TOPIC:

I am almost done with all of the prep painting/etc on the frame and the engine has been dremeled to death. The problem I am looking at now is that the old bolts are all rusted, etc. I was wondering what others have done to work with the old bolts or what other solutions people have used to rebuild an old KZ. I am just out of ideas if I should just wire brush these things, or what can do this baby justice.

if you know the sizes and grades you need, you might try mdmetrics for some new ones, there are some differences between DIN and Japanese bolts which may or not matter. Head thickness, lenth of threaded portion, ...

-Duck

I was looking at the stainless bolts for sale at Z1. Allen heads, instead of cross-points (phillips). The 66-pc set for my bike is less than $30.00. They should stay shiny for as long as I live.

You might contact these guys, or see if there's one in your area. They helped me.

www.fastenal.com

My local hardware store has what I have needed ,, Expensive by the bolt though ..

i just got done peeling some more parts off bike.ive found some stainless steel metric allen heads for motor mounts at nebraska-iowa fasteners im going to hit fastenal tomorrow.im pretty good at doing my own polishing so getting steel parts plated here in town doesnt cost me much,just my time.im making some 3/8"thick aluminum motor mounts but i havent had any luck finding allen head bolt for long front motor mount between frame tubes through cases,so i think i will have to whip one up myself,ive made lengthened bolts before no big deal im going to order engine bolt set from Z1 enterprises i cant piece all those together for the price he charges .goodluck,happy wrenching!

I was reading somewhere that reaming the motormounts on engine and frame for a 'tight' fit helps stiffen up the chassis. Have had good luck getting parts from mdmetric.com/
They also have whitworth if you are into that sort of thing

Very friendly, reasonable prices, they don't mind small orders, they know their hardware and tey have given me good advice.

-Duck

i bumped mine up to 3/8" on the short ones,had to ream the sleeves that go through frame tubes might bump the long front one up to 7/16" still need to make that one. using stainless steel allen heads goodluck,happy wrenching!

Post edited by: wireman, at: 2006/02/07 00:30

The KZ engine bolts are not the question here... these can be bought through Z1Enterprises.com and you can use stainless socket head bolts. The Z1Enterprises kits are well thought out and the bolts the right length.

The problem is cleaning frame bolts. First, Maryland Metric mdmetric.com is my prime source of fastener hardware for my business. I put together a full list of fasteners for redoing my KZ1000E1 ST and wanted to replica the original fastener types as much as possible in 304 stainless steel. First issue is that the flange head bolts used across the bike are not available in stainless. If you use stainless rather than zinc plated, you should probably make a list of bolt sizes but all socket head bolts. Second problem is that for bolts larger than 8mm, the thread pitch becomes an issue. The KZ frame 10mm and 12mm both use 1.25 pitch thread and that is kind of odd. Try finding a die to clean up the upper shock studs and you will soon figure out that 12mm fasteners and 1.25 pitch are RARE except for Kaw applications. Fortunately, there are few 10mm or 12mm bolts or nuts on the bike. The other MAJOR drawback to using 304 Stainless is that some of the longer bolts (over 50mm) are over a $1.50 PER PIECE... I will probably use a combo of new zinc plated grade 8 bolts and stainless for the engine and some of the stuff on the triple tree like the clamps and bar clamp where they are very visible. I contacted mdmetric.com and talked to Scott, a young sales guy there who is happy to price an order piece by piece... a LOT of work on their part. Wish their web site were more user friendly.

Reuse of OLD hardware by cleaning with a wire brush is a MAJOR WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT. If you do clean up, paint all of the fasteners after installation as they WILL RUST QUICKLY! I know this from personal experience.

theres quite a few oddball bolts that i am going to replate not just because they arent made in stainless,but because of strengh issues like axle bolts and swingarm bolts..the trick is putting several coats of wax on chrome parts before installing them,i also put plastic sandwich bag over heads of bolts and nuts before i put a wrench on them to keep from scratching them,and do not use 12 point sockets on chrome parts it will chew up plating.goodluck,happy wrenching!

George. In that I'm doing similar things with my engine mount bolts and other bolts could you elaborate on your comment: "Reuse of OLD hardware by cleaning with a wire brush is a MAJOR WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT. If you do clean up, paint all of the fasteners after installation as they WILL RUST QUICKLY! I know this from personal experience." Could you elaborate? I have wired brushed many of the washers, bolts and nuts that I am re-using. Some of these were bead blasted before I wired them. Some I hit with a cloth cutting buffer and polishing compound after I wired them. What are your thoughts?

WG-

IMO plated hardware is fine for most locations, even for engine. Look how well most has held up for 30 years. If painted it should last even longer. The black oxide stuff definitely needs paint.

My main reason for using stainless on the kz is that it's gonna end up in Honolulu and salt air is a problem riding on the windward side in the winter. No amoutn of washing will get all the salt.

-Duck