Ducati Monster Forum

http://www.schmolke-carbon.de/carbon/carbon_uk/schraub.php (http://www.schmolke-carbon.de/carbon/carbon_uk/schraub.php)

(http://www.schmolke-carbon.de/carbon/carbon_de/thumbs/schraub/carbon.gif)

"They are stronger and 40% lighter than aluminium bolts."

 [drool]

I am not sure whether to thank you or curse you.......   ;D

Two observations:

1) An aluminium bolt isn't very heavy anyway
2) An aluminium bolt isn't very strong

you can AL for side cases and several other connections on a Duc.
so you can replace the AL with CF
and Steel with Ti

just imagine the weight savings.

Be careful using carbon bolts to attach aluminum parts.  Galvanic corrosion is real bad between AL and CF.  Water/Moisture/Heat accentuates the problem....essentially, you aluminum parts will corrode away!

?

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_07/corrosn.html (http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_07/corrosn.html)

but is it any different than steel/AL/Ti issues?

 So the carbon fiber belt covers on my Monster are going to make the engine dissolve?

"The actual thread can not be stripped. In terms of dynamic strength carbon fibre is much superior to all other materials used for screws."

 Can't be stripped eh... sounds like a challenge!

OOOOH  But!!!
9 euros each!!!

Galvanic corrosion. (which is an Americanism btw) Between Aluminium and Carbon in air?
Oh deary me.

It happens on steel boats with Aluminium super structures but wouldn't happen without  salt water (electrolyte) or an electrical charge.

Also it needs to be 2 metals
.
So you Carbon Fibre bolts will not corrode your engine cases.

May I just say, that all the Carbon Fibre in the world is not going to compensate for the Fat Flucker that is sitting on my Monster's seat ;) ;) ;)
Alan H

+1  [laugh]

Or for those that are exercise challenged,
drop a deuce before each ride.

Immediate weight savings.

Before anyone goes out and starts buying these up and changing out their engine cover bolts, keep in mind that when people say "carbon fiber" or "carbon" in this context, they mean carbon fiber reinforced plastic. So these bolts are plastic bolts with some carbon fibers in them.

Unlike most CF composite parts that you'll see for motorcycles, though, these use PEEK instead of epoxy. PEEK has a glass transition temperature of around 290 degrees F. That means that these will quit acting like a rigid material and start acting like a gel at that temperature. Will some engine cover bolts approach that temperature? Maybe, maybe not. Will your fancy plastic bolts result in your Duc "marking its territory" every time you park? Maybe, maybe not.

So keep that in mind before you spend all your money on plastic screws. Plus, if strength and temperature are really that much of a non-issue for a particular screw, you know what's even lighter than plastic with carbon fibers in it? Plastic without carbon fibers in it.  Plus, it's cheaper. :)

+1 for all the other options to loose weight.  Galvanic corrosion on aircraft is a big deal on the CF airplanes I design.  As with any machine that uses electricity, you don't always have the same ground potential between all the different components.  Thus, you have some that have some small voltages present around the machine.

In practice, you can feel this in some cars when you drive them in dry climates, and they develop a static charge, then you get out of the car and ground the charge with your body and get shocked!  This is your electrical source, same on a bike.

Regular water will do the job to help bridge the non-conductive parts of the bike so that these charges can pass.  Salt water is a better conductor, buy regular water works too.  Humidity will contribute to galvanic corrosion, so if you are in a dry environment, you would probably be better off than in Florida.

In aircraft, you never put aluminum rivets through CF unless they are installed "wet" with adhesive or some compound to provide isolation between the AL and CF.  Ti is a much better choice for a metal that is compatible with CF.

http://www.corrosionist.com/galvanic_corrosion_chart.htm (http://www.corrosionist.com/galvanic_corrosion_chart.htm)

The farther away from each other on the chart the worse the corrosion potential is.

That said, the plastic in these screws is probably the biggest worry in my book.  Specially for engine parts.