BReak in Maintenance done... Questions now

Just did my 1500kms initial Maintenance. First thing I noticed was that one of the screws for the exhaust heat shield next to the shift lever had a loose screw. The one that was loose was the single rear screw on the single pipe as it curves around under the bike. It seemed to be completely out of the weld nut and I was unable to get it to start. I tried to loosen up the other 2 bolts. the bottom one was not a problem. The top one was not moving easy and after loosening it a couple turns I decided it was more than enough as I was not ready to deal with a broken screw in that location. With the shield loose I got the rear screw out, and discovered a washer and I am guessing a spacer. Looked like something home made compared to the washer. The threads on the screw looked to be a little damaged. Was not sure if that spacer and washer was really suppose to be there, so removed the bottom screw and found same thing. Seems odd to have a washer and a spacer behind a heat shield like that, but I guess it must be right. Unfortunately not sure what the order is that they go back in. Put it in spacer against Weld nut. Washer immediately behind shield. The screw that was loose looks to have damaged threads, but the lower one I removed would not go into that weld nut, so I suspect I have to tap that weld nut. May also need to tweak the heat shield to get everything aligned. Since the top one seems like it is maybe seized I'll likely be doing a lot of work to get everything right.

Also wondering about the transmission and gear oil drain plug. Both seem to be very inaccessible for a torque wrench. The transmission seems the worst, not sure what it is below it, the cover that I drain all my transmission oil all over but its work to get an open end on the drain plug. Hopefully a crows foot will work for torqueing that. Sadly ended up torqueing it hand tight. Hope my arm is still in calibration. The gear oil drain plug for the CARC swing arm seems better, except for the Break line and the sensor wire running right over the top of the plug. Even with those out of the way I still can't seem to get a socket on it. Considering all the allen (hex) head plugs why would this not be an allen(hex) head. Also not thrilled that it drains right on the tire. Managed to capture most of it with a used motor oil bottle, but still got some oil on the tire.

Wondering what others do about these drain plugs? Although I guess will be a while till I worry about them again. Any suggestion on the heat shield? Are these spacers correct?

Other wise the service went well.. Although not got everything I need yet for balancing the intake... but I figure that can wait till I have all the right tools to complete it.

What a coincidence... I just took that exhaust shield off the other day. My whole exhaust system was somewhat loose...from the header nuts to the clamp at the can.... I tightened everything up. Those allen screws holding that shield on were really tight. I thought they were gonna strip coming off but they loosened ok. Yes, there was a washer and a funky spacer. Putting it back on, I put the allen through the shield, put on the washer and then pressed in the spacer. The spacer (kind of just a pricked center hole) held both the washer and allen screw onto the shield so it was really easy just lining it back up and putting it back on. Put a little anti-seize on those threads so they'll come off easier next time if needed. Not so worried about torquing those drain plugs.... just snugging them up has always been fine for me.

The spacers are correct.

Do not torque the drain plugs. They just need to be nipped up firm by hand.

Also not thrilled that it drains right on the tire. Managed to capture most of it with a used motor oil bottle, but still got some oil on the tire.

If you're going to make a mess, get some aluminum foil & fashion a shield / cover & direct the oil into a pan.

Ask some around here; oil on rear tyres does work well.

beetle wrote:

The spacers are correct.

Do not torque the drain plugs. They just need to be nipped up firm by hand.

I like having torque specs... at work I am often accused of being a gorilla and leaving bolts that others can't get loose. Torque specs, when I have them, keep my threads in good shape.

PilotJet wrote:

What a coincidence... I just took that exhaust shield off the other day. My whole exhaust system was somewhat loose...from the header nuts to the clamp at the can.... I tightened everything up.

I was worried I was over torqueing my exhaust. one I hate that the Maintenance Manual lists the torque specs separately from the instructions. will be making some notes for the next time. Plus my small torque wrench is in in/lbs so had to do lots of converting. My bigger wrench has Newtons on it but starts at 24 newtons so only good for a few bolts.

I did read in another thread around here about exhaust bolts coming loose so made me feel a little better. Especially as I kept turning and turning. Although less happy that I could not get on the inner bolts straight as I know swivel joints affect your actual torque reading.

Nobleswood wrote:

Also not thrilled that it drains right on the tire. Managed to capture most of it with a used motor oil bottle, but still got some oil on the tire.

If you're going to make a mess, get some aluminum foil & fashion a shield / cover & direct the oil into a pan.

Ask some around here; oil on rear tyres does work well.

I hate making a mess... thankfully I realized it was a likely mess before I loosened everything. The tire was my big concern, obviously. That plastic cover I could care less about although not crazy about it. I was able to clean it after. I do like that idea, will for sure use it next time.