Aluminium or Stainless Steel?

[droog]

Hi, hope everyone is doing ok and enjoying their bikes!

I just want to apologise in advance for my personal aluminium washer psycho-drama outlined below - but I reckon if anyone on the planet understands the importance of this stuff its you guys on here.

I Just wanted to check that I am looking at aluminium washers here (pics below) and not stainless steel? The pics below show Honda OEM M6 washers for the CBR cam-holder bolts - I'm pretty sure these are alumiinium as you wouldn't use stainless steel for an application like this right?

Reason I ask is that I got totally fleeced buying X8 official Honda OEM washers for the cam-holder - so when they arrived I measured the thickness of the brand new Honda OEM washers at 1.5 mm on the mic.

So now I know the exact spec of the OEM washers I have ordered 20 aluminium M6 washers off Ebay with 1.6mm thickness for a fraction of the cost of OEM for next time I do this job or if I have to take the cam off again.

The orginal factory fitted washers on the cam-holder were copper and not aluminium anyway - so there is obviously no 'special unique washer' for the cam holders which justifies the exorbitant cost of OEM.

From what I can see if they are aluminium/copper, are M6 and the same or near as dammit thickness they should be fine.

Cheers.

https://i.ibb.co/p1cYXsS/HONDA-WASHER.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/hf6ztPY/HONDA-WASHERS.jpg

[Riejufixing]

My first thought is it looks like BZP steel. Edit: I've been had, you said they were OEM aluminiun pics!

My next thought is that without having one in my hand, an easy test is to rub one edge across a file, going with the line of the teeth. If it's aluminium, it will groove very easily (you can compare it to an ordinary steel washer) because aluminium is a comparatively soft and sticky metal. You should still be able to use the washer after. You could also try a scratch test, using for instance a nail on the edge of the washer (comparing the result to steel).

Edit: copper's a bit stronger than aluminium, and it's easy to tell what it is

[stinkwheel]

Unless it's martensitic stainless (which is unlikely in this application and would not be cheap at any rate), it'll be slightly magnetic. Aluminium is in no way magnetic.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[droog]

Thanks for both your replies - much appreciated.

I tried the magnet test (I should have worked this out for myself but I was bogged down in other detail )

Yep - no magnetic attraction whatsoever - so definitely aluminium.

Ok - the upshot is that I spent way too much money on the Honda OEM aluminium washers and I'm feeling foolish for doing so - I went strictly OEM because this is my first cams out job and I was anxious to do everything by the book.

If I was doing this again I would have ordered the one washer, established what it was made out of, the thicknes and OD and sourced the equivalent much cheaper off ebay.

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Grind into power. Mix with iron oxide. Light it. How well it burns is your answer.
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DILLIGAF

[droog]

[mentalboy]

Aluminium washers are lighter weight than stainless ones but I'm probably one of only a handful of people on here who could tell without a comparison item.

The scratch test is the best method of finding ally but I'd do it with a Stanley knife blade, a light touch should give you your answer.
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Make mine a Corona.

[droog]