3-letter rant

[Sergio]

WTF - step 1 in de-airboxing & de-smoging is tank removal, so I started the project today. I know my new-to-me bike has been thru at least three hands, but JHTDC.
On the right is the rear tank mount allen-head capscrew; in the middle is a f***ing lag bolt like for a 2x4 which served as the front mount bolt. Who would do something like this??
Rant Off: would anyone have a spare correct front flange bolt 6x55 90132-MN8000 and collar 17514-MN8700?
thanks

[ParcNHawk]

You'll need the bolt and the collar.

And probably a tap or thread chase to fix the damage the wood screw did.

[Gondul]

So... at least I haven't found a wood screw holding anything together... yet.

[rcthirty]

Mine was worse. The bolt was broken off flush with the frame. I couldn't even get an easy-out to work. I had to drill it out and of course aluminum is softer then grade 8 bolts. It took several hours to get it repaired.

[Fastmongrel]

My Hawk has plenty of Bubba bits but nothing as bad as that bolt. I did have a car with plumbing parts connecting the engine to the radiator once.

[bk94si]

I have one bad repair job on my bike. I had a stripped screw head and I tried to drill the screw out and the drill bit broke off in the stripped screw. I gave up trying to get that mess out and put a sheet metal screw into the mess I made. Someday maybe I will try to fix it again but it's been that way for probably 15 years now.

[frinesi2]

Yeah I can guaran-frickin-tee they forced a 1/4-20 in to a 6mm thread. Some idiot did the same with the bar ends on mine.

[rpcraft]

So fwiw the next time you have a steel bolt stuck in aluminum take and put a nut on top of the bolt and weld the shit out of the metal to the broken bolt. I had to do this to a few of the broken off exhaust bolts on my LS swapped K5 when I first got the motor. Yes it will mar the Aluminum some, but you can fix that with some sandpaper. The steel wire will weld the nut and steel pieces together if you get the heat focused down in the nut on the head of the screw or bolt first and then it won't stick to the aluminum, plus the heat will help. I would do this before even messing with a extractor or risking breaking a drill bit off into the broken bolt. Another other thing you can usually do is try a left hand drill bit. It will often turn the bolt right out, but of there is electrolysis down in the threads not so much. One other thing to try is a very small punch and try to lightly tap the bolt out if you have enough access to the top of the broken area. Sometimes once the head breaks off you might be surprised how easy it is to tap out the shaft of the bolt.

[rcthirty]

Yes I thought of trying welding. The trick is the front tank bolt was sheared at the bottom of the rubber mount box. Probably way over torqued. Very difficult to get access to. I tried a punch, chisel, even tried my dremel with a grind wheel and slot the bolt. Then use a flat head screwdriver to twist it out. Nothing worked. I don't think any type of gas welding would work but a stick welder might if you can get the arc to the bolt before the nut, like a stud welder. Or here's food for thought. Aluminum bolt ?? Fill it up with enough weld to lock the threads ?
Your idea is excellent for most situations though. I will definitely keep it in mind. Thanks

[6]

So fwiw the next time you have a steel bolt stuck in aluminum take and put a nut on top of the bolt and weld the shit out of the metal to the broken bolt. I had to do this to a few of the broken off exhaust bolts on my LS swapped K5 when I first got the motor. Yes it will mar the Aluminum some, but you can fix that with some sandpaper. The steel wire will weld the nut and steel pieces together if you get the heat focused down in the nut on the head of the screw or bolt first and then it won't stick to the aluminum, plus the heat will help. I would do this before even messing with a extractor or risking breaking a drill bit off into the broken bolt. Another other thing you can usually do is try a left hand drill bit. It will often turn the bolt right out, but of there is electrolysis down in the threads not so much. One other thing to try is a very small punch and try to lightly tap the bolt out if you have enough access to the top of the broken area. Sometimes once the head breaks off you might be surprised how easy it is to tap out the shaft of the bolt.

I do this with just about every broken or stripped nut/bolt I run into. Stuck in steel or aluminum it doesn't matter. As long as you are good enough to not weld your bolt to the steel part.

The issue here is sending that wire down into that hole. That's a long shot, lot of wore hanging. Won't be able to get gas to it, may be able to flux or stick weld it....
That would be a difficult bolt to get like that.