This is a new one on me. I have never lost one at all. I have lost a few 10mm nuts and washers trying to refit the little buggers (but I have a terrific trick now). But never lost the central stud or nut.
Time to segue into my own rant (my apologies for hi-jacking yours) regarding those pesky little blasted 10mm nuts that hold the rocker covers fore and aft.
Tip No.1, do not replace them with stainless steel nuts because magnetic pickup tools may not work on stainless steel.
Tip No.2, throw the equally pesky washers away as all they do (at least in my case) is cause immense frustration when they refuse to play by the rules.
Tip No.3, Buy some 10mm flanged nuts, if you cannot get the type that do not have the anti-rattle grooves on the flange, a few seconds work with a No.2 Bastard cut file will render them as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Tip No.3 buy some copper helicoils, drill out the nuts and run the brass helicoils in.
Tip No.4 - Replace the 6mm studs with stainless steel ones.
Tip No.4 run a thread die up and down the studs a few times, the object being to set up a slightly sloppy fit, but leave the last two or three turns alone so you still have maximum binding pressure.
After doing the above your new nuts will start easily on the sloppy thread, will run up using finger-tip pressure alone to the point where they need only a final nipping up to bring them to tension. They will not undo as the tension holds them nicely and best of all they will always come off easily as the thread will never corrode and or gall.
You will be an object of envy of all your friends at the next maintenance day as your little bastard 10mm nuts will take you between 50% to 25% of the time to remove and re-fit than anyone else, the sloppy thread makes the nuts so much easier to start it isn't funny. It's funny the things you think up on long rides on boring roads. Unlike some of my ideas, this one is a winner.
