Disc brake rotor bolts

[FloppyRunner]

I was taking my wheels off before getting new tires and decided I'd take my rotors off as well. Well the allen heads stripped on one of the left front and one of the right front rotors because they're cheap pieces of crap made from soft metal.

They are "shouldered" and "button head" bolts I believe and I assume they need to be that way to pass under parts of the caliper or other bracketry.

Does anybody have any suggestions on where to get replacements in order to avoid:

1) paying a dealer more money
2) having the same thing happen later from using the same crappy bolt

Anyone care to share your experience with this? I know it's happened to a few people. I'd really like to have the bike back and ready this weekend but between this and the disaster involving getting my tires (which I won't go into...)...

I think tomorrow I'll go to the specialty fastener place nearby but I'm not sure if they'll have something just right... I already tried Ace but didn't have much hope to begin with.

I still haven't gotten the two stripped ones off... I think I will see if the guy putting on my tires can take care of it without charging me tons. If that doesn't work I'll think of it as an excuse to buy either a dremel (slot them and use a screwdriver) or a drill (for use with a bolt extractor).

:beer:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The rotors don't need to come off for a tire change. In fact its better to have them on when balancing once the new tire is on. Just make sure not to drop the wheels sideways on them...

I personally would use stock factory replacements, torqued properly. Its not uncommon to find bolts way too tight from the factory. Thats probably why they stripped. Dissimilar metals, overtime also will tend to seize together as well unless you use anti seize on the threads.

As for the stripped bolts, I'd drill the heads off, remove the rotor, then get a pair of vise grips on the remaining stud for removal. Once installed and torqued correctly, the stockers are fine IMHO...

If you have a hammer/impact tool (hand held, about 1.5" wide), you may try a slightly larger head bit on the tool to break the bolt loose. Don't hammer too hard and cause other problems...

Good luck.

 

[Cali rider]

The rotor screws are definitely not "cheap pieces of crap made from soft metal". They are only torqued to 13 ft/lb. but have thread locking adhesive applied. This is what makes disassembly difficult.

As far as the removal of the damaged screws I would sand/grind the button head off so it clears the rotor flange, remove the other screws and disc, then grab the protruding stub of the failed screw with Vice-Grips. As TownsendsFJR1300 said I would only use the stock factory fastener, about $2.75 ea. Use Loctite 242 (blue) and torque properly. Oh, and be sure to orient the rotor on the wheel the same as it came off or you might experience disc runout.

 

[Goop]

I was warned about stripping the heads of these bolts. My bolts had some ugly oxidation on them and I wanted to clean them up and paint them black. I bought this tool and it worked like a charm in breaking loose the thread lock compound:

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

Highly recommended! :thumbup:

 

[Nelly]

I had a similar issue when removing my brake caliper. I hadn't inserted the allen key deep enough. Can you gently tap the key in with a hammer to get the correct purchase?

Nelly:thumbup:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I was warned about stripping the heads of these bolts. My bolts had some ugly oxidation on them and I wanted to clean them up and paint them black. I bought this tool and it worked like a charm in breaking loose the thread lock compound:

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

Highly recommended! :thumbup:

That's the tool I was referring to, thanks...

 

[FZ6-ZN]

Titanium rotor bolts from Pro-Bolt is the way to go.

FZ6-ZN - Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk...

 

[skooter65]

I don't think it is possible to remove the factory bolts without stripping at least one (or in my case, 6). Three Things:

First: Buy an Impact driver (Similar to this: Northern Industrial Tools Impact Driver Set | Nut Drivers | Northern Tool + Equipment)

Second: For the already stripped heads: use a Dremel to cut a slot similar to a large flat head rather than drilling/grinding the head off. Drilling/Grinding is tricky and you really don't want to cut into the rotor. With the "slot", you can use the impact wrench to remove the bolt.

Third: For the un-stripped bots: Give the impact driver a whack in the tightening direction once. This breaks free the thread locker and makes removal much easier. I used this method on the second rotor without stripping a single one.

 

[FinalImpact]

. . . .

As for the stripped bolts, I'd drill the heads off, remove the rotor, then get a pair of vise grips on the remaining stud for removal. Once installed and torqued correctly, the stockers are fine IMHO...
. . . . .

Ditto - Drill them with a bit that is larger than the bolt shank itself. The heads will pop right off and then the rotor comes clear so you can access the stub and extract it with vise-grips. I'd avoid the easy-out routine if at all possible. A little heat will go a long ways to free loctite.

Can't imagine slotting them with a dremel the disc is to narrow to be effective for a screw driver. Maybe an pneumatic tool with an arbor for cut-off disc. The good about this, is it will induce some heat into the bolt as well as vibes which could help free the loctite.

Edit: also - grinding used hex bit flat is helpful if the tip is worn. You may also want to use a pick and clean the hole removing any brake dust so it fits in completely.

 

[FloppyRunner]

Thanks all, no such luck at the specialty fastener store. I will look up the Pro-Bolt solution as well, but otherwise it's more money to the dealer it looks like.

I don't know, I still think they're either cheap pieces of crap or just a poor design. Rotors need to be machined/replaced over the life of a bike; if they can't be expected to come off without having the bolt stripped, that's either a design or a manufacturing (overtorqued, inappropriate loc-tite, etc...) failure in my mind.

I'll let you all know how it turns out and maybe post some pictures.

 

[FloppyRunner]

Decided I'm not gonna bother with it for now. I'm just gonna torque the rest of them back in properly and leave the stripped ones which have never been removed. I did buy replacements at the dealer (although if I were doing it again I'd order them online for cheaper) so I have them when I do need them.

 

[Jayson]

Brake Disc Bolts - Front 10 - Pro-Bolt USA Hardware - Titanium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum Fasteners for Metric Motorcycles & Harley-Davidson

FZ6 FAZER S2 ABS '07-'08 - Pro-Bolt USA Hardware - Titanium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum Fasteners for Metric Motorcycles & Harley-Davidson


I have had great success with Pro Bolt. I was very reluctant to spend the money on expensive bolts 'cause "they're just bolts."

They are NOT just bolts.... I purchased their race spec from fork and caliper bolts for my 08 GSXR race bike. These are the best quality, best machined bolts I have ever seen. Now, unless I need something that is only available from the dealer, I will be buying everything bolt related from Pro Bolt. You don't need to go crazy and buy Titanium everything... although I will 'cause I'm sick in the head that way... but they have some great stuff at reasonable prices for what you are buying....

And the Titanium stuff is very, very cool indeed!!!!! :BLAA:

 

[Hellgate]

When you remove rotor bolts you must replace them with brand new ones. OEM is the only way to go in this case. This is a major safety issue.

 

[FloppyRunner]

When you remove rotor bolts you must replace them with brand new ones. OEM is the only way to go in this case. This is a major safety issue.

The guy at the service desk at the dealer told me otherwise, but this makes sense and I think I knew it all along, just didn't want to spend the money (they wanted $4 a bolt...wtf)... Ahhhh crap. Maybe back to Pro-Bolt...

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I checked both my 2007 Yamaha FZ6 manual and 2004 Yamaha FJR factory manual's (same style set up) re replacing the bolts after removal.

Neither book mentions replacing the bolts with new one's once removed but does mention using loctite on the threads and tightening to spec's..

Can you please advise where its posted they need replacement?

Thanks..

 

[skooter65]

...Can't imagine slotting them with a dremel the disc is to narrow to be effective for a screw driver...

This process worked excellent for me. Made two passes with a standard Dremel cutting wheel (fitting the flat bit of the impact driver as I went to make sure is wasn't too sloppy). Came loose with two hits.