TOPIC:

I am rebuilding an ST (KZ1000E1) and am thinking about replacing all fasters on the bike with stainless 304 replacements. I won't replace axles or motormount stuff but most all the other nuts, bolts and washers with the stainless stuff. It is supposed to have the highest tensile strength of any of the types of stainless. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on this?

Sounds like a real PITA assembling the list and ordering.
Would be nice to see the list if you proceed.

-Duck

there are some places that sell most of the screws and bolts you need already packaged,i think i saw them here on one of the links!ive used chrome allen head bolts on my cases and covers for years,ive made my own long allen head bolts for clutch,chain cover and long front motor mount bolts .goodluck,happy wrenching!

Sounds like you're bored and need a new project. Ha!
300 series stainless has a fairly high tensile strength. It's got good corrosion resistance, and it's not magnetic, so you can't fish it out with a magnet if you drop it into a cranny.
WARNING:
Don't use 300 series nuts on 300 series bolts. The threads tend to gall, and removing the nut can be an ordeal.
Here's a link to a reference chart I found:

www.centuryperformance.com/fastenermaterials.asp

Why stainless? Just for the bling?

Jay

WG, there is a person on Ebay that goes by the name of mrssuperdeals. I bought a kit to do my 750. It is a pretty good set. All stainless. I have seen others there as well. BTW, 304 stainless is tough. My avatar pic shows a Mack fire truck. The tank body is all built of 304 stainless. It was built in 1992 and we just had that new chassis put under it. It is very strong with no cracks. Just my 2 cents.

Mark

lots of custom exhuast systems are made from 304 buff em up and theyll look like chrome .the ol man uses stainless hardware on all his boat stuff water doesnt affect it like chrome ive got some stainlesssteel motor mounts the ol man made up for me years ago theyre shaped like thestock ones but they dont have the big hole in the center ,im going to drill a one off pattern in the rotors for Z1 project and drill the same pattern in the motor mounts!

Gotta be careful putting faith in stainless on a boat. I have seen stainless stay snap with no warning. Close examination showed cracks and corrosion. There was no rust so no obvious warning.

-Duck

Jay, Not bling at all. I bought a bunch of those black colored plain steel bolts for my last project and they rusted overnight. I could buy zinc but zinc plated fasteners tend to rust as well. Anodized aluminum stuff isn't strong and you can't get some of the larger sized bolts; mainly only engine bolts. I asked the guy what the best choice for something that would absolutely not rust and he suggested 304 stainless.

I am familiar with at least one company that sells stainless engine socket head engine bolts. This guy sells on eBay I think but also sells through www.z1enterprises.com - He goes by Dr Bolts. I bought one of these bolt kits for my last engine rebuild and requested one that had stainless bolts for the valve cover. I got exactly that! All the bolts needed including the two longer ones for the outer countershaft sprocket cover. I may buy one of Dr Bolt's kits through z1enterprises again since it was put together so accurately! I had bought a stainless engine cover bolt "kit" from eBay about 3 years ago now, I guess and was disappointed that the longer bolts were not included and most of the sizes were wrong... in other words, if a cover used a variety of 35mm and 30mm length, they just tossed in 30mm for all of them. I can't recall who I bought that "kit" from but they would not get my repeat business.

I have set of cardboard sheets that I keep for engine rebuilding. On it are sketches of each cover plus the cases with holes punched through. All of these already have the lengths as all cover bolts are 6mm w/1.0 pitch so all that is needed is the lengths. A few case bolts are 8mm and I would think it best to just reuse these bolts as they don't tend to rust except for the heads.

When I rebuild an engine, I chase ALL hole thread with a blind bore tap; blow in some carb cleaner and blow it out and blow it dry with compressed air. I pay close attention to Service Manual recommendations about loctite as you hear horror stories every day on this and other boards about internal stuff (cam chain mostly) working loose because the bolts came out!

Wiredgeorge, my manual says to use Loctite Lock-n' seal on a lot of threads. I cannot find any of it anywhere, including the Loctite website. I prefer to use the Loctite brand, maybe just because I am an idiot. I am going to be tearing into my engine this spring (again, I am an idiot), and I want to have these "shop supplies" lined up before I begin. What are the different thread lockers that you use?

Almost every autoparts store sells Loctite RED and Loctite BLUE. They also sell a Loctite Green which I don't use. I buy Red and Blue. I use the blue on fasteners that, if they fall out, will fall on the ground and I won't kill myself. The Blue is non-permanent and holds fasteners snug in most conditions. The RED stuff is anaerobic and takes longer to cure. Once cured, it is a bit of work to get the fastener out. I use it on fasteners that if they fell off, would fall off inside the engine or if they fell off, I would be likely to crash. I use this stuff on all internal engine fasteners and I use it on stuff like the countershaft sprocket nut. Autozone sells a house brand that is very similar to Loctite but I haven't used it. Their color schemes are the same...

Be careful "which" red you use, some kinds require a lot of heat to loosen.

More than you ever wanted to know about Loctite