Hey guys, my inner and outer primary are coming off before the Springtime weather, I'm chroming both. I want to purchase chrome bolts for the whole side of the bike. Anyone done this, if so whats the cheapest way to go about it. I'm not really into the chrome caps thing, seems a bit cheesy or difficult when having to break the bike down. Going through Harley sounds way too expensive. Anyone know of an aftermarket deal out there and if not, where can I get all of the sizes needed in one take (I have a parts manual but no listing of sizes is given.) I know that ACE hardware has chrome bolts, I just don't have all of the sizings needed...looked on ebay, seems aas if mostly caps are available....

 

I got the Harley chrome hardware kit on my 05 FXSTS. Some of the screws are starting to rust. I went with stainless steel hardware (allen head) from AlloyBoltz on my 11 FLHX. They look good as new and no rust. Planning on switching my FXSTS over to stainless this winter. Been recommending AlloyBoltz to all of my riding buddies.

Best $62 spent. You get primary, derby, cam, transmission (chrome cover, trap door, and top cover), speed sensor, lifters, and rockers. Also come with all the washers needed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-15-HARL...item483c9019f0

 

It ain't cheap but the best way to go is to replace them with stainless steel bolts. Chrome will chip when you a wrench or socket on it and then it will rust. You can put clear nail polish on the heads but that is a stop gap measure.

http://depss.com/

If you put "Hot Toppers" on the bike then you have to pay for a mechanic to remove then when they do maintenance on the bike...and they usually come back to you in a box.

 

second the polished stainless over chrome

 

Yea I polish the regular grade 5 stainless from ACE myself, When replacing Torx with Hex. Also the stock H-D grade 8 bolts polish up pretty good. Also polished the stock lower forks, Once I get started I can't stop, OCD I guess lol

 

+1 on AlloyBoltz I put the engine kit on my 08 I got the grade 8 show polished they are 12 point instead of allen looks good.

 

Doing this now. Using gardner-westcott, http://www.gardner-westcott.com. Have also used depss. You'll have to decide between loctite and anti-seize. Many recommend blu loctite. I struggled with that and ended up using anti-seize. I'm carefully torquing everything and will recheck tightness frequently. Had hot-toppers, but really don't like them. Cheesy, IMHO. Polished stainless look sweet. V/nice detail.

 

Go SS dont do chrome, they will rust and pretty soon it will look like crap and you will either be removing them to clean the rust out of the socket heads or replacing with ss. This is especially true if you wash your bike with water or expose it to rain or live near an ocean.

 

however stainless steel is more brittle than the mild steel which is used for most of these fasteners...that means that a strong arm can snap them. They may be also more likely to strip out any aluminum they go into.

I know it's a 1/2 measure...I buy the little caps that cover the allen heads- due to the high mineral content of our water in PHX.



I care less about appearances than many riders.

Mike

 

I've been using SS fasteners for many years without a problem.