Pat Buzzard Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Well I went and did it: I replaced the battery on my R1100RT. This was my first attempt at any maintenance on the RT, and I must admit I was more than a little nervous at removing the fairing, but it all worked out OK! The battery change-out went smoothly and I'm happy to say I even managed to get all the screws back into the right place (I think...) Now all I have to do is wait for a warmish day and I'm off! LIFE IS GOOD! Link to comment
kobukan Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Nice job! Now that you've crossed that hurdle there's probably a lot of other maintenance you could do yourself. Next time taking the fairing off will seem a lot easier. Link to comment
outpost22 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Way to go! If you need any extra tupperware screws, let me know as I usually have a few left over when I'm done doing this. Link to comment
Selden Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 The hardest part of removing the body work is whacking the mirrors with the heel of your hand. The first time you do it, it's sort of an act of faith. Link to comment
ElevenFifty Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 "The hardest part of removing the body work is whacking the mirrors with the heel of your hand. The first time you do it, it's sort of an act of faith" So true. Then you realize that they are just held on by springs and you start to pray. ;~) If you aren't already, then consider using an electric screwdriver/drill to remove your tupperware ... set the clutch to it's minimum force. I bought a set of t-handle 6" long hex wrenches and cut the 4mm (or is it 3?) one down to about 1.5 inches. The resulting T-handle is just the right size for doing the manual work on the two screws in the nose and the remaining piece has a special place on my tool shelf as the "bit for removing tupperware". Link to comment
AndyS Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 However, when reinstalling fairing screws, do them by hand and if they are stiff, find out why before forcing them. They don't need to be done up much at all, and you will really kick yourself if you cross thread, or strip the threads. It may take a couple of minutes longer to use a hand tool that generates very little torque, but it is worth it. Also, put the tank screws in first and all the screws very loose to ensure everything can move and line up, then nip it all down. Andy Link to comment
Tobias Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I had to smile at Outpost's comment about having left over screws from the Tupperware. I use 2 zip lock sandwich bags when I do this; only screws from one side per bag. That way if I have left overs at least I know which side to look on. I just start them a few threads but don't wind them down until I get them all started. That way I find I can shift the parts a little and get the seams to line up better. It drives me nuts to see uneven gaps on the sides of the tank. I'm in the hand tighten only camp after I read about people mistakenly running the longer screws into the fuel tank. I don't even want to know what a replacement tank would run me. Link to comment
dan cata Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 However, when reinstalling fairing screws, do them by hand and if they are stiff, find out why before forcing them. They don't need to be done up much at all, and you will really kick yourself if you cross thread, or strip the threads. It may take a couple of minutes longer to use a hand tool that generates very little torque, but it is worth it. Also, put the tank screws in first and all the screws very loose to ensure everything can move and line up, then nip it all down. Andy True, and... if you tight the fairing screws in too hard, the fairing in that zone is goinc to crack in a circular pattern, surrounding the screw. Dan. Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I draw the location of the screws on a piece of shirt cardboard and poke the screws into the holes as I remove them. This way there can be no confusion as to length/location. Comes from years of Japanese bike clutch covers which may have as many as 4 different screw lengths on one cover. Link to comment
beemerboy Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Well I went and did it: I replaced the battery on my R1100RT. This was my first attempt at any maintenance on the RT, and I must admit I was more than a little nervous at removing the fairing, but it all worked out OK! The battery change-out went smoothly and I'm happy to say I even managed to get all the screws back into the right place (I think...) Now all I have to do is wait for a warmish day and I'm off! LIFE IS GOOD! This was the very first thing I had to do to my 1150RT when the battery went dead after thirty days of ownership. The shop was 25 miles away so I did the expedient thing by removing it myself and bringing it in for a warranty replacement. Later in my first year of ownership I attemtped a TB synch with good results. That success gave way the next year to hosting a tech day to do a TB synch AND valve adjust. I made sure I had all the necessary tooks on hand including a bottle of bourbon and a three pound mini-sledge hammer. Link to comment
Froggy Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thats what I forgot...bourbon :grin:Thats also how I started on my RT.Although I forgot to reset my TPS and the bike ran rough.Luckily this site helped me out.That was April of last,and this fall and winter I have had all my tupperware off doing valve,arm,and TB sinc.(I also used tech.of putting screws in cardbrd for each side)All this was done by reading the threads on sites like this.Take your time and read up,its easy once you have read up on it. Link to comment
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