Last year when I started a thread about the ordeal I went through at the auto store and then the eventual simple modifications I attempted and successfully completed, you stated:
That was my first real attempt at anything even remotely mechanical, so it was pretty huge for me. But….. 13 months later, I have something close to a tech spec write up on some repair work to deliver.Now, girl, you need to do a tech spec write up for the board! Show diagrams, sketches, pics…….
So this is for you MikeCam.
I was too embarrassed to mention it at the time, but the first week of April I had my first ‘accident’/’spill’/’crash’ - whatever they are called. I hit gravel in a curve and rode the bike clear to the ground. Stayed with it too!! Remembered not to put my foot down too!! Which probably saved me from having a broken ankle, but did not keep me from having my ankle caught between the sharp end of the foot peg and the asphalt. I hit the kill switch, turned the bike off, realized I hurt a lot but nothing was broken or bleeding, so I picked the bike up and checked it out. I noted what was damaged and would need eventual repair and what needed immediate attention (next convenience store) and then tightened the mirror which came loose, got on and rode to the convenience store, made a temporary fix and rode for another 7 hours and then came home and changed my oil. Then spent the next 3 days on pain killers.
Damages:
Me - bruised from ankle to shoulder on right side - some really bad. Leather jacket scuffed along right arm and back. Pride wounded beyond imagination, and haunted by a constant disappointment in the damage I had done to my beautiful bike.
Bike damages - Thrashed Givi wind screen, valve cover, and bar end. Rear turn signal stem broken. Engine guard split in two. Mirror and brake lever scuffed.
Last night the final part arrived for me to start the repair work today.
First - Since I had never seen one before, I had to find out what a torque wrench was and then go shopping for one. Did that last month and ended up with a 3/8 drive Craftsman (25 to 250 in-lbs./3.61 to 29.03N) and no idea how to use it. So I had to read the instructions first:
Next: Get the bike on the centerstand. I can’t do it (not strong enough or not enough weight……I want to believe the second), unless I run it up on a piece of wood first. That gives me just enough leverage to get it on the stand
Ready to Begin:
First I had to remove the broken engine guard and the valve cover. The engine guard had 3 torx screws which I loosened and set aside. I compared them to the new ones I had and decided to hang on to them for possible future use. Threw away the old engine guard.
Next removing the Valve/Clyinder Head cover (Part #11127672586). I did my research and found out that I needed to expect some oil to come out once I broke the seal, so I put a container under it to catch the dripping oil. I don't know if bolts need to be loosened in cross fashion, but I did so just in case. And sure enough, as soon as the seal broke out came the oil - into the drip pan.
Since I didn't research much beyond what my intents were, everything in here just looked puzzling to me, but I did read that I was suppose to wipe the surfaces clean of oil and replace the gasket so I did all that. I really don't know what I'm looking at in this picture yet, but I think I'll find out when I do a valve adjustment, right?
I had read that there would be a small amount of oil drip out when I opened the cover, but I was uncertain if I was suppose to see oil sitting in the bottom of this area. That concerned me. I tried to find answers to that question, but gave up quickly and just assumed it needed to stay there. Correct? Because if not, I can get back in there and clean it out pretty quickly now.
It was easier than I expected. I finished wiping off excess oil, then I needed to reassemble with the new cover and gasket. I was careful when removing the old gasket, to make sure I paid attention to exactly how it fit so I wouldn't be wondering later. I put the new one on, (Exterior gasket #11121341708 Interior gasket #1147668216), matched up the cover and held it in place as I reached for that Torque wrench which had been such an enigma to me for so long.
The moment of truth. Would I really know when I had hit 8nm? would it be obvious to me? Using a cross ways pattern, I began to tighten the bolts. I got all four at a few turns away from tight and then I finished them up. Slowly and steadily, I turned the torque wrench holding the plastic handle so I could feel and learn the amount of pressure needed. And sure enough, not many turns later there was a definite clicking sound and feel. I had reached 8nm. I wondered why a torque wrench was so important at this point but in my reading I found that since the bolts are aluminum they are very easily stripped, and since they are so far apart, if they are over tightened it can cause the cover to bow a bit and might allow oil to seep/leak. So I was very careful to tighten to spec. Looks good, huh? Actually, I found this at A&S for only $80. It is a used one, but no apparent blemish on it. The new ones are $160 I think. I decided to keep the old valve cover. It's usable although not 'pretty', and maybe someone else might be able to make it look presentable if they need a replacement - or if I need one again soon (I sure hope not).
