Finally got my crash bars on. What an ordeal! I started a few weeks ago. The bars mount in three places, to the frame under the side panel, at the front engine mount and to the frame behind the forks. The frame mounting points are unused, capped threaded holes. I go to put the one side on and it is of course difficult to line up but I get the rear and center bolts started and try to start the one on the front of the frame. But it won’t start. I’m trying for over an hour thinking it has something to do with the way it’s lining up but finally give up and remove the bar to find out what’s going on. What’s going on is despite the hole being threaded the opening is too small for the bolt. So I get an 8mm tap and rig it to a socket wrench so that it can reach. Carefully and using motor oil as a lubricant I tap out the hole. Success!!! I’m elated! It’s the first time I’ve ever used a tap. But I figure I’d better get the one on the other side because when I tested it after the experience with the first one the bolt went in a little bit then got very tight. So again I slowly and carefully screwed the tap in using oil and backed it out a couple of times. I get it to where I knew it had gone all the way through and started to back it out and “SNAP” it broke off!
So my first experience with tap’s just got that much more interesting. I googled how to remove a broken tap and the options weren’t good but there is a tool called a tap remover that looked promising so I ordered a #8 to remove my 8mm tap. A week later it arrives! I open it up and it’s much too small. It turns out a #8 is actually a 4mm, half the size. So I do my research, find the correct size and order that…..backordered! So I find another company that has it and order from them. It comes in just before my week long trip through New England (on a different bike) so I give it a try. If you’ve never seen one of these tap removers it basically has splines that fill the flutes of a tap allowing you to turn it out. At least in theory. All it did for me was mangle the splines. Oh well, I figured I’d get back to it after the trip.
So I get home and while I was away the backordered tap remover had come in. I figured I’d try it again last night, maybe I didn’t do it right the first time. But I had done it right and all I ended up with was another mangled tap remover. So I said /@&) this, grabbed a small center punch and started tapping away. I say tapping because the location made it impossible to bang away. But after an hour of tapping, mangling my fingers (to match the tap removers) and hitting the frame a few times I managed to punch it through. And miracle of all miracles it didn’t destroy the threads! The bolt went right in! Two more hours and those unbelievably pesky crash bars are finally installed (remember at the beginning I mentioned they didn’t quite line up?)
I think they look sharp! They really complete the Ronald McDonald vibe.
