Beck Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 After avoiding any major problems with cracks on my 4th gen tail fairing, I almost lost parts of the tail on a ride yesterday after a single small screw falls out of the tail fairing assembly. It's the screw on the left side rearmost corner of the tail that screws up from the bottom and keeps the left side panel end attached to the plastic panel below the tail light. The fairing flexed enough in that area after losing the screw that it caused the lower mount of the left turn signal housing to crack apart at its mounting screw. I only caught this whole thing because I had to take the tail fairing off yesterday to clean up some wiring work I did on the right side of the bike above the right rearset and I noticed the left turn signal housing was moving around separate from the tail fairing. After analyzing the early damage that one screw falling off had cuased, I can understand why 4th gen tails tend to desintegrate on owners, as the loss of one small screw like the one I did and the resulting added flexing could have caused a domino effect of cracking at the tail faring connections and anchor points. It's really the way that Honda made these screws screw in from the bottom that is the culprit as it makes it easire for these screws to go loose and fall off without the rider knowing right away about it till the damage is done. Just glad I caught it by accident yesterday early enough. I repared the cracked off tail light anchor point by getting some fiberglass matting and wrapping it aroiund the cracked area with Loctite epoxy for plastic. Wrapping it with the fiberglass matting was the only way that the cracked piece will stay on the faring panel as Honda decided to make these achor points with the thinnest section ABS they could. I'll reinforce the signal light lower anchor point on the other side on the other side of the tail similarly to avoid cracking on it too. It should be all back together by next weekend but now i'm thinking of using Loctite thread locking compound on the screws at the bottom of tail fairing to avoid a repeat of the problem. Problem is, I distinctly remember that certain types of Loctite can cause severe cracking on ABS fairing panels because of off gassing from the thread compound. Does anyone know which kind of Loctite is safe to use around farings?? Please advise...... Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1390287 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 http://www.acehardwa...oductId=1390287 Thanks Monk, but I just see plastic glues there. I already have plastic epoxy that I used to repair/reinforced the part that cracked yesterday.........I'm looking for "plastic (ABS fairing material) safe" thread locking compound to keep the screws under the tail faring from falling out when riding. As I noted, some people found out that some types of thread locking compounds attack ABS plastic on fairings, so I'm trying to avoid that. Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer auggius Posted April 16, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 16, 2012 Yikes! Good thing you caught that. I've lost that same exact screw and all the plastics on my tail section are cracked. Though in my case I can't blame the loss of that one screw for all the subsequent damage. The problem is that even with all the cracks repaired (Plastifix & fibreglass backing) the lenses are loose, and there is a lot of flex in the tailsection. I remember someone suggestion putting in some thick felt spacers (like the kind you put under furniture feet) between the plastic and subframe. I may glue all the individual pieces of the tailsection together. Ideally I'd do a nice mod like Sebspeed but I don't want to repaint, even though it needs it. Oh, and regarding the Locktite, don't know. But I'm sure someone will come along that knows. *** Monk did, while I was composing my post. *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 http://tds.loctite.com/tds5/docs/425-EN.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Parker Posted April 20, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 20, 2012 Beck, if it's the screws I'm thinking of they screw into a sort of captive nut that clips onto the cowl piece that sits under the rear lights. I'm only guessing here but if the loctite is only bonding metal-metal perhaps the off-gassing isn't such an issue. You're lucky you caught this when you did. It's happened to me (about a year ago) - was out on a 2-day ride with mates, stopped at a servo for fuel, checked luggage and that's when I saw the rear right side had come adrift leaving the tail light cluster flapping about, which subsequently stripped the brass insert out of its plastic housing that holds the taillight cluster to the lower cown and rear/side panel. I've fixed the brass insert/ plastic lug three times now but it keeps all disassembling itself and now the brass insert on the other side is working loose. It's a PITA to get right once broken even once but when I eventually get it all buttoned up properly I'm going to get it all 714 bits that make up the side/rear panels professionally glued up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted April 20, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 20, 2012 please post a picture of the offending screw Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Seb has a thread about a product called Plastiweld that he used to fuse a tail together on a 4th gen project bike. My tail broke in a similar way besides I lost that whole tab and everything. The tail light was loose and the right turn signal was falling out of the housing almost. I used this product to make the tail 1 big piece and had to use it as a filler in some places due to how bad it cracked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 PlastiFix is your friend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resin Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I think I know what screws you're talking about. You want to use a material that allows you to remove your fasteners when necessary, and one that will not harm your ABS parts. I would suggest to soak all body screws, in a solution of good old fashion over the counter rubbing alcohol, and clean their internal threads as well, once cleaned and dried, then apply a very light amount of clear Elmer's glue on your threads. However, you should first practice this technique on something other than your bike parts. I'd suggest using an assortment of similar size fasteners, and larger bolts, and nuts, and try this procedure on your work bench. Next allow your test articles to dry, and once dry trying breaking them lose. You want to see how satisfied you are with this technique? Elmer's glue will not harm your ABS parts! . The neat thing is, Elmer's glue can be wiped off with a damp rag, or a cotton swap tip. Remember if necessary your alcohol can always clean any big mess up, and no harm will ever come to your parts. You may loose your past wax, but that's it! I have fond this to work on smaller type fasteners where vibration can be an issue. become stuck. If you don't like using Elmer's glue, then sometimes I will use clear nail polish, but take care not to get it on your ABS parts! If you really want to correctly test this procedure , then you should first try this with one set of fasteners with the Elmer's glue, and another set without any glue, and then make your own evaluation!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Chuckster Posted April 25, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'm having a hard time figuring out which screw you're talking about. I'll have to take a look at mine now that you are mentioning this to see if I can find it. Glad you got yours fixed with little problem involved. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted April 25, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 25, 2012 this one right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Chuckster Posted April 25, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 25, 2012 Okay, so that's the one. Dutchy, you've got enough dirt under there to hold yours together without the screw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Parker Posted April 29, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 29, 2012 this one right? That be the one (yours is held together by chain gunk by the looks of it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Parker Posted April 29, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 29, 2012 Seb has a thread about a product called Plastiweld that he used to fuse a tail together on a 4th gen project bike. My tail broke in a similar way besides I lost that whole tab and everything. The tail light was loose and the right turn signal was falling out of the housing almost. I used this product to make the tail 1 big piece and had to use it as a filler in some places due to how bad it cracked. The issue with getting it right isn't what you use so much as how accurate you are in setting all 719 parts together in such a way that the end result both fits the rear subframe properly and doesn't put too much stress on one or more individual parts. Well that's my excuse anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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