[atrain_cb350]

Hey I'm thinking of converting my screws to Allen heads.
thinking of buying from eBay, any ideas what to look for or be wary of? On a cb350 1971

 

[ScramblerCurtis]

Its a recommended update over the old JIS (not Phillips) screws. Most of the kids are pretty complete. I don't remember the seller that I used but they had every single bolt for the cases. Because I was doing a complete teardown I opted to use BoltDepot.com and source a bunch of internal screws as well so that there are no JIS screws at all on my machine. You can look through the fiche on CMSNL and determine which ones you want to replace.

While you're messing about get yourself a good set of gaskets and butyl rubber seals and replace those. If you use a copper coating spray on the gaskets they come off easier too.

 

[Tomsfunmachine]

That reminds me of a fun story:
It's 1978. We had the same issues back then, you work on an older bike, the previous hack stripped the heads of most of the screws, using some rounded Philips from his TV repairman Dad's tool box. Metric allen wrenches were not very common. I just did an engine swap on my Kawasaki, the PO stripped and rounded several screws, the Kawasaki never had all the screws you wanted, but could get them in a week or three. I found these 'dress up' allen screws (socket head cap screws is their real name, but I digress) specifically for my engine, that I spend my hard earned money on. But they are domestic made, and accept english fractional allen wrenches.

I have trouble getting the engine to run right, I take it to a dealer. It comes back with every sigle allen head rounded off, they tried using metric allen tips on an air impact

 

[ancientdad]

That reminds me of a fun story: .....I take it to a dealer.

Those two statements never go together. :lol:

It comes back with every single allen head rounded off

Based on my previous statement, this is not at all surprising... are there ever any good stories about taking something to a dealership?

I had a '72 Chevy LUV pickup in their first year, bought it right out of high school. Hit a curb with it in the rain the following year, bent the lower control arm. My Dad helped me take it off, heat it and straighten it, then put it back on. Front suspension was torsion bar springs (interesting, because I had previously owned a DOHC CL450 and that same year, my 450 drag bike) and I wasn't smart enough at the time to count the number of turns on the torsion bar tensioner bolt when I removed it so I could put it back close to where it was adjusted previously before getting it aligned after the repair. Took it to the dealership to get the front end aligned and specifically told the service advisor that I knew the torsion bar on that side needed to be adjusted properly. Picked it up and the wheels looked right, until I noticed that the height on the driver's side was still a lot higher than the passenger side... the "tech" hadn't touched the torsion bar, just aligned it as it was. I lowered the height to a more appropriate setting and the camber was off as a result (leaning outward), and the tire wore on the outside... was so disgusted with the dealer that I never took it back. What a surprise, huh? even that long ago...

 

[slofut]

Just for info, I get almost all my stainless hardware, that's bolts screws nuts cap nuts in metric and sae at my local Ace Hardware. They have a huge selection and costs the same as buying a bag online. Once in a while I'll run into something they don't have but most times they do.
On the corvette project.. for a while there I was spending a couple hundred a month just on stainless bolts and hardware. Anymore, I rarely buy bolts and nuts that are zinc, unless grade 8>.

 

[slofut]

About stainless hardware... bolts and nuts are easy to gall!
I was working on the front end of my golf cart and had a long leaf spring bolt loosely in position with the nut on by hand with about a quarter inch of threads showing. Started running the nut up with an air ratchet and before it got home it galled. Bolt still loose with threads left to even get home, so obviously the speed that the ratchet was turning was enough to do it. Could not turn it either way, it was welded together, ended up having to hacksaw a loose rotating bolt off. Lesson learned, ALWAYS use never seize from the start!

 

[Yendor]

(2) - IMPORTANT things to remember when using Stainless Steel fasteners with these older bikes.

1 - Allen Heads are great for getting a GOOD GRIP.
They will also NOT spit out the Screwdriver the way a Phillips or JIS will when you approach Max Torque
They will give you a complete control right thru stripping out the threads.
So be VERY Careful to follow the torque recommendations for each different size fastener.
AND
Remember that Torque Specs are for DRY assembly.- Which brings up Point #2

2 - As mentions Stainless Steel will Gall & also SEIZE in an Aluminum Case.
You MUST use ANTI-SEIZE Compound. But... That also means you are now NOT doing a DRY Assembly.
So you will have to reduce your torque spec by approx. 5-10% to insure you don't over Torque and strip out threads.

REMEMBER these case were Factory assembled using the JIS fasteners and they worked just fine.
There is NO need to over tighten the assemblies if you have CLEAN Un-Marred/Scared surfaces.