Mechanic Monday, Wet or dry

Mechanic Monday.. Mechanic Tip of the week….
Wet or dry ? No not your martini we are talking about your bike’s hardware. The bolts and screws that hold your bike together. Most of the time the correct answer is wet. What is wet hardware? you say. Most of the hardware on your bike is made from a steel alloy. It usuallys threads into an aluminum part. Aluminum and steel don’t play well together when it comes to disimiler metal corrosion. You may have seen this when you have removed a case bolt and found it covered/caked up in a white powder. To install a bolt or screw wet is simple one puts a bit of blue loc-tite on the treads and a bit of grease on the shank and thread it home. If you are installing a bolt into a nut the is held in place by a plastic part such as your airbox or gas tank or lower radiatior shroud coat the shank and threads with grease or an anti-sieze lubricant. So what hardware should you keep dry? Any bolt or screw in which a electrical bond must be of good quality. Even then some "monkey blood" the red paste that you see painted over the top to seal factory electrical grounds and can be purchased where auto batteries are sold.