stainless tophats

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wistech · #21 Post by **wistech** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 12:22 am

My personal favorite would be a custom aluminum or titanium knurled thumbscrew like these stainless headlight ones. You can do away with the washers all together and no tools or other garbage hanging there. Ive tried some plastic knobs to keep costs down but they didnt hold up and were hard to grip for removal /install.

cannondale27 · #22 Post by **cannondale27** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:26 pm

These work much better than stock.Should make plastic last longer since its rubber mounted.Hoping these hold with no Loctite.The rubber kind of squeezes in the little holes so that and 6mm allen wrench vs stock weak 4mm allen wrench should do the job.These work in all positions no mods necessary.Stock holes fit grommets and bolts perfectly.Wistech is right.All in one is better.Will test these for retention without Loctite over next few weeks of racing and riding.Check it out.Yes this plastic is shot but I just cant replace it since these havent fallen off yet and silver is hard to get now!Notice the one tank hole that is ripped right out.I bet this rubber grommet will prevent that.Do wish they were Titanium but probably would cost a fortune.
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Canniboomer · #23 Post by **Canniboomer** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:24 pm

Hey those are cool Steve!... any wide-flange type of bolt to cover most of a channeled grommet should do great!

I'll toss in some more ideas here, and agree that larger OD support, and some "cush" really helps to protect the plastics,.... and so far it has eliminated the need for loctite. I've been dabbling with various versions for a while now, and have sent out several alternate sets for guys to try....some pics:

I also found a limited supply of the OEM thick alum tophats, and have been using those up with tight-fit larger OD backing washers for the single-layer plastics.

cannondale27 · #24 Post by **cannondale27** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:25 am

Cool.See we think alike.Stockers get really old after taking off them 3 times a week just to check or change airfilter!I have another long overdue setup I might get done this week.Rubber mounted Snap-on plastic.

cannondale27 · #25 Post by **cannondale27** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:22 am

QUOTE (cannondale27 @ Sep 4 2010, 04:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

These work much better than stock. Should make plastic last longer since its rubber mounted. Hoping these hold with no Loctite. The rubber kind of squeezes in the little holes so that and 6mm allen wrench vs stock weak 4mm allen wrench should do the job. These work in all positions no mods necessary. Stock holes fit grommets and bolts perfectly. Wistech is right. All in one is better. Will test these for retention without Loctite over next few weeks of racing and riding. Check it out. Yes this plastic is shot but I just cant replace it since these havent fallen off yet and silver is hard to get now! Notice the one tank hole that is ripped right out. I bet this rubber grommet will prevent that. Do wish they were Titanium but probably would cost a fortune.
[attachment=10548:Plastic_...ners_004.jpg]
[attachment=10549:Plastic_...ners_011.jpg]
[attachment=10550:Plastic_...ners_005.jpg]
[attachment=10551:Plastic_...ners_007.jpg]
[attachment=10552:Plastic_...ners_009.jpg]

Update:After group ride and 24hrs of trailering I am confident that these work without Loctite. None have come loose at all. No issues. Was going to sell them myself but no real interest at ride so if you want them they can be bought directly from Works Connection. Not cheap but really worth limiting wear on our precious plastic. Just give them a call. They figured people would use them for other than the skidplates. Very friendly people and to me it was obvious they were proud of these fasteners. Had them less than a week after ordering from across country.

http://worksconnection.com/details.php?id=696

cannondale27 · #26 Post by **cannondale27** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:05 pm

Survived another Harescramble none have come loose.Even with the broken fender flopping against the wheel for almost a hr they still held.I like them more all the time.Sure was easy removing fenders with nice big 6mm ballend also.End of testing they work great!
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