| Author | Message | ||
     Itileman |
I was out in the garage fondling my farkles tonight and thought this idea might interest some of you. The origin of this mod came after a visit to the dealer to see about some mounting grommets for the new/used fly screen I got from one of the inmates here. Never mind that the screen is black and my XT is red - more on that and the Black Widow later. They actually had two in stock, I needed four. I also didn't think that $7.79 each was a good deal. So, clutching my wallet, I headed over to Ace Hdwe. In their extensive assortment of nuts, bolts, screws and other ingenious fasteners I found the "Mounting Grommet" being sold under its real name - Rubber Nut with Brass Sleeve Insert (aka Expansion Nut). Price = $2.30 each. To these, I added stainless steel hex socket bolts, stainless cap washers and some rubber grommets. Pix: Shield mounted:  Shield off:  Note the 4 hex cap bolts. They fit into the expansion nut sleeves and hold the shield on. Remove them and take the shield off. No need to remove the fly screen. Hardware: Expansion nuts: http://www.masonmate.com/pdf/datasheets/Rubber%20N ut-Data%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf  Bolts, washers, grommets:  Total cost was just under $20.00 Shield sits on the screen rock solid. The little gray patch on the fly screen is a piece of adhesive insulation to limit flex at speed. The expansion nuts are slightly larger than the holes in the fly screen. Best way to get them through is to put a little dish soap around the tip, insert a bolt into the sleeve and pull it through. I will add a larger rubber washer under the stainless cap nut and rubber grommet to hide the area on the shield around the mounting holes. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Good job. | ||
| Blasterd |
I have some expansion nuts like that and have been thinking about putting them between the flyscreen and windsheild, kinda like a poor mans palmer bracket to get the winsheild a little further away from me. | ||
| Itileman |
They don't move the shield out much, but there's a noticeable difference in air flow when riding. I just got in from a quick spin - temps ran up to 60, but when that happens here, the wind comes up. Running 75 mph against a 35-50 mph wind, the air flowed around and over very well. No buffeting at all. The shield also does not bend and flop as much as with the stock mounts. | ||
| Motorbike |
Itileman, Very innovative! Nice work, thanks for posting! | ||
| Whisperstealth |
What size are the expansion nuts and other hardware? | ||
| Itileman |
Expansion Nuts = 11/16 x 5/8 Bolts = 1/4x20 x 1 Cap washers/grommets = 1/4 x 13/16 I will be adding a second rubber washer to go against the shield that's 1/4x20 x 1 to cover the recess around the hole in the shield. | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
I glued 1/4" 'T' nuts (the kind you hammer into a hole in a piece of wood) on to the back side of the stock rubber gromets. The little spikes grab the gromet well and they remain in place with the bolts removed. I kind of like these a bit more though, and will look into swapping. With the shield removed... do they remain in place (vibrations) without bolts in place? | ||
| Itileman |
Once you get them through the hole, it's unlikely that they will go anywhere. The uppers actually rest against the gauge housing. You would not want to ride without the bolt in because there's a threaded brass sleeve inside that could get debris in it. A shorter cap nut and washer would solve that problem. |
