Broken Tab N Cowl, Loose Rear Fairing

[curtis]

So the only negatives on my 'new' gen5 that I have discovered so far are a broken tab on Seat cowl and a slight bit of play in rear fairing.

I have a bad habit of pulling on the rear fairing at the very back to lower from center stand. On my 'old' gen5 the fairing is super tight and it is not an issue.

On the new one, I noticed it slightly loose. I feel it is safe to assume that is how I 'broke' (apparently previously repaired) the right side mounting tab for the seat cowl, and probably how the previous owner did it. The tab being bolted to the frame, and the fairing loose would surely stress it, right?

Regarding the Fairing. I looked for obvious reasons it might be loose such as missing fasteners within view by removing the seat, but didn't inspect super closely. The PO did do what he calls a "tasteful European fender delete" which involved removing the tag light/bulb and installing a Euro taillight which illuminates the tag. Probably buggered the fairing a little in the process. Anyway, little things like this bug the heck out of me. I know I shouldn't yank on the fairing to lower it off the center stand, but none the less it should be tight.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Next is the cowl. Should I be looking for a replacement, or try to repair it? I do have the tab that is broken off. Something like JB weld?

I am reluctant to put the one from my other gen5(or a new one) on there in case the loose fairing is indeed the culprit, I might end up with multiple broken cowls.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Curtis

[MaxSwell]

The rear cowl on fifth gens is mounted to the bike at four points:

- there are two screws on each side on the front of the fairing

- there are two plastic protrusions from the rear combination light (taillight) that fit into two rubber grommets at the top of the rear fender; the taillight is firmly connected to the rear cowl.

I've had one or both of those protrusions break in the past.

Remove your rear cowl and disconnect the wires attached to the taillight then inspect the taillight lens for those two protrusions for breakage.

You may be able to tell if the protrusions are broken by looking under the taillight and wiggling the fairing to see if the taillight is firmly connected to the bike.

If his "tasteful delete" messed with these protrusions or the rubber gromets at the rear top of the fender and spoiled this interface, there's your problem.

For the seat cowl tab, Motorcycle Consumer News (best mc publication) reviewed a product, Plast-aid, that claims to be able, among other things, to repair ABS plastic. ABS is what the fairings are made of.

It is available from Plast-Aid Corp., Estes Park, CO. I have two packages; I've yet to use it but based on my plastic model-building experience in the Dark Ages of my youth, it should work well.

Good luck, congratulations on your backup purchase, and welcome to the VFRD asylum.

[curtis]

Excellent. Thank you for the very informative response, and for dumbing it down a bit. Perhaps I will be able to pass along some knowledge at some point in the future.

I look forward to diagnosing the issue based on your advice.

[Dutchy]

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/72138-how-to-repair-broken-or-missing-abs-body-tabs-and-hair-line-cracks/?p=849712

[wagzhp]

For getting the bike on and off the center stand, look towards the front upper part of the left passenger foot peg bracket. There is an aluminum extension of the peg bracket that is intended to be a handle for just that purpose. No need to manhandle the plastic.

Edit: Sorry I miss spoke. The handle is just behind the foot peg bracket, not in front.