My basic problem is I can't tighten the bolt that holds one of the wing mirrors. I am a novice at spannering and I didn't know the 8mm hex bolts that hold the wing mirrors are left hand thread. When I went to remove the mirrors I was tightening and stripped the first one, before I realised my mistake. Now I am trying to fix this and I've got about as far as I can myself. I have determined the bolt is OK and its size is M10x1.25 I have seen thread repair kits demonstrated on youtube and I thought I would get one (helicoil), but, all the ones I can see on Amazon at least, are all right hand thread. Is this a common mistake to make? What is my best option?
Thanks for the reply. I expected it would be £60 or £70, plus I have spent the last 2 or 3 hours learning how to retap the thread and measuring the bolt. Is this the clamp?
Yeah I thought it would be crazy money as well! If it was a more common size bolt I’d say get yourself a helicoil set, but can’t imagine you’d need a m10 LH helicoil any time soon if ever again
Yep nearly found that out the hard way myself but As I was tightening things up rather than loosening them, I thought I had stripped it, and as I tried to undo it pit tightened up! First time I have seen such a bizarre placement of a LH thread. And in fact it seems to be on the wrong side anyway? Wouldn't it work better on the LH side of the bike? My LH side one came loose and just swung around. If it had been a LH thread, that would not have happened...
If you are riding along and either of your mirrors happens to hit something ( a brick wall, say, or the back end of a bus), would you prefer it to: A. Swing back harmlessly; or B. Force back the handlebar, causing you to crash? Take your time.
I have always kept this issue in mind. I have just been told that it is only off road bikes that have the left hand thread on the right handlebar. I don't really know if this is true but it makes some kind of sense for off roading where crashes are more common.
