Tire clearance: fork bridge screws

[stryder]

Howdy,

so I'm winterising my '87 K75, and doing some PM along the way, part of which is changing fork oil which I do every other year, depending on mileage.

I stripped 3 of the 4 screws that attach the fork bridge to the sliders and before ordering replacements from my "local" BMW shop, I'm wondering about tire clearance issues. I can easily find non-plated replacement screws, but the heads won't be as low as the OME screws, i.e. the OME button head is maybe half as thick.

Is there a tire clearance issue using screws with heads that are not as low, i.e. "normal"? (Dunlop 402's)

Thanks.

[stryder]

So I took the 1 good screw I had with me to the local auto-hardware store and noticed it uses a washer under it, therefore, there is no noticeable difference between the head thickness of the OME screw with the washer under it, and an aftermarket 8.8 M8 1.25 25mm screw with no washer re head height/tire clearance. The aftermarket screw head seems a tad wider too. So the aftermarket screws will have a deeper hex key drive recession so less likely to strip, not that the OME's were that bad, must have R&R'ed the forks a dozen times, but are not plated. Nothing a little smear of grease won't fix.  :2thumbup:

[Martin]

Don't omit the washer they are there for a reason. Standard washers have two main purposes: To distribute the pressure of the nut evenly over the surface, so that the surface isn't damaged, and. To ensure that the nut is pressed against a smooth surface, reducing the chance that it'll gradually loosen because it's in contact with an uneven surface.
Regards Martin.

[stryder]

Good thoughts. I'll take a look-see if I have thinner washers laying around. The OME ones are like 2mms thick. The underside of the bridge is nicely machined re mating surfaces, and the torque value on the screws is pretty high IIRC.