Bonney though necessitated my using Imperial tools. Apparently Rolls Royce Merlins were Whitworth but Packard Merlins were Imperial during ww2 . The Germans were metric but they also had these bastard size wrenches according to my father who was there in 45 with captured Aircraft.One of the Air Komets ended up at the Royal Museum in Ottawa Canada.