As I have been humble bragging around the site for the last bit, I'm doing a big trip over september with lots of offroad. I'm planning to spend a night this week blue loctiting everything I can think of on the bike to avoid any bolts rattling out.

Does anyone have a list of things they loctite, or can mention some stuff I might miss?

Believe it or not on my last off road run the small phillips screw holding the right stock handguard worked it’s way out. Actually found it between the seat and the tank. Go figure.. Now I check that all handguard securement is tight...


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With so many sob stories about the hazards of locktite, I'd suggest not using it and simply making sure your fasteners are tight. With 100K miles on my Wee, I'm not having things come loose or free and I don't use no stinking Locktite.
If you are hell bent on using the stuff, use the right color of 'tite' for the purpose.
Nah, find the one that hardens the best and use that everywhere!

The only thing that has come loose on my V-Strom is the chain guard, and that is apparently quite common. Use some blue loctite there, and maybe the front guard.
Unless you have some good reason to doubt a particular area, just go over the bike twisting anything you can see by hand. Anything that is loose will become apparent. Some have reported issues with the fuel tank fasteners, but generally things falling off during a ride is unusual.
It is not a good practice to repeatedly re-tighten bolts as anything tightened correctly may then become stretched and fail.

BTW I once took a 7 day trip with friends and they invited along a friend riding a HD Sporty. Now there's a bike in need of Loctite. He had an indicator fall off and hang by the wire, problems with the headlight and instrument area bolts, the seat, and the battery box coming loose and almost dropping out. On the 3rd day I needed to duct tape a lump of truck tyre rubber that I found by the side of the road onto the 3/4" rod from which an HD rubber footrest had slid off, bouncing down the road and over a fence. We never did find it, and so I rigged up a replacement. Those HD's used a sort of handlebar grip as a footrest rubber, just like Brit bikes used to have (and 1960's Japanese bikes).
In the end he was asking them not to say anything to me about the tools quietly coming out at the end of each day.

Just go over your bike - particularly after the first day. As well as basic tools (mostly the OEM toolkit) and a Leatherman tool I also carry a puncture repair kit, a mini plug in pump, duct tape, zip ties, and tie wire. I run a Tutoro oiler which does away with the need to carry chain lube.

Brokie, that HD story sounds like my '55 Ariel Huntmaster. Beautiful bike to polish but a fall apart shaker in its' own right.

How long have you had the bike? Unless its brand-new whatever fasteners that have worked loose have already done so. I'd give the bike a quick one over and see if any fasteners are loose deal with them. Most likely if the bike has some miles on it you'll not find anything loose.


I just got back from a Pennsylvania to Quebec to Labrador to Newfoundland to Nova Scotia/New Brunswick and back home. 3,941 miles and all the fasteners that were on the bike when I left are still there and at the same tightness.

Blue Loctite is good as is Purple deindexing on the fastener size. Whatever you do, do not Loctite anything that touches Lexan like windscreen bolts. Loctite and Lexan do not agree with one another.

The bike has over 60,000 miles on it, and I have a good ear for rattles etc. I'm doing two of the BDRs out west and that is probably at lkeast doubling the amount of offroad this bike has ever seen. I did about 500 miles of gravel last summer and nothing fell off, so I'm probably ok. I'll just keep an eye on everything, and check it each day and before I go. I've just been watching you-tube vids and ride reports of people's bikes falling apart on the COBDR.

The two 8mm bolts (12mm heads) holding the front fairing support to the frame are the only common ones I can think of that loosen on V-Stroms.

The chain guard, too. On my bike, the threads in the swingarm were just too chowdered, so I ended up installing a longer screw with a nylock nut on the other side.

Double-check the various fairing fasteners before you leave, and I think you'll be fine.

Oh yeah, my chain guard was repaired a couple times and then eventually fell off and got chewed up so I just left it off. No worries on that ever again, just dirty pants and inner fender when I use a non sticky lube.

Only things to come loose on mine in over 200000kms is the chain guard and the bar weights. Nothing fell off.

Don't worry too much about it.