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Stainless Bolts/Screws

  • Thread starter Thread starter JStones
  • Start date Start date
OK, point taken. I will keep mine to myself also then as that seems to be what is wanted.

Posting takes effort and returns nothing so if you are offended I will stay away. Wouldn't wish anyone to be offended by trying to clear up myths expecially at the expense of rudeness.

As for exhausts, people install stainless there all the time, even from the factory. They also install brass, use split lockwashers, reuse nuts and on and on but it is likely that none of that is of interest either so stick with your myths.

Out of here,

Norm


Hey Norm, nice Soap Box, only took you 52 years to build it. My soap box is a few years younger, but it's mine. I try to keep it to myself so other folks don't feel like I am putting them down.


As for the Stainless trend/bandwagon, Much like anything else in the world, the price is right and it's popular. The "damage" from using stainless with aluminum is highly over rated from what I have actually experienced. While most of us are not morons, and would not use SS for head fasteners or exhaust. It happens.
Damning stainless in general makes no sense. I ordered the Z1 complete set of SS bolts yesterday.
 
As for exhausts, people install stainless there all the time, even from the factory.

Out of here,

Norm
Ford motor company uses stainless studs to attach their exhaust manifolds to the cylinder head on their 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8l engines. I didn't say it was a good idea, but some engineer at one time thought it was :rolleyes:

sorry you're leaving so fast... most of the things you are suggesting have been presented and rehashed many times before. you'd be surprized what tid-bits you might be able to pick up if you'd stick around a bit. we're always glad to have someone who is willing to teach, discuss and learn, as it is with most of the rest of us.

Dale
 
Hey Norm, nice Soap Box, only took you 52 years to build it. My soap box is a few years younger, but it's mine. I try to keep it to myself so other folks don't feel like I am putting them down.

If that's the case. The above doesn't look very much like keeping it to yourself ! But thanks for alienating a new member, who was willing to share knowledge from an experienced career. I for one will very much miss his input.
Yours ? Not so much !
 
As for exhausts, people install stainless there all the time, even from the factory. They also install brass, use split lockwashers, reuse nuts and on and on.......

Absolutely; nothing wrong with any of that. It's all about kowing what you have got and where you can use it.

Also I have to say that when you look at some of the stuff made out of metal by the manufacturer on some bikes and used in a critical area it does make you wonder how on earth it works. The poorest metal ever was used on some British bikes in the not-so-glory days of the early 70s and I have unwound countless wheel spindles that were only slightly stronger than Camembert (and I don't just mean the smell). This same metal has been recycled and is being used on the Chinese bikes attempting to flood the world - just how many versions of a Honda CG125 or Suzuki GS125 does the world need? The thing is, that '71 T120R has been through 26 owners, 24 of whom weighed 17 stone and treated the thing like crap, it's been over speed humps at a Smiths speedo indicated 140mph and has been hit by 24 lump hammers for every tyre change and yet that spindle has held up fine.
 
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Wow, I hadn't come back to this thread in a while. I missed a lot. I ordered the SS ones from Z1 but they are just being used to replace the stripped 30 year old bolts on the covers etc.
 
all these stainless bolt thread application threads make me chuckle. i use SS bolts almost everywhere on my bike and not had one failure.
has anyone actually had a disaster caused by using SS fixings?
 
OK, point taken. I will keep mine to myself also then as that seems to be what is wanted.

Posting takes effort and returns nothing so if you are offended I will stay away. Wouldn't wish anyone to be offended by trying to clear up myths expecially at the expense of rudeness.

As for exhausts, people install stainless there all the time, even from the factory. They also install brass, use split lockwashers, reuse nuts and on and on but it is likely that none of that is of interest either so stick with your myths.

Out of here,

Norm

I apologize if I came off a bit harsh. It was not my intent to make you go away.
 
all these stainless bolt thread application threads make me chuckle. i use SS bolts almost everywhere on my bike and not had one failure.
has anyone actually had a disaster caused by using SS fixings?

Adrian, I've got some 100mm M8 SS Allen bolts you could try.....

I rescued them from one of those climbing walls - the towers with the nobbly bits of plastic on the side so you can pretend to climb Mt Everest. You can feel in your hand how light and rubbish they are and can snap them with a pair of mole grips. They're not stamped so I have no idea what grade they are. They haven't gone rusty though!
 
all these stainless bolt thread application threads make me chuckle. i use SS bolts almost everywhere on my bike and not had one failure.
has anyone actually had a disaster caused by using SS fixings?

Do what you want but I wouldn't use run of the mill stainless bolts to replace a Suzuki bolt labeled with either a "7" or "9". Some of the better stainless bolts may be okay for high strength applications, but hardware store grade stainless is questionable as a "7" bolt replacement, and is definitely not appropriate to replace a "9" bolt.
 
Adrian, I've got some 100mm M8 SS Allen bolts you could try.....

