I'm going to purchase something like this from Harbor Freight;



And set about creating my dream hardware collection. Looking for suggestions! Imagine you're building a bike from scratch, what would you want at your immediate disposal? So far what I can think of is;

- M5, M6, M8 and M10 stainless cap screws in varying sizes. Heavier on the M6X12>25 as those are by far the most common.
- Assorted stainless washers; belleville, split, lock, and standard flat
- Assorted stainless nuts; flange, lock, etc
- A variety of rubber grommets/fairleads. The size that is used on the fluid reservoirs, where there is a shoulder bolt that passes through seems to be the most common, I think it's on the headlight U bracket, rearsets, fuse box holder etc. These are absurdly priced from the dealer but incredibly cheap from McMaster-Carr. It would be nice to have replacements whenever they get cracked/dried out or for custom projects.
- A good tap & die set as well as an assortment of blank SS rod for odd little custom bolt requirements that pop up
- A nice assortment of stainless shims; slotted, horseshoe, tapered etc. as well as a variety of SS threaded and non threaded spacers
- A variety of waterproof/Superseal automotive connecters; I think the 2 pin and the 6 pin are the 2 most common on our bikes.
- A variety of stainless shoulder screws if you have the disposable income...boy those are expensive.


Yeah, I'm bored...and don't have a motorcycle to ride so this is what I do, lol.

I expect you realize that this project will be $$$$ for the fasteners and connector hardware.

I started a similar collection years ago by initially buying tear down assortments from breakers for each bike I have. Careful shopping can really produce some great deals. Sometimes they include more than just hardware in the assortment. I've gotten relays, hoses, etc. in them.  I then incrementally added to each fastener quantity. As far as the electrical connectors go, I try to limit my inventory to the pins and sockets, and not the connector bodies.

I don't think the bin assortment you pictured from HF is going to have enough bins/boxes. I had a similar setup and learned that lesson quickly. I searched and found a shop that had changed their hardware supplier and I bought their old bins. They were the 8 drawer Wurth cabinets. Each drawer has oodles of compartments, some of which can be configured as needed. I got 2 of the cabinets along with the base legs for $25.00. You might consider watching for similar on ebay/C'List. If you could find a local shop replacing theirs, you could get them much cheaper than an online source.

A tap and die set definitely comes in handy, but I would suggest to also consider a couple of thread files. They can be quite effective at rescuing damaged bolts/studs, especially if the damage is at the thread start, which is usually the case.

The stainless hardware in particular is surprisingly affordable. If you order from China (which so many people are opposed to, even though all you're doing is eliminating the middle man) you can buy packs of 10-20 cap screws for a couple dollars shipped. I've amassed quite a collection just by dropping 10 bucks here and there over the last year. I probably have enough stainless metric cap screws to build 3-4 bikes at this point.

You know how almost every project involves a trip to Lowe's at some point? I'd like to be able to build a complete bike without leaving my garage.

Agree, buying incrementally in quantity is the way to go. I've been doing it for quite a while and have also found deals. When I mentioned $$$$ it was in reference to tallying a final (if that is ever possible) cost. Even with good deals, it really adds up if you are brave enough to want to know the total cost.

Yep, it is really convenient not having to make supply runs in the middle of the job. Another benefit is that when I remove a dirty fastener, I just toss it in the "to do" box and pull a clean one out of the drawer.

BTW, deals can also be found for Ti fasteners. That is what I have started doing. For the highly visible ones I go with ProTi ($$), but opt for the internet deals for the others. It might be inconvenient to determine all of the lengths needed, but beats the Hell out of the kit prices.

Quote from: oldndumb on July 31, 2014, 02:54:48 PM
Agree, buying incrementally in quantity is the way to go. I've been doing it for quite a while and have also found deals. When I mentioned $$$$ it was in reference to tallying a final (if that is ever possible) cost. Even with good deals, it really adds up if you are brave enough to want to know the total cost.

Yep, it is really convenient not having to make supply runs in the middle of the job. Another benefit is that when I remove a dirty fastener, I just toss it in the "to do" box and pull a clean one out of the drawer.

BTW, deals can also be found for Ti fasteners. That is what I have started doing. For the highly visible ones I go with ProTi ($$), but opt for the internet deals for the others. It might be inconvenient to determine all of the lengths needed, but beats the Hell out of the kit prices.

Yep...I don't wanna envision the total cost any more than I wanna know what I've spent on high end coffee beans over the years, lol. Right now my stainless bolt collection just needs rounded out, I'm going to work on rubber grommets now.

For anyone that's would like to replace the rubber grommets on their bike or have spares, these are the McMaster-Carr part #'s. They don't seem to carry metric sizes, oh well they're rubber so it doesn't matter.

