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Any alternative to expensive stock bolts?
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Posted by: Clutch---------------------

Does anyone know where I can get sprocket bolts just like the stock ones on a Kawasaki? I keep losing one bolt during each ride. I'll forget about Loc-Titing it until the ride starts, then a few miles later, I look down, and it's rattled loose. I tried going to the hardware store, but good luck finding a metric Allen-head bolt of that length. It turns out to be a huge run-around and waste of time trying to save money by finding cheap bolts because there's nothing out there that fits right, so I end up getting Kawasaki bolts. Are the $40 kits from Dirt Bolts worth it? I would like to warn everybody that Kawasaki charges $3.50 for each sprocket bolt, and $1.50 for the washer, and about the same for the nut!!! I have learned my lesson; it is definitely worth going over certain bolts on your bike with Loc-Tite!!!

'95 KDX

Posted by: Chodeman---------------------

yea, I put loc-tite on every bolt.

Posted by: rockrider---------------------

I've always heard that you should be careful not to over use Loc-tite on your bike. You should only use loc-tite on bolts that are not removed very often. Don't use it on bolts that are frequently removed when servicing the bike since there is a chance you will wear out the threads.

I try and go over my bike and make sure everything is tight every few rides. That still didn't prevent my from losing a handguard bolt but it allow me to catch when my fork pinch bolts loosened up.

Posted by: DANIEL JOSEPH---------------------

Quote:

Originally posted by rockrider
I've always heard that you should be careful not to over use Loc-tite on your bike. You should only use loc-tite on bolts that are not removed very often. Don't use it on bolts that are frequently removed when servicing the bike since there is a chance you will wear out the threads.

I don't remember in 28 plus years of riding a motorcycle ever wearing out a bolt from putting loc-tite on it. The only place I would be careful is around plastic.

Posted by: BRush---------------------

Quote:

Originally posted by rockrider
You should only use loc-tite on bolts that are not removed very often. .

Rear sprocket bolts definitely qualify for "not removed very often" status.

Posted by: Formula---------------------

I purchased stainless metric countersunk bolts for my front rotor for about $0.40 each at a nut and bolt shop. I did have to call about 4 places until I found them but what a great dea,l especially being stainless.

Posted by: Clutch---------------------

Well, I went to the shop and picked up the nut and the bolt. The grand total? $9.73! $5.36 for the bolt, and $3.82 for the nut. Freaking outrageous. Is this a Kawasaki or a Ferrari that I own? I am most definitely looking into getting one of those kits from Dirt Bolts or somewhere. They are only $35 or $40. I could get a whole box of bolts for what 4 Kawasaki bolts would cost me. You better believe I got some blue Loc-Tite and took out each sprocket bolt, cleaned it, put on some Loc-Tite and torqued those motherf*'s DOWN. While I was down at wheel level, I took the front and rear brake caliper bolts out and slathered anti-seize lube all over them. The fronts weren't bad to get off, but the rears were so tight I thought they were going to snap off inside the hole, and then I would have had one hell of a mess. I assume they were tighter than the front bolts because I tend to be hard on my back brakes and drag them a little bit and I guess the extra heat seized them up.
Just to let you guys know the importance of using quality tools, I first tried undoing the rear bolts with a cheap Alltrade Allen wrench that I had lying around, and it TWISTED right in my hand! You know how Allen wrenches are hexagonal? Well after it twisted, the torque turned it into some sort of sprial candy cane pattern. Then I used one of my Craftsman Allen wrenches, and even though the loud "POP" when the bolt came loose had me thinking I snapped the bolt, the wrench did not bend at all. I need to invest in some Allen head sockets! At leastnow I know I will not lose a bolt in the mountains this Sunday.

Brian
95 KDX 200

Posted by: BRush---------------------

Why did you buy the washer and nut from Kawasaki? The bolt I can see. Those are hard to find, but the nut & washer you should be able to pick up in any Sears, Home Depot, or NAPA auto parts that has a good generic metric selection. BTW, I use the red loc-tite on my sprocket. The dirt bolts kit is worth the $$$ for the avoided hassle factor every time you have to replace something that dropped out on the trail. In addition here's a good website:

http://www.metricspecialties.com/index.asp

Posted by: Clutch---------------------

Thanks for the link. But I don't know what I'm looking for when I go to a web site like that, or when I go to an auto supply or industrial supply place. Buykawasaki.com doesn't really help, I looked at their diagram before I went to the shop. It just has the part numbers, not their dimensions. Neither does the workshop manual. I hope people can learn from my dumbass experience and we can swap some info about how to solve these hassles, because I know everybody loses bolts. Where are you getting replacements? Personally, I like to replace them with bolts that look exactly like what I lost, because otherwise, the "fit and finish" of the bike decreases when you start to swap in bolts that don't really look right, know what I mean? Things don't fit as well, and your bike starts to look ratty with all these different kinds of bolts on it. Imagine trying to sell your bike and it has all these weird bolts on it and it looks homemade. Hahaha! I went to Ace Hardware, but all they have are the usual hex-head bolts. The sprocket bolts are Allen head bolts, and the head of the bolt is a weird shape. It tapers. So even if I did find the right size bolt and right thread pitch, the head of those bolts won't fit properly.
It comes down to: do I want to spend an afternoon looking up phone numbers in the phone book, calling them, trying to give them an accurate description of the bolt, them saying "Sure, we have it, come on down", then when I get there, the bolts they have look nothing like mine. OR just saying the hell with it and going to Kawasaki and feeling like a huge jackass for paying that much for a bolt. I spent the money on it because I didn't want to keep riding with 5 out of 6 bolts on the sprocket, because more bolts will start to rattle loose, then the next thing I know, I land from a little jump and hear a terrible sound and my sprocket falls off and the rear wheel hub is warped or something, and I don't even want to THINK about what a hub costs.

I have run into a similar problem looking for a crush washer for the brake hose. I smacked the rear caliper on a rock a few months back, snapping the stock plastic caliper guard directly in two, and also causing a leak at the hose right where the crush washer is. Well, I went all over the place, to Pep Boys, Ace Hardware, Supply Stores, etc, looking for this little 2-cent crush washer. The washers I found were either too thick, too wide, the hole was too big, or the brass was too hard and it didn't "crush" like a crush washer should. Again, I said screw it, and went to Kawasaki. The cost for one of those teeny little crush washers? $2.10! I know some people are laughing, but it really is hard to find an exact fit for these parts. :think

Posted by: Chodeman---------------------

I agree with you clutch. I would just cough up the money for the factory bolt that looks right. I have never had to buy many bolts though. I just spend 10 or 15 minutes checking the bike over after every ride. Last weekend I noticed my kickstand had come loose. almost lost it. I put some red loc-tite on the bolts and wrenched them on real good, hopefully that will put an end to that problem.

Posted by: BRush---------------------

The buykawasaki site is actually pretty useful for this. It gives you chapter and verse on the bolt sizes. Take the sprocket as an example:

Ref # / Part # / Description /Qty
410 /410B0800 /WASHER-PLAIN-SMALL,8MM /6
92015 /92015-1432 /NUT,8MM /6
92150 /92150-1978 /BOLT,SOCKET,8X28 /6

This tells you that the sprocket bolt is an 8mm bolt, 28mm in length. The nut is 8mm, as is the washer. Thread pitch on an 8mm bolt comes in coarse (1.25mm) and fine (1.0 mm). The easy way is to take one of your new bolts down to Sears or Home depot and compare to the 8mm bolt there, which will have the thread pitch marked. I'm guessing 1.25, but without looking at my bike, that's just a guess.

btw, the kit of flanged bolts you can buy from various sources (I got mine from Kevin's) look just like the factory fasteners, except they are shiny zinc - but then I don't really give a crap about how my bike looks, just that it is in good mechanical shape.

Posted by: MADisher---------------------

I'm really not trying to promote MXSouth, but I just stumbled across this..

http://www.mxsouth.com/dirtbolts/dirtbolts.htm

Looks like something I've gotta have. Cause like it says, if you got it, you won't need it. So true, havn't bent a lever since I've carried a spare.

Posted by: DANIEL JOSEPH---------------------

I think you should take a look at why these bolts are loosening, besides the fact you aren't loctiting them. The nut are lock nuts you should not be losing one after a few miles every ride. Are you torquing the bolts down properly? There has to be a reason why these things are loosening up.

Posted by: David Trustrum---------------------

OK if you aren’t changing the gearing that often then take all the bolts out & drill them & the nuts in a couple of positions. Then run safety-wire thru the whole lot. Takes a little time to do but eliminates the problem. Use SS wire though.

When you bashed the brake calliper you may have bent the bolt slightly. Don’t screw around with brake parts buy genuine or after-market brake parts.

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Any alternative to expensive stock bolts?

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