Where do you guys find your bolts?

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Norcoastal

Norcoastal

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Finding British Whitworth (sp?) nuts and bolts isn’t so easy.

I didn’t buy a bike that was complete that needed a rebuild. I’m the nut job building it from a bare frame. So needless to say, I’m missing a lot of parts.

When I work on my car, I have bolts everywhere. I have a bucket, I have draws of stainless if I need them, but my bike???

I need the two little bolts that hold the air filter plate to the battery box and the little bolts that hold the horn mount to the battery box and...and...and...

I look online and it’s hard. If you go on eBay and search Commando horn, there are never the bolts sold separately, and if the are, they’re 20 bucks plus shipping?

I’m upset that I didn’t win a Commando parts lot that was on eBay a few months ago. At that time I didn’t realize how much money I’d be spending on these bolts.

I know I can buy individual bolts from one of the many vendors and buy new, but I’m wondering where I can get a box of misc nuts and bolts that are Norton or British motorcycle threads.

What do you guys do? I assume all of you have buckets of bolts that you’ve accumulated over the years of working on these bikes, but I’m fairly new. I have a some bolts from some Triumph builds, but not many at all and rarely the ones I need.
 
I got a lot of new fasteners off Andover Norton (for my 750) but a good portion seem to be modern replacements (Not made copies of OEM parts)... Not all but some as compared to original bits I have.
You could use near any imperial fastener (UNF etc) if it is just bolting bits together (Over being threaded into an existing thread)


http://stainlessbits.com/link12a.html

Edit.
To get OEM bits you are pretty much stuck with looking for a parted out bike leftovers listing (which will be listed about 2 seconds after you bought the last needed bolt or nut as a single item)

Australia is not bad as far as getting imperial within riding distance.

https://www.bolt.com.au/

https://www.classicfasteners.com.au/

This reminds me of the neutral switch on my US sourced Moto Guzzi and wondered why one '6 mm bolt was on an angle....... It was 1/4" until I recoiled both back to metric.
 
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Norcoastal said:
Finding British Whitworth (sp?) nuts and bolts isn’t so easy.
Click to expand...

The majority of fasteners on a Commando are not "Whitworth".


Norcoastal said:
I need the two little bolts that hold the air filter plate to the battery box
Click to expand...

They're UNF, not Whitworth: https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/17548/hex-screw-1-4-unf-x-1-2-nm26484-06-0327-06-8075-

Norcoastal said:
and the little bolts that hold the horn mount to the battery box
Click to expand...

Also UNF:
https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/17552/hex-screw-1-4-unf-x-1-06-0652-872810-nm26948-
 
A good number of the Commando bolts are common UNF.
It makes life easy for those of us in North America.

Oh , LAB posted same as I was posting this.

Doesn't hurt to say it twice.
UNF is easy to find in North America.
At one time UNF and UNC held Caterpillar and John Deere tractors together.
Now they might be metric.

Glen
 
Norcoastal said:
I didn’t know that. Are UNF easier to buy at reasonable prices?
Click to expand...

Norcoastal said:
Are UNF bolts just metric?
Click to expand...

No.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Thread_Standard

"The Unified Thread Standard (UTS) defines a standard thread form and series—along with allowances, tolerances, and designations—for screw threads commonly used in the United States and Canada."(Also the UK for some years but phased out during the 70s replaced by metric)

"It is the main standard for bolts, nuts, and a wide variety of other threaded fasteners used in these countries."
 
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They are inexpensive and easy to find here in Canada.
I get UNF in grade 8 ( strongest bolt grade) at very low cost at the local Auto parts dealer.

Glen
 
Norcoastal said:
Are UNF bolts just metric?
Click to expand...

The bolts at Ace Hardware come primarily in UNC (coarse thread) and UNF (fine thread). They are the same ones we all grew up with. Metric are a special thread that is only now becoming common in the U.S. because most of the world started using that standard 30 or 40 years ago. So, buying bolts for your Subaru, metric. Buying for your Norton or Harley UNC or UNF.

There are exceptions to this. Some of the threads on the Commando are Cycle thread. And some are British. Spend some time at Old Britts' web site. They give the diameter and thread count on every bolt. If you haven't been looking at these lists, now is a good time to start!
 
rvich said:
The bolts at Ace Hardware come primarily in UNC (coarse thread) and UNF (fine thread). They are the same ones we all grew up with. Metric are a special thread that is only now becoming common in the U.S. because most of the world started using that standard 30 or 40 years ago. So, buying bolts for your Subaru, metric. Buying for your Norton or Harley UNC or UNF.

There are exceptions to this. Some of the threads on the Commando are Cycle thread. And some are British. Spend some time at Old Britts' web site. They give the diameter and thread count on every bolt. If you haven't been looking at these lists, now is a good time to start!
Click to expand...
Got it. Thanks
 
Norcoastal said:
Finding British Whitworth (sp?) nuts and bolts isn’t so easy.

