Want to replace aluminium bolts with steel

[bobosmite]

Does anyone know a source for steel bolts? Specifically, I want to replace the bolts that came with the Givi crash guards. I have to loosen them every time I take off the fairing panels and the hex heads are starting to get worn. This place http://www.boltmotorcyclehardware.com/ has a bolt assortment kit, but it's a bit more than I need. Plus the Givi bolts are slightly longer (8mmx35) and probably don't come in the assortment.

[icanfixthat]

You'll have to know what sizes you need or bring the old ones to match up, but I've found stainless steel (what I'd recommend, you didn't specify) and galvanized, yes metric, in the little drawers at Lowe's, True Value, etc.

[SCraig]

I found them locally. Don't know where you are but check the Yellow Pages for "Bolt and Screw". We have a couple of places here and if you can't find them I can get them for you. Lowes does have metric stainless steel bolts (as icanfixthat mentioned, that's what you want) but I don't know if they have the correct lengths or not.

[water warrior]

Go for the stainless steel, you won't regret it. The supplied bolts fron Givi will snap off( this I know).

[iron_llama]

I'm thinking of doing this as well, but I'm wondering if anyone's had any corrosion issues with this? I'm away from my bike right now, so I'm can't make sure that the parts I'm thinking of are aluminum, but wouldn't a steel bolt threaded into aluminum corrode rather quickly?

[Jammerjay]

I think you are thinking of galvanic corrosion, which typically needs some type of electrical energy source between the 2 materials, or one may be the grounding source which would lead to eventual corrosion. I would recommend the use of anti seize and be very sure not to over torque. The threads on the steel will not stretch at the required torque as aluminum to aluminum, all the stretching will be the aluminum. However, if the female thread is steel, its not really a concern.

[tmcgee]

These guys are local to me, but are a mail order supplier with an excellent selection of metric stainless steel hardware. They used to have a retail counter, and you can still pick up your orders locally. (Weymouth, MA on Rte. 3A, just south of QuinZy)

http://www.boltdepot.com

[greywolf]

I take it the aluminum bolts thing is a joke. Some people might not understand the Givi bolts are steel but just too low a grade. Old japanese bikes had soft galvanized steel phillips head case screws that loved to get stuck. Various manufactures made stainless allen head replacement sets. Stainless comes in various grades so can be too soft also.

[bobosmite]

Those Givi bolts are like trying to wrench a block of butter they're so soft. As long as you're careful and don't over-torque, they're probably just fine. But, I've turned them at least 10 times and one of them isn't looking too healthy. It's good to have spares because it's a pretty darn important bolt and I already lost the one spare that comes with it (the bolt that joins the two halves).

[RichDesmond]

Does anyone know a source for steel bolts? Specifically, I want to replace the bolts that came with the Givi crash guards. I have to loosen them every time I take off the fairing panels and the hex heads are starting to get worn. This place http://www.boltmotorcyclehardware.com/ has a bolt assortment kit, but it's a bit more than I need. Plus the Givi bolts are slightly longer (8mmx35) and probably don't come in the assortment.My local ACE/TrueValue hardware store has a very good assortment of metric bolts. A good online source is www.boltdepot.com.

[paul_g]

Also remember that stainless steel isn't necessarily a very high-strength bolt. You can get better (stronger) grades for especially high-stress applications, like engine mounting bolts.

[bill1]

http://www.mmsacc-stainless.com/html/hex_head_cap_screws.htm

[PeteW]

Also remember that stainless steel isn't necessarily a very high-strength bolt. You can get better (stronger) grades for especially high-stress applications, like engine mounting bolts.

I don't think you'll find any of the accessable bolts on a DL are high tensile steel out of the box - it's so expensive that it's usually cheaper to just make the bolt bigger. The sevice manual should tell you if any of the bolts are non-standard.

For replacing the normal bolts around the bike, stainless is actually stronger than the mild steel bolts commonly used.

Cheers
Pete

[bobosmite]

Bolt Depot is the place for sure! You have to hand it to Lowes for they're metric section, but it's rare to find what you need. Metric gets no love in the US.

[Willie]

Bolts should only be tightened a couple of times before replacing with new ones. The reason being each time a bolt is tightened it stretches and loses strength. A weak bolt "especially an engine mount bolt" will break under vibration and stress. The bolts in question are plated steel and should be replaced with plated grade 8 bolts and not be over torqued. Any bolt shop should carry or can order the bolts you need. Stainless bolts are much softer and should not be used.