No, a stainless bolt will not be stronger, it will be much weaker.

If you replace the bolt, use a high strength steel bolt, not stainless.

 

Just had the 10k service done by my local HD partnership, thought i was good to go. When this problem occured i took the bike to my local (small) bike shop. I was horrified to find out my brake pads were barely legal, brake calipers were never lubricated, inferior oil used in the oil change and the shaft that the shifter pedal is located was dry as a bone and bunged up with crap which appears to have caused the problem.
I went for a 200 mile run without any problems, hopefully all is well.

 

You win sir!

Stainless depending on the alloy might have a tensile strength of 50,000 to 70,000 psi. Grade 8 bolts, come in around 150,000. Alloy steel Socket Head Cap Screws around 180,000 PSI. Fine threaded SHCS are also a bit stronger than coarse thread. When it matters, I buy my stuff from McMaster or MSC and in the past will usually go with Unbrako brand.

Chrome plated screws / bolts are an unknown. There could be anything under the plating from craptastic fecal alloy steel made in the worse slums of China from recycled Yugos to reasonably good. Trouble is, if they haven't been heat treated properly after plating, they suffer from hydrogen embrittlement and ultimately one is probably better off using hardware store SS screws.

Avoid Stainless and Chrome hardware unless it's just for decorative use or non-critical application. Maybe it would be ok if the seller will provide documentation that it meets some ASTM or other agency standard. Good luck with that.

 

How long since you had the service done by the dealer?

Maybe you should have brought it back to them...

How did the small shop determine that an inferior oil was used in the oil change? Take what they say about another shop`s work with a grain of salt..

 

 

Hey Pat

what should one use in situations that require corrosion resistance, and appearance is a consideration?

 

Shift lever on the tranny loosening? tightened it but it's still loose? Could be the bolt or the lever itself. Harley uses an investment cast lever that is much stronger than the aftermarket crap out there but... many times the problem can be fixed without pulling the inner primary to replace the lever.
Here's what happens: the lever takes abuse, putting strain on the bolt, mushing out the metal, on the lever, under the head of the bolt and sometimes bending the bolt. The top of the lever has a clearance hole for the bolt, bottom has threads. Mushing the metal under the head closes up the clearance hole on top and if the bolt is bent, it will tighten when it tries to flop eccentrically around in the closed up hole---not when it's closed down on the shaft. Here's what to try. Remove the bolt, get a good black allen capscrew to replace whatever is in there, then use a larger drill or counter sink and vise grips to chamfer the top of the hole in the lever. Install the new bolt and tighten very tight. Usually will do the trick. If you have the lever off and want to avoid the future problem. Have someone with a mill widen the clamping slot to about twice the stock width. With a good bolt in place there will always be room to get the clamping action. The aftermarket levers are so soft they stretch and close up the tightening slot.

andygears

 

I had only covered about 150 miles since the service that was done about a week earlier. The local shop has a first class reputation but i was more interested in having a HD stamp in my service manual. I certainly won't be going down that road again.

 

I just don't know. Been burned too many times fixing even simple stuff with crap hardware. For example, I was replacing a spindle on a lawn mower deck. Ran up to the local hardware store and bought a handful of 5/16 -18 x 3/4" hex head bolts marked as being grade 5. I broke one of them with a short box wrench, one handed, before the split lock was fully compressed. WTF? That's when I started buying some of my hardware from real suppliers. I personally and quite willing to sacrifice appearance for durability especially on motorcycle parts. If one were building a garage Buddha or a trailer queen, it wouldn't matter. For a daily driver / rider I just stick with the OEM stuff or hardware I've developed a faith in over the years.

If I was bent on finding a bolt that has everything you're looking for I guess a phone call to places like Colony Machine (? - the chrome bolt people) would be in order. See what they have to say. Short of having a testing facility in your back yard and testing samples of bolts I just don't know what to tell ya.

 

aren't there harder grades of stainless?

I hear ya about crappy fasteners. I've broken a few in situations where I wasn't putting anywhere near the same stress on the fastener as there would be in application, so...

heh...garage buddha