748/916/996/998 Titanium Wheel Nuts on ebay
 

I have just bought a set of these,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ducati-748-916...QQcmdZViewItem
Arrived next day, nice item ,good price.

Titanium Substitution for Steel Fasteners

The selection of a fastener size, material and preload for a given design application is based on a number of considerations - mechanical stress, vibration, temperature fluctuations and corrosive environments to name just a few. Consequently, improper material substitution or an incorrect tightening force on a bolted connection can result in failure, reduced performance, warranty problems, or even unintended disassembly of a vital component.

Titanium has half the density/weight of steel, but also 50 - 60% of steel’s shear and Young’s modulus. So you’ll often need bigger fasteners, which negates the 40% weight advantage of titanium.

Direct substitution for steel parts, size for size, with titanium replacements is rarely the best way to proceed when dealing with safety-related fasteners such as brake parts or wheel attachments.

[Edited on 12-1-2005 by Shazaam!]

must admit i wondered about titanium wheel nuts but worried re shearing resistance?

:o Shazaam :o

Glad i didn't get any then

Still if I wanted to cut weight on my bike I'd eat less pies:lol::lol:

So what about the vast quantity of alloy wheel nuts available for numerous other bikes . Even ducati used alloy for the front one on the 916 series. I've not heard of any failures , but are there?

Also do not most manufacturers use steel fasteners due to cost ?!!!

i freely admit that i dont know what i am talking about but would imagine the forces on the single sided wheel nut are pretty massive not least because it tends to tighten itself up to mega tight

btw dont dp sell a titanium rear wheel nut?

I think you'll find that both Ebay links above are for DP items. Plus the race bikes have titanium nuts front and rear, including titanium rear hub and front wheel spindle.