Hey everyone. So today was supposed to be a good day. I planned on installing my new bootleg slip on, doing a fresh oil change, bleed and refill the brake fluid and If I had time I wanted to remove the front 80's turn signals and wire up my hotbodies flushmounts. Well so the slip on install went ok but I was left with a few questions. The bootleg midpipe slipped right in the header flange like a glove but the midpipe itself actually "kisses" the swingarm Now I havent put my weight on the bike nor bounced around to see if it is going to be an issue but nonetheless it is a TIGHT fit. Anything like double sided adhesive of some type of foam that wont burn I can slip in there if need be to prevent scratching? The 2nd odd thing I found was that the muffler clamp that attaches to the passenger foot peg seemed entirely too big? No matter how I looked at it, it just didnt make sense! Anything I'm missing? See pics

So heres where things went bad. It was time for the oil change. I took off the V plastic behind the front fork and I had a great grip on the oil filter but no matter how hard I twisted that beoutch was torqued on there. Dip**** previous owner. So I go out and get the appropriate tiny oil filter grabber and I put it on there as tight as I can, get the ratchet on there and the grabber starts slipping...I'm like ok this blows. I then proceeded to hammer that damn grabber on the oil filter as far as I could...attached the ratchet and BAM broke her loose. Such a good feeling. So I just loosen the filter a tad and move to the oil pan bolt. Immediately I look at it and go "you've got to be kidding me" the bolt is mangled as if a monkey got to it and is stripped pretty bad. As I suspected the socket slipped on it. So I grab the vice grips and get a good grip and it turns about a 1/4 turn then nada. No more. No matter how good my vice grip, the teeth just slip right off. Obviously I didnt even get to my flushmounts. I ended up leaving the V shaped plastic off and left the oil filter grabber on the filter and thats where Im at! What are my options guys!!???

 

The clamp is suppose to be pressed together and not seperated... You can also go buy a spacer for the bolt and that will solve the "midpipe kissing the swingarm" problem.

 

The band looks the right size you just put it on wrong,

bummer on the bolt vise grips are bad thow them away.

I have metwrench wrenches and theyhave gotten rounded bolts

off for me, and there are other brands of wrenches made to

take off stripped bolts. good luck

 

Not too sure about the pipe. Maybe you could take it to a muffler shop and have them tweak the bends slightly to give it a bit of clearance.

For the bolt, you could try filing the sides to give your vice grips something more to grab onto. Also, there are special sockets for removing rounded-off bolts. I know Sears would have some.

And just an FYI, as far as I can tell, everything on the F4i is metric. I think that drain plug is a 12mm, and 1/2" is closer to 13mm (although it won't fit over it).

 

for ur exhaust id try putting the clamp hooks on the same side, by the head of the passenger footpeg bolt, i never did an exhaust but it seems like it would fit much better, not sure about the scraping, maybe rotate the exhaust a lil but

for the oil pan bolt, if you have a grinder you could grind off two sides so its a squarish shape and then u should be able to get it off, although if u could turn it 1/4 of a turn id soak it in PB blaster an work it back an forth, it should come

and fyi for the filer if its stuck just take big adjustable pliers and crush the filter in them, and it comes off nice and easy

 

+1 bands on wrong, put them together and the midpipe hittin is a pretty common thing on the f4i. just let it go, theres nothing u can do. it will get scratched and evetually dent itself out of the way

 

Regarding the clamp...Duh...Im a retard..Cant believe I didnt see that!

As for the kissing of the midpipe, I did alter the pipe this way and that and the way I tightened it down was the best position clearance wise so its not that. The previous owner said it was quite tight but never was an issue. SO Il keep an eye on it when Im on the bike and the suspension is moving.

As for the bolt...Im going to check some tools out at the shop tomorrow and keep at it...All you guys are awsome, thank you for all the answers!

 

No. What I'm saying is get a spacer for the bolt used for the footpeg clamp. This will slightly widen the position of the exhaust once you tighten it and give you a gap between your midpipe and swingarm.

 

No I understand...thanks!

 

One thing you might want to do before you put the clamp down tight around the pipe is try to find some thin adhesive foam pieces, like from a squeak and rattle kit. Adhere them to the inside of the clamp so it's not touching the pipe directly. I have a CF pipe and the clamps have started wearing through the fibers because of vibration.