Modern Vespa

Last week I switched out the Malossi exhaust on my new (to me) BV350 for the stock one. As you can see in the pic, the old stud bolts were shot, only just managed to get them out.

In an effort to avoid this problem again I decided to us stainless steel stud bolts, which I duly got from a Uk supplier. Did some research and discovered it's not advisable to use copper anti-seize with stainless, so went looking for some nickel anti-seize, which I found on Amazon. Most other places won't ship it to me in Northern Ireland (no idea why!).

After missing the initial delivery date of last Friday, they've now emailed me to say they can't supply it. So now I'm back to square one. Albeit with some nice, but useless, stainless steel studs!

So, my question is... Am I being a bit OTT with the whole stainless steel stud bolt thing? Are regular studs perfectly OK to use? I mean, I realise it's what gets used most of the time, but then I also think that getting them out can also be a right PITA.

You can use a stainless steel bolt and nut together, be careful not to bite into each other, and be sure to use a paste. This withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius.

Thanks. I think I've been over thinking this.

I was nervous of using stainless nuts and bolts without the correct (nickel) anti seize due to the high temps. But it seems regular copper AS is good to about 1100 degrees Celsius. Typical scooter manifolds max out at about 600 (according to Google!) so I'm good.

Thanks.

I actually avoid stainless hardware in exhaust applications. I've seen it lock up twice when I did use it. Anti seize will help so definitely use it as you are planning.

fyi the nuts on the studs on my gts are copper and the studs aren't removed unless they are broken.

did the nut refuse to come off? or why did you remove the stud?

Always use a magnesium based anti-seize with stainless steel. If using a stainless stud and stainless nut, beware of galling otherwise, when the two get locked together and just nothing will get them to move again - just make it worse.

Tip from an aircraft mechanic friend - the sludge at the bottom of a settled bottle of Milk of Magnesia is a good anti-galling anti-seize when working with stainless.

The bolts and exposed part of the stud were shot, see it pic. The only way it was coming out was as a complete set!

Unless I'm mistaken, isn' magnesium only good for low temp applications?

I dab a little nickel antiseize on pretty much every fastener that doesn't go into plastic, and a bit more if it gets hot. I have never had difficulty with stainless fasteners and nickel antiseize in any application except long term use in aluminum in saltwater environments - which was no surprise. The best solution there is a nonmetallic antiseize paste called TefGel.

Do they not sell nickel antiseize in any auto parts store in N. Ireland? It's inescapable in the US. I find the copper version a little difficult to track down in the US and have never even heard of a magnesium formulation. McMaster seems to sell stuff containing nickel, copper, graphite, aluminum, and molybdenum.

Late to the party. Short answer - Yes, it is overkill. Just use the OEM nuts and bolts. If the stud ever snaps off flush with the head, you'll be real happy to drill and remove the regular steel one versus a SS one.

Can't get it anywhere locally. Or online for that matter. So far many place I've visited or called even attempted to convince me it doesn't even exist!

The only place you could get it was Amazon, in the end even they failed to deliver.

I've now ordered some "alumslip", which as the name suggests, is another metal based AS, but it still suitable for high temp and stainless.

Im slowly going to change over most of the fixings on the BV350 to stainless, as I plan to use it all year and they start salting the roads here from around late Sept/early Oct. I realise it won't cure the corrosion issue, but it'll help.

Ya, OK, I get where you're coming from, but the plan is to not have to drill out anything! (Best laid plans and all that!)

And going OTT is kinda my thing

Keep in mind that stainless steel is less strong than normal steel. If the application is high stress or critical for safety you might be better off sticking with the standard steel parts. The design engineers picked the screw size, metal, and torque for that application.

Also, torques called for in manuals are probably not applicable to stainless steel.

All good advice, thanks.

I've worked at push bikes all my life, not mum and dads type stuff but very high end road and mountain bikes. I'm trying to bring over a lot of my experience in that field to looking after the Beverly's.

I've never used torque wrenches, as I always trusted my own "feel" more, but I am considering getting one or two for the BV's.

That said, no doubt I'll cry and regret it all when I manage to snap the first stainless bolt!

I too use a lot of stainless steel in my scooters, and with the antiseize treatment have only had ONE issue.

My '08 Scarabeo had not been babied under its first owner but had been improved by its second. Soon after acquiring it I replaced a bunch of visible bolts with stainless, since among many other cosmetic things on the machine they were pretty tired. I soon thereafter discovered that the speedometer had also failed and was acting erratically. I replaced the cable, to no avail. After several weeks of additional troubleshooting, which included disassembling the dash, I eventually discovered that the speedometer sensor relied on the magnetic action of the spinning front wheel bolts to detect the front wheel's motion. And stainless steel did not generate sufficient magnetic activity to trigger the speedo. So, back to mild steel those fasteners went - and the speedo has worked perfectly ever since (15k miles).

You could well be right! So no-go for this application, even if some could be found.

We used Milk of Magnesia to coat 32 inch stainless steel heater elements in aluminum plates which gave better results than the regular ss antisieze compound. The aluminum plates ran between 400-500f on the surface, the heating elements much more
The only down side was if I didn't wear gloves with in a minute I had to go

Had to remove the back wheel today to sort a puncture, so figured time to install the new shiny bolts.

Bit messy, the grease went everywhere. But it'll burn off. Hopefully these bolts will be easier to remove next time.

Antiseize is world-famous for getting all over the place. For a sophomoric prank, put a smear of it on your friend's toolbox handle, or on the brim of his hat. It may take him years to figure out how that stuff is getting everywhere.

Not sure it will really burn off - let us know though!

Fix looks good.

LOL. I'll maybe try that.

Made a schoolboy error though. Tightened up the manifold bolts before putting the exhuast on, so they'll have to get loosen when the back end goes back together.

Which presently looks like this (fixing punctures on these things is not quick!)

The ultimate stud driver
Weld a nut to a socket with a ball bearing trapped in the void
Quicker than the 2 nut method
Works in very close quarters
Impact or ratchet