Ludicrous Speed
Registered
After seeing several posts about stripped fairing bolts, I decided to make sure I didn't have the same problem.
Last night, I took out every single bolt on the fairings, the ones on the front fender, the rear sets, the rear brake cylinder, and the tail section (under the hump), tank,and the front seat. The ones that thread into aluminum are the most important, as the Galvanic process is worst with aluminum when combined with any other dis-similar metal.
Some of mine were extremely tight already, and my bike is only a few months old. I could imagine what it would be like in a year or so, when the galvanic corrosion takes over.
As you take each one out,make sure you use a GOOD 4mm allen wrench, like Craftsman or Snap-on or another name brand. Don't use stuff from the Dollar Store, etc, as they will strip out the hex, since they do not make them to very exact tolerances. I use a set of Craftsman Metric T handles, along with a set of regular Craftsman allen wrenches. I removed them one at a time and put a small dab of Silver Antisieze on the threads of each bolt. On the ones for the seat, I put a very small amount under the head of the bolt, also, as it seems to stick to the frame every time I take it off.
One word of caution, be careful if you get this stuff on your fingers, as it is like tar. When you get it anywhere, it ends up everywhere!!!
Don't forget to do the one bolt directly behind the front tire, as it takes all kinds of debris from the road.
Hope that this saves me (and anyone else) the problems I have heard about.
Last night, I took out every single bolt on the fairings, the ones on the front fender, the rear sets, the rear brake cylinder, and the tail section (under the hump), tank,and the front seat. The ones that thread into aluminum are the most important, as the Galvanic process is worst with aluminum when combined with any other dis-similar metal.
Some of mine were extremely tight already, and my bike is only a few months old. I could imagine what it would be like in a year or so, when the galvanic corrosion takes over.
As you take each one out,make sure you use a GOOD 4mm allen wrench, like Craftsman or Snap-on or another name brand. Don't use stuff from the Dollar Store, etc, as they will strip out the hex, since they do not make them to very exact tolerances. I use a set of Craftsman Metric T handles, along with a set of regular Craftsman allen wrenches. I removed them one at a time and put a small dab of Silver Antisieze on the threads of each bolt. On the ones for the seat, I put a very small amount under the head of the bolt, also, as it seems to stick to the frame every time I take it off.
One word of caution, be careful if you get this stuff on your fingers, as it is like tar. When you get it anywhere, it ends up everywhere!!!
Don't forget to do the one bolt directly behind the front tire, as it takes all kinds of debris from the road.
Hope that this saves me (and anyone else) the problems I have heard about.