I didn’t buy a bike that was complete that needed a rebuild. I’m the nut job building it from a bare frame. So needless to say, I’m missing a lot of parts.

When I work on my car, I have bolts everywhere. I have a bucket, I have draws of stainless if I need them, but my bike???

I need the two little bolts that hold the air filter plate to the battery box and the little bolts that hold the horn mount to the battery box and...and...and...

I look online and it’s hard. If you go on eBay and search Commando horn, there are never the bolts sold separately, and if the are, they’re 20 bucks plus shipping?

I’m upset that I didn’t win a Commando parts lot that was on eBay a few months ago. At that time I didn’t realize how much money I’d be spending on these bolts.

I know I can buy individual bolts from one of the many vendors and buy new, but I’m wondering where I can get a box of misc nuts and bolts that are Norton or British motorcycle threads.

What do you guys do? I assume all of you have buckets of bolts that you’ve accumulated over the years of working on these bikes, but I’m fairly new. I have a some bolts from some Triumph builds, but not many at all and rarely the ones I need.
Click to expand...
Most bolts are fine thread, not Whitworth or anything British. The gearbox is all British threads but most things aren't. AN often tells you what thread. Some you asked about are 1/4" x 28 which you can get at your local hardware store.
 
You'll know when you grab hold of a Whitworth. First clue will be that your wrenches just don't seem to be the right size and you start thinking metric?... Well don't pursue that thought order the correct wrenches.... Head bolts comes to mind right off.
 
I went thru this same thing. seems like 80% of the stuff is UNF. I've found that "Old Britts" list the hardware specs in their parts listing callouts. ID'ing the part is half the battle. lots of 1/4-28 stuff, some 5/16-24, and a few 3/8-18. believe it or not, I find most stuff at ACE hardware and lowes (in their specialty bins). I tend to buy bulk items at McMaster-Carr (on-line) - mostly washers and nuts. i usually get small quantities from fleabay - my favorite - https://www.ebay.com/str/The-Bolt-Barn?_trksid=p2047675.l2563. definitely not an expert, but on my 74, seems like only the gearbox hardware and stuff under #10 is British.
 
rvich said:
Some of the threads on the Commando are Cycle thread. And some are British.
Click to expand...

"Cycle" thread is British (CEI/BSC).
https://britishfasteners.com/threads/bsc.html

Other British Standard threads used are BSF, BA, BSP, ME plus the odd Whitworth (BSW) but fewer on the later models.
https://britishfasteners.com/threads/index.html

Norcoastal said:
So a UNF thread would work in the threaded ends on parts on the Commando right?
Click to expand...

However, don't assume a thread that screws into a component is automatically going to be UNF. For instance, a bolt or stud into alloy might be UNC or it could be something else (BSF) so assume nothing, check the part number against the fastener list wherever possible, or ask. For instance, the three head steady-to-head 5/16" Allen/Cap head screws are 22 tpi BSF.
 
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Simply put (but not always) if it attaches to the engine, to include petcocks, go with the whitworth wrench first. Frame fixings for a Commando should be standard. Look for the series of circles (ooooo) stamped on the hardware. That tells you it is standard wrench. As for the thread, it could whatever someone ham-fisted in there. For my Atlas and especially my Dominator everything is whitworth. For simple things I found fine thread nuts and re-tapped them. A good set of cycle thread taps and dies have came in real handy.

Scott
 
Greg Marsh took the "stainless steel bits" info and put them into an excel database so you can easily search by the P/N of the bolt
https://www.gregmarsh.com/index.aspx

Another good source is Old Brits
http://www.oldbritts.com/ob_main.html
they have parts listing and parts diagrams by year and the description has the thread, size and whether are not if they are commercially available. If you have a Commando and are state side Old Brits is a great company to deal with

They also sell them but if they are not special and commercially available I'd recommend Ace, True value or Tractor supply.

CEI or BSC are also easily available from British Fasteners
https://britishfasteners.com/

The fasteners are always a problem on a basket case bike

Dave
 
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I'm going thru the same process right now, attempting to make a complete motorcycle from an eBay bare frame and cases.
All the UNF on the Commando was a pleasant discovery, makes life easy!
I hadnt done enough work on my MK3 to realize how many of the fasteners are UNF.
With the Vincent all fasteners must be ordered from England or made here in the shop.
With that bike, it's sometimes easier just to make the fasteners, especially studs as they are easy to do.

The Norton is a treat to work on by comparison.

Glen
 
+1 on the links above.

Note that there are a couple errors on the database, but it is largely correct. Invaluable.

Norcoastal said:
When I work on my car, I have bolts everywhere. I have a bucket, I have draws of stainless if I need them, but my bike???
Click to expand...

After you are done with the Norton, you will have another bucket... ;-)
 
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