Went to remove the fairing over the weekend and the flat head Allan key fixings are spinning round. I’ve taken the fairing off a few times before but since coming back from its service the little buggers just spin Am I missing a trick?
It sounds like the metal thread is spinning around in the rubber boot, i'd mine now on the YELLOWsl a couple of times and what a right pain in the arse compared to the 916 range.
I bet the mechanic who serviced the bike used a power screwdriver and when tightening the screws he has ripped the brass thread out of the rubber wellnut.
I can’t imagine the guys at Ducati Mcr being so heavy handed, they really like my old 900ss. The bar ends look superb btw!
Early genuine wellnuts were the best at resisting this as the tapped brass inserts were bonded to the rubber bodies so they tended to "hang on" better when corrosion etc present, As said, the inserts must be turning seperately now, and you have to develop the knack of getting access to the inside area (if possible, I can't remember if you can get access to all) to try and grip the insert with a pair of small pliers or mini-moles. "Squirt" might help also A, but i'm sure you've applied this by now. The best chance you have is gripping the insert using the radiused semi-circle section of the pliers, using it to "nest" the diameter of the insert (with the rubber sandwiched inbetween). How hard you grip is the difficult bit obviously as in theory, you could make matters even worse! Turning allen head backwards and forwards is the knack, and if you detect a little movement, then it usually means you've cracked it, as the "nut" slowly gets looser with each small rotation. Worst scenario involves tearing all the rubber off because the remaining insert usually just about fits through the hole in the fairing enabling removal.
Thanks Chris I’ll give that a go this week. As ^^ Dan said they must have been over-tightened when it was in for the last service!! I assume these rubber wellnuts are readily available if I should damage them in removal?
I guess it could be a combination of overtightened, but they are almost self-limiting in that respect. It is true that when you study the rubber section, it’s easy to see if someone has overtightened as the whole idea of them was to leave a little bit of give rather than really go mad when tightening. Someone might be able to confirm if genuine welnuts are still available, I think a patent must’ve expired or something because there are many clones now, and the majority of them very good. I hope someone comes up with a recent link to some recommended ones as I haven’t bought any for a while.
Over time the rubber gets brittle & the bond between the rubber & the threaded insert fails. It then doesn't take much to break this bond & the insert spins in the rubber. A good pair of pliers should be enough to get a good grip of the rubber where the insert is located & you should be able to remove the screws quite easily. A little WD40 or similar always helps too. Replacement WellNuts are readily available, although I can't remember exactly where I got mine from. They only need tightening finger tight plus 1/2 a turn really, maybe one full turn at the most.
Thanks, this is what I’ve always done on this and my previous SS But the mechanics at Ducati Mcr seem to have other ideas!
Managed to strip the fairing panels off Sure enough all the four fixings around nose cone had been over tightened forcing the brass inserts through the rubber body. I’ve taken them out and super glued them back in place. See how it works.
Have done, the over tightening continued to both of the side panels, the grommets had come loose Super glued them in place too, I’ll know more when I come to re assemble, if they fail I’ll be looking for replacements Thanks for the heads up.
The idea of repairing them appeals more then replacing them. It allows me tinkering time in the garage, and who doesn’t like tinkering time? Plus I finally get to clean the inside of the cloudy headlight. More tinkering!
