Nuts and Bolts

[Jeff in W.C.]

I searched and couldn't find any recent thread although I know this subject has come up before. Any suggestions of where to get new nuts and bolts other than BMW? I have nothing against BMW except that changing a large majority of nuts and bolts will be very expensive is purchased through BMW. Many of the visible nuts and bolts look terrible, and since I'm going through a refresh, my thought is to not use the crusty old nuts and bolts. Plus, some of the newer versions from BMW have a yellow/golden hew which is different than the original.

[gspd]

You can order nuts and bolts at real reasonable prices on Aliexpress.
They have excellent stuff and crappy stuff, shop wisely.
It takes 4-6 weeks to get them.
They also have a ton of different plastic caps to hide/protect fasteners.
I'm all for supporting local businesses, but not when they just order stuff from China and retail it for ten times the price.

While we're on the topic of nuts and bolts and how crappy they look when corroded, I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. I was going to take it to my grave, but I decided to share it here...

Everywhere I go, especially if there are other beemers around, I get tons of comments on how super clean and new looking my bike is. I am often asked: "How do you keep your bike so effin clean?"
Well here's one tip that makes it A LOT easier (and remember you heard it here first).
drum roll please....
PUT A PLASTIC CAP ON EVERY VISIBLE FASTENER.

They protect the finish, keep dirt and rust away, and make cleaning a breeze.
I put a bit of grease on the bolts before capping them.
Nothing's harder to clean than allan bolts packed with dry mud after a trail romp.

Plastic caps are definitely not 'nazi OE concours' but nobody ever seems to notice them, and I've got them everywhere:
Calipers bolts, disc bolts, engine mounts, saddle bag mounts, wheel bolts, pretty much everywhere.
Even on an old /5, the caps just seem to disappear, where as rusty bolts stand out like a sore thumb. It seems like a no-brainer to me.
The only negative issues I can think of is that they won't pass the analoriginality test, and it adds a few grams of weight to the bike.

[Zombie Master]

Very cool, thanx for sharing. Where's a good place to buy those covers?

[gspd]

Very cool, thanx for sharing. Where's a good place to buy those covers?

https://www.aliexpress.com/af/bolt-cove ... 1101022453

[Rob Frankham]

My approach is to replace everything possible with stainless. A2 for most bolts and A4 for anything critical. Unless you are set on the polished heads that mean you have to buy them from a dealer (at a vastly inflated price), stainless fixings in just about every size and type imaginable are available for a few pence (cents?) from fixing retailers or wholesalers. Check out the local business parks (industrial estates, business districts... whatever) for the little business that supplies fixings to other local businesses and walk in.

Rob

[gspd]

My approach is to replace everything possible with stainless. A2 for most bolts and A4 for anything critical. Unless you are set on the polished heads that mean you have to buy them from a dealer (at a vastly inflated price), stainless fixings in just about every size and type imaginable are available for a few pence (cents?) from fixing retailers or wholesalers. Check out the local business parks (industrial estates, business districts... whatever) for the little business that supplies fixings to other local businesses and walk in.

Rob

Aliexpress has a wide array of stainless fasteners.
Stainless steel acorn nuts can also be used to protect protruding threads if you have a pre-undisposition to plastic.
They also have many types and sizes of allan bolt plastic plugs.

I also replaced my trans and diff fill and drain plugs, stand springs, shift linkage rod, rear brake adjuster nut and bushing, and a few other bits that always rust with stainless counterfeits from this place.
https://www.bmwboxersupplies.com/rvs-modificaties

[SteveD]

How do you keep the black plastic bits looking fresh?

[Zombie Master]

How do you keep the black plastic bits looking fresh?

I agree with this conclusion:


"303 Protectant vs Meguiars vs Armor All Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you are as particular about your car or boat as I am, then you simply want the best product available, even if it does cost a few dollars more. When comparing 303 Protectant vs Meguiars vs Armor All, the 303 products are usually a few bucks more expensive, but the quality, durability, and ease of application of the 303 products make them worth it. There are plenty of forums and reviews all over the Internet to support my conclusion that when trying to decide between 303 Protectant vs Meguiars vs Armor All, that 303 Aerospace Protectant is the best of the bunch."

[SteveD]

I was recently shown some ceramic coat stuff that did a nice job.
I was also shown some AutoGlym bumper and trim gel. That stuff rocks, but I haven't had it long enough to observe longevity.

[PAS]

GSPD, so........... how do you keep it so clean!