#9600K69 pack of 50
ID (A)   1/4"
OD (B)   3/4"
Overall Thickness (C)   7/16"
Panel Thickness (D)   1/8"
Panel Hole Diameter (E)   1/2"

And:

9600K53 pack of 100
ID (A)   5/16"
OD (B)   3/4"
Overall Thickness (C)   3/8"
Panel Thickness (D)   1/8"
Panel Hole Diameter (E)   1/2"

K69 is the thicker/taller of the 2, used as a shock absorber on the reservoir mounting bracket, fuse box and other places. K53 isn't as tall and is used on the U bracket but the center/panel and hole thickness is identical. You could probably buy a 100 pack of the K53 and use it everywhere on your bike. It might also be worth your while to pick up 10mm "flanged sleeve bearings" and 10mm shoulder screws, as these are used anywhere there's a rubber grommet/bushing.

Awesome. Thanks for the info.  I didn't get around to checking it all out, was flat out today.

Those bronze sleeve bearings/flanged spacers all over the bike are expensive...

The only place I can find those sleeved/shoulder bolts in a decent finish have been TPO:

Complete bike set of 8: $70 bucks
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=283

individually: 10mm
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=282

individually: 8mm
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=281

also, is it cheaper to build your own SS bolt set for a given bike, or just buy one of the presorted kits from someplace like probolt or desmoparts?

Quote from: Dragsterhund on August 02, 2014, 03:37:52 PM
The only place I can find those sleeved/shoulder bolts in a decent finish have been TPO:

Complete bike set of 8: $70 bucks
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=283

individually: 10mm
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=282

individually: 8mm
https://tpoparts.com/cat093/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_15&product_id=281

Stainless at Mcmaster-Carr for quite a bit less; I'm assuming the finish is good, if not it can be polished. Ours are "ultra low profile". The prices at TPO really aren't bad at all though, espec since they're BILLET, mmm. It's those top hat bushings/flanged sleeve bearings I'm having a tough time finding...

http://www.mcmaster.com/#shoulder-screws/=t40584

Quote from: Dragsterhund on August 02, 2014, 03:39:59 PM
also, is it cheaper to build your own SS bolt set for a given bike, or just buy one of the presorted kits from someplace like probolt or desmoparts?

Those kits are for suckers imo...for the price of one of them you can get an assortment of enough M5, M6, M8, and M10 to do do every bolt in your engine cases, clutch cover, calipers, dash, hand controls, rearsets, in other words the whole bike probably 3 times over for that price. I like "coolcheapworld", "SX4US" and "eddiestore2008" on eBay.

Quote from: Buck Naked on August 02, 2014, 05:06:42 PM



Those kits are for suckers imo...for the price of one of them you can get an assortment of enough M5, M6, M8, and M10 to do do every bolt in your engine cases, clutch cover, calipers, dash, hand controls, rearsets, in other words the whole bike probably 3 times over for that price. I like "coolcheapworld", "SX4US" and "eddiestore2008" on eBay.

Ditto that.

I know that the thread mainly concerns SS fasteners, but I can also add that several online bicycle parts suppliers carry TI fasteners, if that is your flavor of choice. Only problem I have run into while doing it for my '12 1100evo was that the 80 and 90 Mm lengths needed for the clutch side can be difficult to source without a long lead time. I found a source for the 90's and cut and re-threaded them to an 80.

Very nice. This thread isn't specific to any particular alloy; I've talked more about rubber grommets and copper flange bearings than anything else!

Ti is so damn pretty. That's just another expensive bug I don't need to become afflicted with. I was going to get Ti banjo fittings and stop there but I was afraid I wouldn't stop. Maybe just Ti banjos, clutch cover, calipers, chain adjuster bolts, and shoulder bolts for my reservoirs. Oh wait that's probably several hundred dollars right there smh

Quote from: Buck Naked on August 04, 2014, 02:16:40 PM
.........
Ti is so damn pretty. That's just another expensive bug I don't need to become afflicted with. I was going to get Ti banjo fittings and stop there but I was afraid I wouldn't stop. Maybe just Ti banjos, clutch cover, calipers, chain adjuster bolts, and shoulder bolts for my reservoirs. Oh wait that's probably several hundred dollars right there smh

Just consider it another addiction.  

Anyway, once you spend the loot, you never have to wonder where it went.  

Quote from: oldndumb on August 04, 2014, 03:11:55 PM
once you spend the loot, you never have to wonder where it went.  

That's actually a really good point. I'm missing several thousand dollars because of my Ducati addiction that I have a hard time accounting for. Ti bolts would be easy. Like little pieces of bullion.