I wish this IS China ....!

[jape]

Unfortunately I live in the 'advanced' western world, not in China. This sort of thing is the rule, not the exception for so many things like replacement globes, tools, odds n sods. I just spent two hours and went to two hardware stores, a motorcycle shop, an auto-spares supermarket, an electrical goods store, two 'variety' stores, a chainsaw and mower repair business and an engineering workshop - just to try to get a M6 x 40 bolt - to no avail!

No one had any, not even in a bloody blister pack. Seriously, in a country town of 5000 people plus surrounding farms etc. you would think someone would carry a range of standard metric bolts? The engineering shop had some but wouldn't sell me any, they were 'just for their own use'. I won't go there for any more welding or repair work, sod'em.

I will have to drive 100 km. each way and spend money on fuel etc. just for a 50c bolt which fell off the bloody Kinlon. I also wanted a 'compact' mirror to replace GF's which I broke. I went to chemists, supermarket etc etc. Found just one - $24! She can do without for a while. And the supermarket had run out of milk !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to put whisky in my coffee instead, to get over the day. Thank god for cigars and sex.

[Nuhaus]

Mmm. Were you in China, you would have driven down to the local moto shop and the "mechanic" would have rummaged about in the dirt on the floor of his "garage" for a bolt (any bolt) and then proceeded to strip it as he attempted to make it fit. Today I began trying to figure out why my new gas tank is making an unholy racket on my bike at certain revs and noticed that it was put on with a size 9 bolt on one side and a size 10 on the other. I guess the mechanic was in a mood for joking around and just wanted to keep me guessing as to why my socket wrench would fit on one side but not the other. Must have been when I was getting some bottled water to drink in the 30 plus heat as he was installing it. My fault for not watching him closely enough. :)

[jape]

Yeah, you are right, good and bad everywhere of course, and frustrating most of the time! the local ('we don't do chinese' was their comment to me) motorcycle shop had an assortment of AF bolts. But they sell only Jap bikes! Go figure that one out. At least you got two proper bolts - the 'Autopro' car spares guy looked at my example M6x40 bolt and offered me a bubble box of 3 dozen assorted self-tapping screws ...