Does anyone know how I can remove the centre screws that hold the two side fairing panels together? I tried removing them, but the captive nuts or whatever they screw into kept turning round not allowing the screws to withdraw. There doesn't seem to be any way of holding the nuts, whilst turning the screws. Any help/advice will be much appreciated!

 

I believe you can just turn them until they start to come out then just grab the tip with needle nose and pull.
I don't know the name of the screw but the screw just screws in and expands a flange on the other side.
Sorry I'm not very good at explaining when I dont know the exact terminology.

 

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I understand what you said regarding the plastic screws and there are some around the fairing, but the two I am having problems with are metal ones and I can see the threads by looking inside the fairing. The problem is I can't get at the captive nuts that appear round with no hexagon to hold them while I turn the metal screws. I'm not sure if these may have been replaced by a previous owner, probably because he/she broke the plastic ones! I'll keep on trying and if successful I'll replace them with the plastic tyupe for ease of removal next time! I have loads of them in my garage! Let you know how I get on.

 

Hi how did you remove these screws in the end as I have the same bike/problem. Thanks Paul.

 

They are screwing into something called a well nut, looks like a rubber top hat with a brass thread inside.

If they just turning then two things could be happening:
1- the whole top hat is turning as you undo it, need to grab the other side with pliers.
2 - the brass insert has detached, need to grab the other side with pliers.

So... you need to grab the other side with pliers, quite hard to do in situ so if the rest of the bolts undo then remove them to give you some room. Might be able to get them by undoing everything you can to get some slack, then seeing if you can stuff you hand up the back of the panel. Failing that, remove the front cowl (with headlight) at the same time and lift everything upwards.

 

-I assume that one has grabbed the rubber nut from the back with a pair of Vice Grips (locking pliers) and still can't get the screw out. Also I assume you have said many choice words for the Honda guy who designed this.
-DON'T attempt spinning it out with a power drill, solder iron, etc as these will all damage/enlarge the fairing hole.

1. get a power drill. I like a good cordless drill/driver
2. get a NEW & HIGH Quality brand drill bit(s) just slightly larger than the diameter of the screw (Not the head).

If you have a drill bit assortment, just remove a bit from the case and insert the screw to find the smallest bit that the screw will fit in the hole in the case. Then select the Next larger bit.

3. Idea is that you drill the screw head until the bit reaches the shoulder (intersection of the bottom of the screw head and the shank). Then, the screw head pops off. You do NOT drill into the fairing hole- stop just at.

4. Given the large allen hole in the screw head, you MAY have to go one more size larger in drill bits as it is hard to get perfectly centered (unlike aircraft rivets that have a dimple in the center for this purpose).


Commonly used for aircraft rivet removal. The image below shows the head/shank intersection, similar to a screw/head, so you get the idea.

Then, do something to the new parts to prevent happening again. Maybe a little grease on the screw (keep off the rubber). Then maybe a lite layer of silicone seal over that (after installed) to keep water out. (the grease will allow removal - just silicone after installation Might gum up future removal). Note- just a thought.


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