Titanium Bolts, etc.....

[Wolfman]

Ok, my bike is now starting to show very small signs of age, with a few OEM nuts & bolts, starting to show the strain, so i thought it was time to replace & upgrade as many as i can, so i have just gone and pushed the button on the following items from pro bolt....

Mostly titanium...bloody expensive, but 10/10 in the desirability stakes!

1. Grade 5 Titanium Rear Axle Nut - Machined with captive washer. M24 x 1.5mm (32mm Socket Size), 40% lighter than Steel Original. Highly resistant to corrosion.

2. A set of titanium bolts that pinch together the Front Brake and Clutch Lever Perches on your handle bars.

3. Set of 4 Titanium bolts that pinch the handlebar to the yoke

4. Full Titanium engine bolt kit.
All the bolts to replace manufacturers' originals on side engine casings including clutch covers, water pump housing, alternator cover and sprocket covers where applicable. Kits are easy to use - remove one bolt at a time, and replace with an identical length Pro-Bolt! Primarily contains M6 threads with a 5mm allen key drive. This kit is an incredible 40% lighter than originals and is highly resistant to corrosion. With exotic tapered heads. Bolts are made from Grade 5 Titanium which can be torque to manufacturers' original settings. Also included in the kit are Pro-Lube, and the relevant allen keys.

5. Front Brake Caliper Titanium bolts set of 4x M10 (1.25) x 30mm Race Spec Bolts (Drilled on all Flats with reduced socket size and scooped out head) Min high tensile 6AL-4V (Grade 5) Titanium - to mount the front caliper to the fork leg. This kit offers better corrosion resistance and is 40% lighter than the original bolts. Can be torqued to the manufacturers' original setting.

6. Titanium Swingarm Nut - with captive washer machined into the nut, Titanium triple clamp pinch bolts, Titanium Sprocket nuts, Titanium Top Yoke nut, Titanium chain adjuster bolt & nut.

All of it is ordered in non-anodized natural titanium, keeping with the black, chrome, polished metal theme of my bike.

Here's a few pic's of some of the stuff i am getting...

View attachment 26460

View attachment 26461

View attachment 26462

Ordered it straight from Pro-Bolt Australia...Am going to try and resist putting this stuff till when the engine is worked on over winter...

:thumbup:

 

[afpreppie04]

Nice, I've been considering placing an order from Pro-Bolt as well. Last time I bought a fairing bolt from Yamaha it ended up about $4 anyway so if you look at it that way it isn't too expensive.

 

[Wolfman]

Nice, I've been considering placing an order from Pro-Bolt as well. Last time I bought a fairing bolt from Yamaha it ended up about $4 anyway so if you look at it that way it isn't too expensive.

Yes, i have experienced this, having had to buy Yamaha OEM replacement nuts & bolts....$9 for a headlight bracket bolt! And it gets worse!

So, yes, upgrading to titanium, doesnt end up being that expensive...

upgrading to Stainless via pro-bolt, is actually cheaper than buying the Yamaha OEM replacement items, which are neither titanium, or stainless.

 

[champion221elite]

Nice kit! Is there any truth to the rumor that Titanium fasteners are one time use only?

I remember reading the Titanium lug nuts used on some super cars are only allowed one use. Once they are removed from the car, they're junk and must be replaced with a new fastener.

 

[ecudoc]

So, in total for what you bought, How much did it end up costing? I have been considering doing the same, just to show the fizzer some love..

 

[dean owens]

Nice kit! Is there any truth to the rumor that Titanium fasteners are one time use only?

I remember reading the Titanium lug nuts used on some super cars are only allowed one use. Once they are removed from the car, they're junk and must be replaced with a new fastener.

hmmmm. any reason given as to why this would be true?

 

[Discofrank]

Nice kit! Is there any truth to the rumor that Titanium fasteners are one time use only?

I remember reading the Titanium lug nuts used on some super cars are only allowed one use. Once they are removed from the car, they're junk and must be replaced with a new fastener.

you will find that these are single use items only.. as in they will actually deform to a spec when in use ( such as wheel lug nuts in the NASCARS ) and due to deformity they no longer are of use and are thrown out

same as head bolts which are just steel, they deform when torqued up and need replacing when removed


i can bet any $$ that these bolts are many use items


i just go down to coventry's fastners and get all my new bolts in SS

although those rear axle nuts and pinch bolts ................

must remove my self from site i will spend $$

 

[Wolfman]

i just go down to coventry's fastners and get all my new bolts in SS

although those rear axle nuts and pinch bolts ................

This is exactly what i normally do...cant count how many times i have been in there and had them match up bolts, and give em to me for next to nothing in stainless...

:thumbup:

 

[afpreppie04]

Is Coventry like a hardware store? If so I do the exact same thing for my RX7, every time I take off something that still has 20 year old bolts on it I take them with me and get a stainless replacement.

 

[RJ2112]

This is exactly what i normally do...cant count how many times i have been in there and had them match up bolts, and give em to me for next to nothing in stainless...

:thumbup:

Point of information, here..... the last job I did contracting was to support product development for a helicopter mounted turret that carried infrared and TV cameras (amongst other things). My job was to ensure the turret would survive the sort of vibration the helicopter would subject the system to.

Spent quite a bit of time with shaker tables, doing that.

Long story short, I learned that stainless steel bolts are good at limiting corrosion; but not very good mechanically. They are quite 'soft' compared to typical steel, and much softer than high carbon steel.

Just as a word of caution, those bolts should be checked frequently. They will stretch more readily than a common steel bolt.

