With you Muskrat.
Spend a lot of time replacing (usually s/s) allen screws with (what I regard as proper - into alloy) mild steel studs and nuts with washers and lock washers. Sometimes brass is handy for the nuts (exhaust flanges on japanese bikes etc) . . .
There's no doubt shiny bits look better, but I hate playing with lumiweld and other salvage materials when things go pear-shaped. Which they do after a bit on any long-term-owned much messed-with beast as you imply.
Nothing more pleasing than a rusty stud/nut in my world - shows the oil's on the inside! And you get the thread lengths right for each application.
Seem to have dozens of 1/4 BSF/BSC and even BSW allen screws lying around . . .
Dunno what sets of s/s screws cost, but I bet as much as the taps and dies to do the job once and for ever in mild. Saddens me that timing covers and primary cases don't lend themselves easily to the same thing. How many bikes have got at least one stripped thread in either or both and need silicon yuk everywhere to keep at least a proportion of the slime in?
'course, could use s/s for the nuts and washers and make them domed and shiny like on posher machines, but that wears out the tools a lot faster. And 'nyloc' or equivalent saves on washers for people who like buying nuts.
Standing by for brickbats!
