It is amazing what you find when you do maintenance

[Apex]

A beautiful day today. Went out for a ride, enjoyed every second of it, then stopped by the dealer to get oil and filter. Came back and decided I was going to work on my bike. I my oil pressure lamp was not working. Pulled the front fairing and ohmed out the light, it was good. Ok, looked at possible connections between the switch and the lamp, found the connection at the radiator to be unplugged. Not sure how, but it was, reconnected, all is well.

"Things are going good" I say in my head. I had a seized screw that connects the lower fairing to the frame. It was the bracket that hooks up by the kickstand. A while back I purchased a new bracket and screw, so I had it sitting around. Since I was doing an oil change, I figured it would be nice to not have to deal with getting oil on the plastics, so I figured I'd change that out. I misplaced my extractor set, so I decided to just drill out the screw. After about 10 minutes I was done and proceeded to replace the bracket. A balancing act was done to hold the bike up with my knee, then use both hands to reattach the kickstand and bracket (have to pull the kickstand to remove the bracket). I finished it and I thought all was well. How wrong I was.

As I bent down to make sure everything was aligned properly, I see a bolt hanging out of the bike. This is buried behind the kickstand, so you can't see it unless you are down there. I pushed on it and it slid back into place. I looked around, and I was thinking for a second that it was for the center stand that I removed. Then I checked, no, the center stand hooks up differently. This is not that bolt. I stop and think. OH CRAP. The nut I was missing is for my lower engine mount.



See the 92015A at the bottom (secures bolt 92002B)? Yeah that is what I was currently missing. I have been riding a bike for a little while with no lower engine mount bolt secured in place. I'm sure even the dealer wouldn't have caught that one.

I looked up online an OEM dealer that has all the parts diagrams online. I found the piece myself, then went and called my local dealer. I explained that it was the 10mm nut for the lower engine mount. They had them in stock. So I drove over there in the cager and immediately picked it up. $8 later I'm heading back home to put that in (purchased a spare too). I'm lucky nothing bad happened. Could have been a whole lot worse!

Next is the oil. I hope that goes smoothly!





Cliff notes: Started doing maintenance; found I was missing the lower engine mount nut. Called and got a replacement; I was lucky.

[kkim]

did you notice any added vibration from that missing engine mount nut?

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by kkim

did you notice any added vibration from that missing engine mount nut?

Yea that's what I wanna know....

It's scary the crap that happens sometimes. I almost lost my right peg mid-ride once. That was fun. There's also the time when my front caliper almost fell off....but now we're just splitting hairs.

[Apex]

Originally Posted by kkim

did you notice any added vibration from that missing engine mount nut?

Well I'm sure it slowly worked its way out over time. Such a slow change is hard to notice. I do remembering that it felt buzzy on my feet, which normally doesn't happen when I ride.

I'll have to take it for a ride before I do the oil change. I'll do that after I eat lunch. I shall let you know if it was a big difference or not.

[Apex]

Well I took it around the block real quick and yes there is a big difference in the vibes.

To be safe, after I torqued down the bolt to spec, I checked the upper engine mount bolt (just above this one) and it was loose by 10lb-ft.

Now it is like a whole new motorcycle. Much smoother now. I think I'll check those bolts from now on at every valve maintenance.

I may just throw some loctite at it to try to help them stay in place too.

[bob706]

Originally Posted by Apex

I think I'll check those bolts from now on at every valve maintenance.

I may just throw some loctite at it to try to help them stay in place too.

+1.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Apex

Well I took it around the block real quick and yes there is a big difference in the vibes.

To be safe, after I torqued down the bolt to spec, I checked the upper engine mount bolt (just above this one) and it was loose by 10lb-ft.

Now it is like a whole new motorcycle. Much smoother now. I think I'll check those bolts from now on at every valve maintenance.

I may just throw some loctite at it to try to help them stay in place too.

Thanks for the reminder to check mine!

[HKr1]

Little kid around here with an 07 was missing that one too. On a ride he pointed out the bolt rattling around for his center stand....... I looked and noticed it was for the engine mount

Dont know if he fixed it yet..? We swapped out his shock for an 08 the other day, I forgot to look/didnt notice.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Wow. The only thing I ever found was this strange piece of plastic on my garage floor one day. Couldn't figure what the heck it was. Then I did an oil change a month later and found a similar small triangular black piece of plastic in the fairing. And 2 tabs missing from my fairings - voila.

[bikeguy57]

Did they really charge you 8.00 for 1 10mm nut?

[kkim]

Originally Posted by bikeguy57

Did they really charge you 8.00 for 1 10mm nut?

most likely... but it does have special, magical powers.

[tjkamper]

I would have taken the bolt to a Hardware store and bought a bolt for 8 Cents instead of $8.... Okay I exaggerate.... Maybe a quarter.


LUCKY FIND! Glad you fixed it and it didn't cause any problems, risking your safety.

[Apex]

Originally Posted by bikeguy57

Did they really charge you 8.00 for 1 10mm nut?

Actual price: $7.77 for two. I got a spare. I looked online and I could have gotten two OEM nuts from a site for $2.97 for a two pack. I just did not want to wait for them to be shipped.

[Flashmonkey]

LOL I know what I'm gonna be checking this weekend.

[Sailariel]

Mark, You would probably be surprised, but most of the metric nuts, washers, etc.---especially 10mm, are readily available at your local bicycle shop. Some hardware stores have a good assortment as well. Also don't overlook a Foreign car dealer--they are all metric as well. I have found Kawasaki to be particularly expensive, and their stuff is not all that great. I have replaced all my fairing bolts, seat attachment screws, etc. with nicely finished Stainless Steel screws. I also use Loctite Blue on everything.

[Chubbs032]

wats the lb/ft?

[Apex]

Originally Posted by Chubbs032

wats the lb/ft?

25 iirc