Replacing bolts with Stainless steel hex key bolts

[Arfdog]

Hi all,

I like to replace engine bolts with Allen key stainless steel bolts, but with my other bike I ordered them will-nilly as I took them out and measured them.

What I'd rather do with my GS, is order a stockpile of the most commonly used sizes, so that I can replace the bolts right away.

Does anyone know if there is a large prevalence of certain sized bolts in particular, on the GS450 engine?

[mortation]

I'd like this info too! On eBay for the GT's they sell bolt kits that has a replacement bolt for each. Would be nice if there were something like this for the GS's

[bonanzadave]

BTDT. Just for the engine. Im sure I got it off EBay. Actually had to call the place cause they didnt list my specific model. A week later they were at my door. Search "Stainless bolt kit". Theres one post from Diamondj that shows some places in the UK. This is money well spent :-D

[Billyboy]

There is! I got a set for my GS1000 off ebay.

[bonanzadave]

OK, Heres the old post...........

RCRobb - if you have the fiche for the bike you want bolts for, it will list the bolt size and length either next to the part number or as part of the part number. For example - a case screw with the part number: 02112-06408 would be a 6mm diameter 40mm length bolt. I think the last 8 refers to the strength grade of the bolt (grade "8" ) but I could be wrong. The fiches I have checked for this numbering method are mostly two stroke T and GT series bikes but they used it on the fiche for my GS1000 too. A source for crankcase bolts would be www.mandp.com in England. They sell allen head bolt kits for the crankcase in either anodized aluminum or stainless steel. The stainless set for my GS1000 (part number 529252 @ ?8.00 for the kit) was reasonably priced and is nice quality. Two cautions - the bolt kits are NOT in their online catalog so you will have to call them and they charge a shipping and handling minimum of ?20 to the USA so you'll want to get several kits or other parts for your bike at the same time. There is another company in the UK named Inox (http://www.inoxfasteners.co.uk/) that listed low prices for crankcase kits in stainless but when I asked them to send me a quote for three bikes, the total was ?99 which was a lot different than the Brit magazine ad prices I had seen for ?8.99 to ?10.99 per kit! For a USA supplier you could always check Manhattan Supply (www.mscdirect.com) or McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com). They carry a decent amount of stainless and grade 8 alloy steel allen head bolts but you might not be able to get some of the longer bolts Suzuki uses.....

[Norseman]

FWIW, I just ordered a complete SS bolt set from Burks Motorsports http://www.westcoastmc.com and I was pleased. The set is very comprehensive and nothing missing of major type/size. Quality is good and the price was US$21.95 plus $5 shipping, arrived in my mailbox in 3 days. Buying each bolt/fastener at the local hardware store (very $$$) and having to grind some down to make sure it didn't bottom-out, and not getting the right shank (non-thread portion), was a pain.

I checked, and they do have a specific set for the GS450 (also $21.95). Anyway, check'em out - it worked out for me...

Norseman

[Mike Curtis]

SS Hex bolt set

I'm with Norseman I to have a set from Burk and I'm was very please with it.

[Hap Call]

I'm the only one here that's going to say avoid the bolt kits. The reason I don't like them is that they are normally 304 stainless (A2 stainless overseas) instead of 316 stainless (A1 stainless overseas). The 304 bolts will actually corrodes and get a dull finish. I originally bought a kit but in the end traded the bolts out one-by-one until I had all 316 stainless in there. There were a couple of bolts I could not trade out that were too long to get locally (they were on the front drive sprocket cover) so I'm stuck with them. The difference is that 316 has molybdenum added for additional corrsion resistance. The same goes for ISO fasteners - A1, A4, and A5 have molybdenum added but A2 and A3 do not.

Hap

[Norseman]

Hap is Correct

Hap is right on - the bolt kit is 304 Stainless. Since this is my first kit, I really don't know how well and for how long 304SS keeps its luster.

Hap, you obviously went down this road before and has first hand knowledge on the kits, and I appreciate the knowledge. My thinking now is that I will likely go with 316SS in the future.

But what the heck, at $26.95 I'm not out a whole lot money even if I start replacing them over time with 316S. I really needed to replace the factory bolts as a number of the heads already were stripped out beyond re-usablity by PO. So there it is...

Norseman

[bonanzadave]

But what the heck, at $26.95 I'm not out a whole lot money even if I start replacing them over time with 316S. I really needed to replace the factory bolts as a number of the heads already were stripped out beyond re-usablity by PO. So there it is...

Norseman

Go for it. Use a little anti sieze. And dont listen to Hap. He tried to tell us he was an electrician.

[Norseman]

Wisdom

Uhhh, I have no opinion? :-\"

Norseman