Hi, My name is Gary, and I am a Boltaholic. It all started when I bought my Ducati M620. The previous owner may not have taken as good a care as he could have preventing corrosion, and so began my quest to replace every bolt on the bike.
I have pretty much accomplished my goal on the 620. I was all about going stainless, and I started my obsession with Desmoparts when the now advertising riddled forum ran out of bolt kits. I read that they came from Desmoparts anyway. Great place to do business with.
I had just about exhausted my options of replacing any more bolts when Probolt came out with their stainless line. Wow, stainless banjos? Sign me up!
Then, when I had exhausted all the internet had to offer, I found a place in Minneapolis that did high phosphorus electroless nickel plating, which looks just like stainless, and has excellent corrosion resistance properties. So, another couple hundred bucks later, I had every metal threaded part on the bike in either stainless or something that looks very close (well, except for that darn front axle, since I don't have a front stand).
Fast forward to May, 2009. I brought a brand new M1100s. Of course I needed an open clutch cover, but what really else does that bike need? How about bolts? Yeah, okay, but not those heavy stainless bolts this time, and Titanium is way too expensive. What if I just stick to Aluminum? That limits my scope to only those bolts that don't need to be high strength, saves even more weight than titanium, and costs less than replacing every bolt. That's the plan as it stands.
So, in the process, I have found some great places to obtain bolts, and I though I would share. I would really like to know your favorite bolt sources and experiences, so please also feel free to share.
Of course, the first stop for stainless fasteners and kits!:
http://www.desmoparts.comHighly recommended for a few hard to find stainless parts:
http://www.smallparts.comLove these guys, they have some medium and high strength stainless stuff, but kinda hard to order from:
http://www.totallystainless.comHave some harder to find stainless stuff, but usually need to buy in quantity:
http://www.mcmaster.cominteresting offerings, but no experience with:
http://stainlessbits.comhttp://www.a2stainless.co.ukIf you're fortunate enough to live near one of these, you can call them up and they'll get the parts within a couple days. You can then pick them up and you don't have to pay shipping. Good source for stainless:
http://www.fastenal.comMy first stop for aluminum and titanium and BEAUTIFUL polished stainless:
http://www.tastynuts.com/site/frameset.htmLightech aluminum bolts! They have two different colors of Blue, one they call blue, and the other indigo. I ordered blue, and it is an exact match to the blue on my Ohlins forks, and their gold is really close to the Ohlins gold as well. Thier red is a bit darker than most anodized reds. (they have Titanium too)
http://www.oppracing.com/brands/LighTech/These guys also carry Lightech:
http://www.yoyodyneti.com/Ordered some aluminum bolts from this place, but they were too crappy looking and didn't end up on the bike:
http://titaniumfasteners.com/shopNo experience with their Titanium, but their Aluminum bolts are made by bsr-aerotek and are inconsistent from bolt to bolt in color and craftsmanship:
http://www.racebolts.comKeep an eye on this website run by ryanracer (carries Lightech too!):
http://ballerbolts.com/
