Bolt/Nut assortment

[xcgates]

Finally getting around to a more deliberate fixing attempt to my '79 850, which leads me to cleaning up the electrical, specifically several grounds, bad bolts, etc. Going to go slow, and actually address things BEFORE they fail. Crazy thought, I know. But now it's my only non-running engine powered thing, and most of what will throw chaos into my life is hay powered. So I can afford a long-term project.

Anyone have a favorite source for bolt kits? I just bought a couple misc from my local hardware store, but got to looking at places like McMaster Carr. Thinking the metal drawer type. Going to need one for bolts, one for machine screws. Just hard to find reviews for "bolt kits" as those are pretty generic terms. For instance, USBoltKit seemed like what I want, but there are a number of bad reviews, which lead me to the old reliable places, McMaster, Grainger, Fastenal.

Figure the basic zinc plated 8.8 are the go to? Still need to measure a variety of fasteners to make sure I get the correct range of sizes. Figure M4-M10 will cover most of what I need though.

 

[eil]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about buying an assortment of nuts/bolts/screws. All bikes use a wide range of fasteners so short of removing a bunch of them and taking the time and effort to measure/document them all, you're going to end up with a big assortment of spares that you'll never use. Bolts especially can get spendy in a hurry. And some of them are "special" enough that you have to get them from Suzuki anyway.

If I lose or break a fastener and don't have a replacement, I personally just suffer a trip to the hardware store when I'm out running other errands and buy what I need, plus a few extra. I've been doing that for many years, and as a result, I hardly ever have to go to the hardware store for fasteners anymore unless it's for a specific project.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a small selection of metric machine screws on hand, an assortment of those is like $6 at the local Harbor Freight.

Another thing you can do is go on eBay and search for "Suzuki GS stainless steel bolt kit" or similar. You'll find allen-head bolt kits for the carbs, engine covers, exhaust stud replacements, etc. They're not too expensive and add a bit of bling, assuming you're not going for the 100% stock look.

 

[Nessism]

You would be better off getting yourself setup to renew the zinc plating on the existing fasteners, which are high quality. Check youtube for tutorials on the process. I've done hundreds of parts using a Caswells Plating kit, but cheaper methods should work fine as well.