1980 GS450 L Fork Drain Screw Replacement

[moto]

I posted a brief question along these lines in my rebuild thread but for more hits i figure i'd post it here too. I spent a fair amount of time searching the forums to no avail. Does anyone one have a specific part to replace the stock phillips screws to drain the forks. aka a specific part from z1? I cant find any measurements or thread pattern conveniently online, and my forks are off getting blasted at the moment. Any thoughts?

[koolaid_kid]

IDK what the thread size is, but they are very small (M3 perhaps) and may be difficult to find in aftermarket parts. May I ask why you don't purchase new OEM screws and gaskets, which are still available?

[Hoosier Daddy]

Since the factory part # is 02112-04068 it is likely a 4mm x 6mm, but the flat under the head for the sealing washer may make a replacement tough to find, like Koolaid Kid states maybe an OEM with a new sealing washer 51183-33030 is the best choice

[pete]

I just got brand new OEM screws and gaskets for mine and they're just fine...

[moto]

The people have spoken! OEM it is. Thanks for you input!

On a side note, everyone says to get a SS bolt kit from z1 for the motor, why not keep it uniform and replace the drain screw with a SS bolt? I realize the advantages of keeping it oem, but you would think if you were going to do part in SS you would want do to it all in SS?

Moto

[Hoosier Daddy]

You can try a 4 x 6mm and see if it fits. Be a trend setter!

[koolaid_kid]

You can try a 4 x 6mm and see if it fits. Be a trend setter!

The problem I see with using a COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) screw is the flat part of the head. This is a screw with a sealing washer. You want 100% of that washer to be held down by the screw head. If a COTS screw has a smaller diameter head, you are not providing 100% of the sealing area designed by Suzuki. If it were anything other than a sealing screw, I would agree. Just a special circumstance, where OEM is almost always the way to go.

[DPage]

I used stainless hex drain screws when I rebuilt my front forks, but used the OEM seal washer. The forks are leak free. The OEM washer is made out of some kind of thick plastic, and it's going to come in contact with brake fluid, so I wouldn't try to find a "hardware store" replacement for that.

[bwringer]

Call me a rebel... my GS is wearing 4mm stainless socket head screws (I forget the length) with black nylon washers.

4mm is very close to 5/32, which IIRC means the washers are for a #6 screw size. (That last sentence is compelling evidence that the US needs to switch to metric ASAP.) All should be available at your nearest decent hardware store. (Home Desperate, Meantard's, and bLowe's are neither decent nor real hardware stores. Try Ace or Do It Best.)

I've used black nylon washers for several years in several other sealing applications on my GS as well -- 1/4" is close enough to 6mm, and the nylon is resistant to fluids, fuel, and heat, hard enough not to distort, and soft enough to seal nicely.