sidecover saver

i dont know if anybody still does this or not,but ive allways drilled a small hole in the top front corner of my sidecovers and run a small safety chain like off fingernail clippers through the cover and around frame tube under seat.ive seen a lot of 900s-1000s over the years with blown off sidecovers,this trick has saved me more than once by giving me time to slow down and grab cover before its gone!

Wireguy, I've seen many side-cover plastic "bullet-nosed" retainers drilled and wired. I think it's effective, however, it is a "pain in the butt" when you are in a hurry to get them off, to check a fuse or remove the tank and clear the petrol cock.

My idea is to use that plastic coated wire that they use on garbage bags or Christmas trees (star hangers). I hate to associate the two above, however, this wire simply wrapped around once or twice, from the inside, will secure the side cover and is easily removed.
RegardZ.

Yes, and its a good idea. Why I havent done it yet? Dont know, its on my to do list for now. I've read on here that some of the guys drill a small hole through a prong that plugs into the grommet, then use safety wire. At least thats what I understood.

I guess I have been lucky, never had a side cover blow off the bike in all the 32 years I've owned it. I did, however, replace those round rubber grommets that attach to the frame and through which the rubber cones on the back of the cover poke through, and never had to use wire or anything else to keep the cover secure.

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that sidecovers will blow off at high speed. I think this will only happen when the original airbox has been replaced with individual filters, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I use a simple hitch pin that works great and is very quick and simple to use. See pics below:



Post edited by: 79MKII, at: 2005/11/28 19:22

79MKII

I use the same type of pins and they work very well.
I tried to post a picture of them but was rejected several times.
Thanks for showing them.
Harry

Why not save the hassle and not run them at all?

hwms wrote:

79MKII

I use the same type of pins and they work very well.
I tried to post a picture of them but was rejected several times.
Thanks for showing them.
Harry

Yea, it took me several tries to post those pics. It seems much harder to post pics on the new forum. Then again, maybe I just haven't learned how it works yet??

I only use one pin in the upper/front post and they stay on at any speed. I've had to pick them up from the freeway median one time too many!!

...not to imply that I would be exceeding the legal speed limit on a public road....:whistle:

Post edited by: 79MKII, at: 2005/11/28 20:01

This is a great idea. I wish I could find some side covers for my 77 1000. Mine are really beat up bad.

I'm with twowheeled... Take 'em off haha.

Been riding for many years on all kinds of 2 wheeled contraptions & I lost a left side cover on my '78 1000 the other day (first time ever!). The fact that I had been doing 120 mph may have something to do with it. Long, straight country road w/ no intersections & complete visibility was hard to turn down...:evil:

I'm wiring those suckers from now on!

Does anybody make a decent replacement? The maier ones are not the same as stock & require a bolt on arrangement.

I've placed a classified ad here, so mabye that will turn up one!

fonZee - Maier makes replacement sidecovers for your bike. You can buy them direct (do google search for the web link) or from JC Whitney. They come black and will have to be painted if you want them to match the paint on your bike. You drill holes in these covers and use pan head screws to hold them on... they give you the hardware to mount them and they won't come off as easily as the OEM covers will... I personally don't ever put my sidecovers on and they are nice and shiney sitting on a shelf!