 

[Wolfman]

Point of information, here..... the last job I did contracting was to support product development for a helicopter mounted turret that carried infrared and TV cameras (amongst other things). My job was to ensure the turret would survive the sort of vibration the helicopter would subject the system to.

Spent quite a bit of time with shaker tables, doing that.

Long story short, I learned that stainless steel bolts are good at limiting corrosion; but not very good mechanically. They are quite 'soft' compared to typical steel, and much softer than high carbon steel.

Just as a word of caution, those bolts should be checked frequently. They will stretch more readily than a common steel bolt.

I have found that Stainless bolts do fatigue reasonably quickly, and as such, have spent quite a bit of time replacing bolts, on a pretty regular basis...luckily for me, Coventry Fasteners are just down the road.


:thumbup:

 

[Jman]

One would think......for as many auto/airplane/boat/motorcycle enthusiasts out there, a demand MUST be present for both a corrosion proof AND mechanically superior fasteners out there. I have always wanted to build some sort of vehicle (be it bike, car or whatever) that would stand the test of time in terms of corrosion/rust. Wish the big manufacturing companies would at least make something available along these lines - even if it was just an option. I know the financial people running most companies would usually say that the extra cost is not justifiable, but if the demand was high enough they could still profit from it.

Those bolts do look really nice Wolfman! :thumbup:

 

[Wolfman]

One would think......for as many auto/airplane/boat/motorcycle enthusiasts out there, a demand MUST be present for both a corrosion proof AND mechanically superior fasteners out there. I have always wanted to build some sort of vehicle (be it bike, car or whatever) that would stand the test of time in terms of corrosion/rust. Wish the big manufacturing companies would at least make something available along these lines - even if it was just an option. I know the financial people running most companies would usually say that the extra cost is not justifiable, but if the demand was high enough they could still profit from it.

Those bolts do look really nice Wolfman! :thumbup:

One of the main reasons for getting the bolts is that i hate it when thread's burr easily, or cheap hex head's strip themselves....

Would rather have to spend a little more to get the extra quality, that doesnt fail, and require the use of a tap & dye kit every 5 minutes...

We do use quality tools, and torque a lot of stuff that is important, to factory spec's.

But none of the choices out there are invinsible, and all are susceptible to harsh weather, lack of maintenance...and sometimes, user error!

The other reason i dont mind spending the coin, is that i dont plan on getting rid of this bike anytime, and i will get my value for money, by carrying out this "preventative maintenance".

:thumbup:

 

[RJ2112]

One would think......for as many auto/airplane/boat/motorcycle enthusiasts out there, a demand MUST be present for both a corrosion proof AND mechanically superior fasteners out there. I have always wanted to build some sort of vehicle (be it bike, car or whatever) that would stand the test of time in terms of corrosion/rust. Wish the big manufacturing companies would at least make something available along these lines - even if it was just an option. I know the financial people running most companies would usually say that the extra cost is not justifiable, but if the demand was high enough they could still profit from it.

Those bolts do look really nice Wolfman! :thumbup:

It's a price point thing, for the most part. It's expensive to hold the tolerances tight enough, with good plating to prevent the corrosion. Short cuts lead to much less expensive parts that are good for X # of years..... but not a life time.

MIL STD fasteners are more likely to have the precision, and depth of plating to prevent the sorts of issues I've seen on the FZ6. There's all sorts of chemical conversion coatings that form a layer of oxide that prevents further corrosion... treating aluminum with an iodine compound forms an oxide layer that prevents any further corrosion, for instance. Stains the metal reddish brown, so you have to prime it and paint it, but it does not corrode. Those jet black nuts and bolts that look like they are coated, rather than high carbon steel, are probably nitride coated. Very tough surface.

The whole deal with adding dissimilar metals to your bike practically assures that there will be corrosion. A steel bolt into aluminum guarantees a pit in the aluminum, as the electrolytic cell carries ions to the steel. This is why they put the zinc blocks on the bottom of steel and aluminum boats.... the zinc is the donor material, and by corroding stops the corrosion from happening elsewhere. Not all rust is red..... titanium oxide is white. Aluminum oxide is grayish white..... but they are rust.......

Stainless bolts have so little Iron in them, that you would have a tough time picking one up with a magnet..... that's one of the easiest tests to verify you have a stainless bolt or nut, BTW.

 

[stink989]

pro bolt are nice stuff, i have the brake and clutch pinch bolts in gold and it just dresses it up a bit more will be getting more soon

 

[dean owens]

interesting to me that stainless steel bolts aren't strong. i thought stainless was a strong metal. in the tube amp world stainless chassis are great because you have the prop of steel without having to worry about chroming it or it rusting. but no one wants to work with it because it's so hard to drill in comparison to plain old steel or (obviously) aluminum chassis. learn something new every day.

 

[cap'n]

I think the first thing I'd want to replace are the exhaust header bolts. Mine are 3 years old and look pretty bad.

 

[cap'n]

I think the first thing I'd want to replace are the exhaust header bolts. Mine are 3 years old and look pretty bad.

...and looking at Pro Bolt's site, there are none. I wonder why? They're among the first thing to corrode on most bikes. ??

 

[squirly]

is there any where else that you can get the colored bolts besides pro-bolt? i know there is dealer for pro-bolt but much cheaper to go direct but shipping get ya to im in the USA.

 

[opnwhlmnd]

Titanium .. great choice

They are as strong as grade 8 steel bolts and basicly weigh the same as aluminum

I've used them for years in my sprint car and never had one break even in a bad crash. Hardly ever replaced one.

.