I rescued them from one of those climbing walls - the towers with the nobbly bits of plastic on the side so you can pretend to climb Mt Everest. You can feel in your hand how light and rubbish they are and can snap them with a pair of mole grips. They're not stamped so I have no idea what grade they are. They haven't gone rusty though!
my whole bike is held together with stainless bolts, engine, suspension, brakes, you name it, its stainless.
not one failure yet.
3 x engine cross bars (not stud bar but proper bars with threaded ends)
6 x engine mounting bolts
4 x caliper mounting bolts on a home made bracket (front)
all S/S mounts on rear caliper
S/S disc bolts front and rear
S/S exhaust bolts, headers and rear mount
stainless front wheel axle, soon to become titanium

plus all ancillaries apart from the obvious coloured ally cover bolts
not one failure,crack or blemish on any bolt
all from INOX FASTENERS
 
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my whole bike is held together with stainless bolts, engine, suspension, brakes, you name it, its stainless.
not one failure yet.
3 x engine cross bars (not stud bar but proper bars with threaded ends)
6 x engine mounting bolts
4 x caliper mounting bolts on a home made bracket (front)
all S/S mounts on rear caliper
S/S disc bolts front and rear
S/S exhaust bolts, headers and rear mount
stainless front wheel axle, soon to become titanium

Pretty much the same as my 1000 but I haven't swapped the axles over as they have got good zinc on them.The 550 and 650 are the same and I might do the 750 this winter (though I have to say I feel it has a certain charm wearing the original nuts and bolts - matches the rest of the patina).

I did do that little CZ in the top LH corner but took them all out to give it more authenticity.

Titanium front axle? You rob a bank or something?
 
Pretty much the same as my 1000 but I haven't swapped the axles over as they have got good zinc on them.The 550 and 650 are the same and I might do the 750 this winter (though I have to say I feel it has a certain charm wearing the original nuts and bolts - matches the rest of the patina).

I did do that little CZ in the top LH corner but took them all out to give it more authenticity.

Titanium front axle? You rob a bank or something?

friend of a friend ;);)
just waiting for the gurus to slate titanium now!!!!
 
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my whole bike is held together with stainless bolts, engine, suspension, brakes, you name it, its stainless.
not one failure yet.
3 x engine cross bars (not stud bar but proper bars with threaded ends)
6 x engine mounting bolts
4 x caliper mounting bolts on a home made bracket (front)
all S/S mounts on rear caliper
S/S disc bolts front and rear
S/S exhaust bolts, headers and rear mount
stainless front wheel axle, soon to become titanium

plus all ancillaries apart from the obvious coloured ally cover bolts
not one failure,crack or blemish on any bolt
all from INOX FASTENERS

my Gs1085S 95 percent of nuts bolts & washes are stainless havent had any problems yet?..
 
just waiting for the gurus to slate titanium now!!!!

Snaps too easy....

Didn't Jeff Smith snap his titanium frame (BSA scrambler) back in the 60s? Titanium got a slating - I vaguely remember something about it (I was just a kid then). I also vaguely remember the frame cost as much as a street of houses or something similarly riduculous. Part of why BSA went bust.

Edit: Just Googled it. He won the Grandstand Trophy (remember that) in '68. B&W telly, every Saturday afternoon. Fantastic stuff, sat there with my dad. Each frame cost the equivalent of $400,000 in today's money apparently and the whole campaign $40 million!

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/290/1686/Motorcycle-Article/Memorable-Motorcyles-BSA-Titanium.aspx
 
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Snaps too easy....

Didn't Jeff Smith snap his titanium frame (BSA scrambler) back in the 60s? Titanium got a slating - I vaguely remember something about it (I was just a kid then). I also vaguely remember the frame cost as much as a street of houses or something similarly riduculous. Part of why BSA went bust.

Edit: Just Googled it. He won the Grandstand Trophy (remember that) in '68. B&W telly, every Saturday afternoon. Fantastic stuff, sat there with my dad. Each frame cost the equivalent of $400,000 in today's money apparently and the whole campaign $40 million!

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/290/1686/Motorcycle-Article/Memorable-Motorcyles-BSA-Titanium.aspx
that wa back in the 60's wally, i am sure it has progressed in its structure by now, same as aluminium and carbon fibre has
 
that wa back in the 60's wally, i am sure it has progressed in its structure by now, same as aluminium and carbon fibre has

It was a design difficulites with the frame rather than the material but the press slated the use of titanium by BSA because it was a way to have a dig at them... 'all that money and the frame snapped' and so on. All cutting edge stuff at the time. They had to weld it in a chamber filled with inert gas.

I read the article through and it says Jeff struggled on the Ti bike and actually did better on a steel framed version. Too flexible then too stiff and snapping, all trial and error - no computer testing then.
 
It was a design difficulites with the frame rather than the material but the press slated the use of titanium by BSA because it was a way to have a dig at them... 'all that money and the frame snapped' and so on. All cutting edge stuff at the time. They had to weld it in a chamber filled with inert gas.

I read the article through and it says Jeff struggled on the Ti bike and actually did better on a steel framed version. Too flexible then too stiff and snapping, all trial and error - no computer testing then.
sounds like rossi testing the carbon frame vs the ali frame, modern tchno but they still cant get it right, too rigid,to flexi whatever. just think how much grief the engineers get in those workshops?
by the way, they use titanium spindles and spacers :)
 
The Modulus of Elasticity for Ti is only 1/2 that of steel, so that Ti front axle is twice as flexible as the original part.

Modern fork designs are stiffer than our old GS parts, making the system more flexible is going backwards.
 
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New stainless allens from Z1. Arrived just on time for me to button it up after re doing my valve adjust and painting the cover... Ooooo, shiney.
 
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