Rounded off mirror bolts
 

Dear All

I've rounded off the gold coloured bolts that hold the mirrors onto my 749s after repeatedly taking them off for track days. Can I just buy replacements or are there better alternatives that are stronger?

Ta

Mark.

The point is that they're shear bolts - they are cut down so that they will break at the weak point when put under load. This should be when you mirrors whack something, so the mirror breaks away rather than taking the whole fairing with it.

You can replace them with normal screws but in the event of a knock (like when putting it in the garage) you could end up with more damage to the mirror mounts and headlight casing than with shear bolts.

They're only a couple of quid from a dealer, so not worth worrying about, IMO.

Thanks for the reply Antonye, do you mean when this happens?

Fair point, but I've only had the mirrors off 5 or 6 times, does the mean they have that short a life?

I have the same problem with my 748. I find they last longer if you make sure the allen key you are using is good quality and really square/flat at the end. I keep one i ground down aside just for doing this job.

Neil
#70

What Neil says - use a good SQUARE drive allen key and not a ball or a slightly rounded one. They don't need too much torque to keep them in (you don't need to do them up too tight) and this helps with keeping them in shape. Having said that, they are very soft and round easily, but at that price it's always worth buying a couple and keeping one as a spare.

Why would you use a SQUARE Allen key when the hole is hexagonal?;)

You could of course use one of these.The Round part is for putting in a square hole.Attached are obviously some of your previous work,Ant!!:lol:

You're doing it wrong!

You need one of these:

Mmmmmm.I tend to use a hammer for hammering,rather than a grinder! Each to his own i suppose!!;)