Next - attach the new engine guard. They don't hold up real good in a crash/slide as I found out, but they sure do their job in a parking lot drop (I found that out last year), and I might just have another one of those one day, so I'll keep using them on my bike. I also can attest to the fact that a graceful slam to the ground and slide in gravel while moving, is still not as embarrassing as a parking lot drop in front of people. Finished with that part. Looks good, huh?
I had bought the guards as a set, so next I moved to the left side and fitted a new one on there as well, and again I retained the used one ....... just in case I need it again.
The Givi Wind Screen won't be repaired..... too costly. Instead, a couple of weeks ago I installed a used BMW sport screen which I had picked up on this board back in November from Scooter Cop. I think I like it better than the Givi.
Next was the bar end (Part #32712313766). I picked up a set of those used at Beemerboneyard.com for half the price of new. They were in excellent condition. I did notice rust when I removed the old one, so I cleaned it up and used some Locktite when I installed the new ones. I won't say which Locktite I used because it might cause some controversy and who needs controversy? Torqued to 20nm
The rust
Next - the turn signal stalk (Part #63232306484). This is what it looked like when it broke. Although it was broken, it was still working.
Since it was still working after the gravel took me down, I rode to a convenience store and took one of their plastic knives and bought some electrical tape and made a splint for it. It worked great for the last month, but since the repair part - the stem/stalk, was only $11.00, I figured it should be replaced. But man, what a job that was. Here is what the splint looked like - worked great for the month I used it until I could replace the stalk.
and the 2 pieces of plastic knife acting as the splint: Ingenious, no?
I had thought this would be fairly easy, but when I got to looking at it I figured I was going to have to take off a lot of parts to get to the old stalk. If there was an easier way, don't tell me, because I sure learned a lot when I started removing parts and then re-installing them. I don't even know what the name of this part is, but it is the plastic underside of the seat above the wheel (mud guard?) - that whole part had to be dropped to get to the stalk. So - first 4 fillister head screws had to come out, then the side case mounts and tail rack had to come off, then the cannister had to be let loose from the under seat, then the rear side covers had to come off. It just keeps going on and on and on. Each new thing that comes off shows another part that has to come off it seemed. When I got all the screws out of the rear panels (3, one front flanged cap screw closest to the tank, and 2 fillister head screws), the panel was still 'on'. Carefully looking behind it I saw that it has sort of a slide 'tab' and slot, so I just slid the panel forward toward the tank and then off it came. Maybe there is a technical name for this - I don't know it, but here is a picture of what I'm talking about:
Once that was off, then I was able to drop that underseat panel thing enough to get to the turn signal stalk. I didn't let it just hang because there were wires attached and I didn't want to cause anything to pull out of place, so I propped it up with a large flashlight between it and the tire. By now it was getting late and a flashlight and mosquito spray were required to continue. Here's my bike with everything removed and you can see the green flashlight under there too:
I took the turn signal apart, unhooked the wires, fed them back through the stalk, loosened the nut and removed the old stalk. Then installed the new stalk in reverse order. Easy - once I figured out and was able to get all the external parts off! Carefully, I put the clear lens
back on because it's easy to break those. I put a drop of oil on that tiny screw that holds the clear lens to the turn signal to help keep it from breaking. It worked.
Fixed turn signal:
Before reassembling everything, I checked to make sure the signal worked. I didn't want to go through removing everything again. It worked fine. So everything went back on, with a drop of oil on each bolt. I had read to do that in one of the documents I saved over the past year. I'm pleased to report that after reassembling everything there were no leftover parts and nothing missing on the bike. Here is that part reassembled.
All that was left was to clean up and then take a test ride.
So confident was I in my first big repair job, that I took the bike out on the interstate around 10:30 pm and ran it along the toll road north of the city for about 30-40 minutes. Then returned and checked the valve cover to make sure there was no leaking. None. Also checked all the bolts I had tightened to look for any loosening from vibration - None. I think my first big repair job was a success. I also think I learned quite a bit tonight, while saving a lot of money by taking the time to try to do it myself and searching for used parts in good condition.
After a LONG day tackling new challenges, and a short ride in the humid south Texas night air, I enjoyed a coke while checking out the work all around the bike:
Although tired, spent, dirty, and covered in mosquito spray I think you can tell that my pride isn't wounded anymore from my accident - - and neither is my bike!
So...... what am I missing? Anything? Was I suppose to torque anything at the back end of the bike - because I didn't, but am not afraid to try now either. Thanks to you, and everyone on this board for encouraging and helping me learn how to do things I never even dreamed of doing before.
+ 
Great job!! 
Really nice write up and pics! 
