Taking the plastic off

[MGN54]

Going to take the plastic off to do further exploring on my newly acquired 2000RT and possibly my first valve adjust. Any particular order of removal of the pieces required? Know that there are alot of fasteners for the sides. Are these all the same length or do I need to keep them in order? Any tips for a RT newb would be most appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

[Ken H.]

Hi Mark. welcome to the board. If you do a search on "tupperware" you will find a bunch of threads on this. There is a diagram floating around here somewhere of the screw locations.

 

There are different screw lengths, but the only really crytical ones are the three along the top of the tank on each side. Those have to be the shortest ones! All the rest matter little.

 

Take off the seats first!

[David]

If you do a search on "tupperware" you will find a bunch of threads on this.

 

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=256875

[MGN54]

Thanks Ken! I'll do the search now. Appeciate the info.

 

Mark

[MGN54]

Thanks David!

[Kathy R]

Hi Mark - welcome!

You'll find that most folks refer to the plastic as "tupperware". I still don't know why Tech Daze arent' referred to as Tupperware Parties?

[Les is more]

Here's the screw placement diagram so that when you have one left over, you can find a place for it.

 

By the way, for those 1150 folks out there, stock screws only come in two lengths. There should be 8 longer ones. Three each side along the bottom of the footpeg plates and one each for the mirrors. As mentioned, the only critical placement is using the short ones over the tank.

[John_Bennett]

 

I made a templates from styrofoam panels that resemble the diagram.

 

The templates, left & right, are about 8" x 12" x 3" and store easily when not in use. When I take out the screws, I place each in it's own special hole.

[Tschamp]

OK, so my wife, kind of laughed at me. When I took off the plastic, I taped each screw to a piece of paper that I had drawn pictures of the pieces on. ( Dash, side fairing )

[FlyingFinn]

Easier to just use thin cardboard instead of paper and stick the screws right through the cardboard. No need for tape.

 

PS. Empty beer case provides good material for the cardboard templates.

 

--

Mikko

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Shirt cardboard at you local dry cleaners. Send out a couple of shirts, specify folded rather than hung and its even free.

[RTP Rider]

I use a full size mock up of the tupperware. Each bolt goes right in the same hole.

 

I keep it right next to my map of the United States ....

 

It's original size ...

 

It says one mile equals one mile.

[Green RT]

Sounds like a lot of overkill to me. I had the same problem the first couple of times I pulled the tupperware. But once I realized the pattern it is pretty simple and not worth all the clever schemes (IMHO). On my 1100RT, there is one long one, goes behind the mirror; 3 medium, go along the foot plate as someone said; and the rest short.

[Ken H.]

a templates from styrofoam panels that resemble the diagram.

 

The templates, left & right, are about 8" x 12" x 3" and store easily when not in use. When I take out the screws, I place each in it's own special hole.

 

I taped each screw to a piece of paper that I had drawn pictures of the pieces on.

 

use thin cardboard instead of paper and stick the screws right through the cardboard. No need for tape.

 

Shirt cardboard at you local dry cleaners.

 

I use a full size mock up of the tupperware. Each bolt goes right in the same hole.

 

Oh, and Mark, welcome to the most AR place on the Internet!

[Barglowski]

To answer the unasked question, "Is there a certain order to put it all back together?"

 

I've had problems getting the three bolts on the tank to line up correctly, so my technique is to place the panel on the bike, put in the oil cooler bolt loosely, and put the three tank bolts on loosely until they're all threaded on. I usually leave all the bolts loose until all are installed, then take turns tightening them up. I've really found no way to decrease the "gaps" between the tank/panel and front fairing/panel, try as I might. I maintain a little pressure upwards when tightening the frontmost bolt, but that's about it.

 

It's way easier to get a 3mm nutdriver to remove/install the bolts than an Allen key. Way easier to get the bolts off from under the exhaust pipe (especially when still warm). Some even use an eletric screwdriver!

 

You want to take special care to make sure the "C-clips" are positioned correctly before installing the panel. They can move slightly during panel removal, and it's a PITA to find out they've moved when you've already got half the bolts installed and the only way to move the C-clip back is to remove the panel again! The ones that move for me are the "above valve cover" pair and the behind exhaust pipe pair. Sometimes you can use something like an icepick to move the C-clip back to where it's supposed to be so the bolt can thread in.

 

With the nutdriver, I can remove one panel in a few minutes. Putting a panel back on takes around 5 min with the above tricks. I've had way too much practice for only having my bike three years!

 

Later,

jan