Acronym ISA Screw

[mogu83]

Alright all you acronym users (you know who you are) what is an ISA Screw (IE: ones that hold the handle bars on) and where can I get them. I'm looking for Torx zinc plated (not stainless, it's pretty but not a good fastener)

[ka5ysy]

All you ever wanted to know about ISO, which is what I think you mean.

http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm


They set international standards for many things. Your hardware has some specification for strength, etc. which references some standard, one of which can be ISO.

I am puzzled why you are changing the bolts in the first place, as they are specified for the strength necessary for the application. If you are concerned about them getting loose, get some high strength Loctite and that will last longer than you will probably have the bike. BTW: stainless is used nearly exclusively in marine applications far more demanding than a motorcycle and where zinc plated stuff would fall apart.

[mogu83]

Interesting but the bolt is designated Isa (cap I small SA) which led me not to think it was an abbreviation.
I bought bar-backs off e-bay and they don't have the bolts. I live on the Jersey shore and have quite a few friends in the marine industries. I used to use stainless whenever I could but have been told by people that use SS all the time that using SS in an application that they are under torque could be a problem as SS is relatively brittle and doesn't stretch well. If you use one under heavy torque you stand a good chance of stripping out whatever your putting it into. I used to think bolt stretch was a bunch of bull till I reused the drive shaft bolts on my /5 ( book says don't reuse/buy new bolts), 1K latter the drive shaft came loose. A set of new drive shaft bolts is about $2. I wonder if the handlebar bolts are the same deal -- use once and throw away. As the handlebars are (IMHO) a pretty important part of the machine I don't think I want to risk being in the middle of a hard turn and end up with the bars in my hands but unattached to the bike.

[NeilS]

The "acronym" is probably just to identify the manufacturer of the bolts. A few years ago, there was an issue about counterfeit, sub-standard metric bolts being supplied to the DOD, so a law was passed requiring imported metric hardware to by identifiable by source. Of course, that doesn't stop the counterfeiter from copying the code letters too, but we're talking law, not logic, here.

Stainless, BTW, is great for appearance and corrosion resistance, but not for strength. I'm not near my reference books right now, but if I remember it right, grade 5 steel has a tensile strength of around 120,000 psi, and the most common stainless steels are around 75,000 psi. You should not replace an automotive-grade plain steel fastener with a stainless fastener unless you're sure it's in a non-critical application.

[BobbyLeBout]

Here are two links.

http://www.acronymfinder.com/ISO.html
more than anyone needs to know

http://www.mcmaster.com/#
has almost everything

Bobby