Couple of questions so I can get my bike back together....

[BamaDrifter64]

Got the car tire on this afternoon and now just have to get the Cobra exhaust back on and then the hitch and saddlebags.  Help me out - I haven't ridden since October!  Here's what I need: (1) Got new crush washers for the Cobra exhaust, but the old one are just NOT coming out - they almost look welded in.  How do I get out?  Or can I just use the new crush washers on top of the old ones???  (2) The front saddlebag bolt mounts have shifted under the chrome covers and I can only see half of them - they won't budge and no way to get the bolt in there.  How do I shift them back down into the center of the chrome cover hole?  Thanks in advance!

Dave

[TGViper]

Got the car tire on this afternoon and now just have to get the Cobra exhaust back on and then the hitch and saddlebags.  Help me out - I haven't ridden since October!  Here's what I need: (1) Got new crush washers for the Cobra exhaust, but the old one are just NOT coming out - they almost look welded in.  How do I get out?  Or can I just use the new crush washers on top of the old ones???  (2) The front saddlebag bolt mounts have shifted under the chrome covers and I can only see half of them - they won't budge and no way to get the bolt in there.  How do I shift them back down into the center of the chrome cover hole?  Thanks in advance!

Dave

The old ones will come out.  I sprayed some bolt anti-sieze on them, then took my smallest flat screw driver and gently tapped on them and they will come out.  Not sure about your 2nd question.  Can you get a screw driver in there and match the holes up?

[Chrisj CMA]

Im trying to picture what you are looking at.  Im thinking if you loosen the rear fender bolts you should be able to manipulate the fender a bit so that the other holes will line up again....

Where in AL are you?

[BamaDrifter64]

I'm in N. Bama.  Got the exhaust crush washers out with a chisel and a hammer.  On the I/S saddlebag mounts at the top of the fender, I've done the nut cage mod and on the rear fender mount, I'm using a bolt from the inside out.  The front top mounts, where I'm having the problem, the screw goes in from outside into the chrome fender strap and inside is a mounted steel nut.  I can see the lower half in the hole in the chrome strap and tried to adjust with a screwdriver, but nothing moves.  I'm going back out to play with it and hopefully will figure out how to adjust it so it'll line up.  It's that way on both sides.

Dave

[Chrisj CMA]

N. AL is a bit far........Ive made road trips to the Montgomery area before.  Hope you gan get-er-done!!!!!!! 

[sugerbear]

stupid question. are the rear bolts loose?

i'm really talented that way

[BamaDrifter64]

the rear fender bolts are what I'm talking about, two on each side at the top of the rear fender on the sides.  The rear bolts on each side are where the nut cages are inside the fender.  The ones I'm having problems getting lined up are the fender bolts in front of those.  Nuts are welded to the frame hidden behind the chrome fender strap on the side of the rear fender.  I'll take a picture tomorrow if no one can understand what/where I'm talking about. 

Dave

[John Schmidt]

stupid question. are the rear bolts loose?

i'm really talented that way

He's asking if the rear ones are loose....the ones you changed to go from the inside out. Loosen them up a bit so you can move the fender around a bit. Next time you shouldn't have to take either of the fender bolts out...front or rear, just remove the outer nuts and slip the saddlebag mount off. With that setup, you should have a nut against the fender rail, then a lock nut on top of that one, that's for both front and rear bolts. Then slip the bag support frame on and put a nut on the outside of that....preferably a chrome nylock type.

[BamaDrifter64]

Yes, the rear bolts are loose.  The rear half of the back fender moves some, but the front portion of the rear fender, which houses the front mounting holes which I'm having problems with, is tight and does not move at all.

Dave

[BamaDrifter64]

Let me run this by y'all and tell me what you think, b/c I won't be able to try it until tonight to see if it works.  I was thinking about why that front portion of the rear fender is so tight when all that's holding it right now are the very front screws that attach at the front inside bottom of the fender to the swingarm and the one upper middle bolt under the seat that connects the front portion of the fender to the rear portion and what I'm coming up with is that the frame is "pinching" the front fender half and holding it in place - so if I loosen the axle nut and allow the frame to "spread" back out, then hopefully I can raise the front fender portion up the 1/2 inch to access the mounted nuts, put the mounting bolts back in them to hold the fender in place, then re-torque the axle nut.  Does that sound feasible????

Dave

[John Schmidt]

I'm not following you. There are no bolts/screws attaching any portion of the fender to the swingarm. The front section is held in place by the two forward bolts you're having trouble lining up, and two smaller ones inside the battery box that hold the front end in place. Also the top shock mounting bolts which you may have to loosen up. I'd suggest trying that. Remove or loosen the top shock mount bolts and it just might give you enough movement to line up the forward bolts on the fender rails. Those top shock bolts do go through the frame at that point and may be squeezing everything.

[6jugzz]

Get a hook scribe and find the little indentations around the exhaust hole, using the hook end put it between the washer and bottom of c'bore and pull straight down.

[Ricky-D]

You probably need to loosen up everything connected with the fender and struts in order to get the holes to align.

The hitch assembly is more than likely contributing to your problems.

The swingarm has nothing to do with this!

Loosening up both sides is needed, you can't get away with only loosening the side that is giving you the problem.

And when I say loosen it means as loose as can be, just before the nut falls off!

***

[Anthony]

what size of bolt are you trying to get in there ?
the front fender bolt has a special pitch: M10 x 1,0 mm, and not the standard M10 x 1,25mm !!!
you will get a normal bolt in for about 1 turn, not more.

how long a bolt do you need with your setup ?
i bought the smallest packing size i could find (100 pcs) before i found out i had a thread tapping plate of that pitch at work...
Anthony

[BamaDrifter64]

You're right, I meant the fender screws mounted at the battery box and not the swingarm.  My bad, it was early when I was writing that.  I'll loosen the axle nut and the shock bolts on the fender and see if that will loosen it up enough to move the fender up a half inch.  I don't have the hitch remounted yet and using the same bolts that I took out, so once I get the fender lined up, I should be pretty much home free except for the usual fighting the bike gives me.  Thanks!

Dave

[OverdueBill]

I fought the rear section of fender a while before it lined up so I can relate to your efforts.  I just don't see how loosening the axle nut will help you.  It goes through the swing arm assembly and doesn't affect the frame.  That attatchment to the frame is at the swing arm pivots.  I would just go with the fender mouting nuts and bolts.  I very well may be wrong.  My valk is down so I can re-do some wiring I did to the turn signals.

[rangernight]

I had the same situation happen on my last tire change, I had to push up on the trunk support to get the bolt holes to line up. I had the bike on the lift table and the darn bolts wouldn't go, I could only see half the hole, the girlfriend lifted the trunk support and the holes lined up --hope this helps?

[BamaDrifter64]

I had the same situation happen on my last tire change, I had to push up on the trunk support to get the bolt holes to line up. I had the bike on the lift table and the darn bolts wouldn't go, I could only see half the hole, the girlfriend lifted the trunk support and the holes lined up --hope this helps?

Great advice, rangernight!  Went out tonite with my son and loosened the top shock bolts and had him pick up on the trunk and bingo! there they were.  Only thing I had to do then, once I got the bolts in the holes, was to push up on the bottom of the fender right below the strap to line up the holes in the fender with the bolts.  Got them in temp for now, got to put the hitch and saddlebag mounts on, but thanks for the advice!

Dave