Replacing rusty and fasteners with stainless steel

brummoi, May 15, 10:53am
Wanting to do this as a simple and cheap tidy-up for my motorbike. The bike is kept outside most of the time and being cheap-ass Chinese, its bits seem to rust up pretty quickly. Is there any reason not to do this or things I need to be aware of? Also, where's the best place to get these in welly?

It's a Sachs x-road 250
kazbanz, May 15, 11:12am
No reason I can think of but why waste your money.-loosen clean then paint is as effective and a shed load cheaper
brummoi, May 15, 11:27am
Thanks, kazbanz. I'm thinking stainless = zero maintenance whereas paint chips and flakes, rust gets under it, etc. Maybe I'm underestimating the price of stainless nuts and bolts. ?
sifty, May 15, 11:31am
I have worked in places where every fastener has been replaced courtesy of the workshop stores.
sas777, May 15, 11:32am
If you fit stainless directly onto mild steel this will encourage galvanic corrosion, look it up, quite an interesting subject. To prevent or reduce the effect you can use a quality anti-seize like Loctite nickel.

But really, as kazbanz writes above, why do this? Stainless fittings are expensive. Back in the UK I rode lots of motorbikes around in all weathers including horrible winters soaked in nasty road salt but beforehand I simply sprayed WD40 over the bikes shiny bits. This formed a protective layer which could easily be polished off later.
tamarillo, May 15, 12:06pm
You can buy kits of stainless fasteners for bikes, though whether there is a set for yours I know not. eBay maybe?
It's not uncommon though I agree with others that's it isn't really needed. And doesn't stop steel parts the new bits attach to rusting.
I keep all my moving bits and fasteners coated with crc, even outdoors in UK it seemed to work, though admit a Chinese one will have bits that rust even left in the garage.
You could put some lock tight on, tighten correctly, then cover it over with hammerite. Never rust like that.
brummoi, Jan 30, 12:03am
Thanks folks. Project abandoned in favour of a good brush, some elbow grease and a can of CRC. I might still swap out the odd nut and bolt if their lack of shininess starts to offend me.