850 COMMANDO -- STAINLESS STEEL HEAD BOLTS

Does anyone have any experience using stainless steel head bolts on a 850 Commando?

Stainless steel generally has a lower minimum yield strength as compared to, say, the more common SAE Grade 5 bolt steel. Because of its lower yield strength, the stainless will stretch more than Grade 5 material, given the same make-up torque.

I purchased some stainless head bolts from Raber's Parts Mart and they appear to be of high quality but it's difficult to tell what the yield strength is. So, I am concerned about the bolts stretching, resulting in a leaky head gasket.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Jason

I have had stainless head bolts on my 71 750 for 2 Years with no problems. I used the factory torque setting and retorqued a couple of times over the first 1000 miles. No sign of any gasket leakage.

Thank you for the feedback Mark; anyone else with similar experience?