Ooops! – Stripped maintenance lid nut with fix

[Saturday Morning]

I was admittedly a little heavy handed tightening down the screws holding the battery access cover (aka the Maintenance lid) in place. I felt the knurled nut insert begin to spin behind the cover and instantly knew I’d messed up. I tested my luck with a sharp reverse turn but it was too late. The nut spun behind the lid and the bolt would neither loosen nor tighten at that point.



The next move was to loosen up the center cover enough to grip the back of the knurled nut with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Once the bolt was out and the maintenance lid removed, I could test the knurled nut and it spun in the plastic with little resistance. Great. Whose great idea was it to use a thin piece of plastic to hold a nut anyways? - After some pondering I decided that the frunk interior (aka the luggage box) had to come out to examine the nuts and find a fix.



With the luggage box out and full access to the spun knurled nut I worked on a fix. Tying the two nuts together to prevent either one from spinning seemed like the best bet. Some stiff wire and a bit of solder worked beautifully. If I’d had some JB weld handy I might have tried that. Everything went back together easily and the wire is cleanly concealed behind the luggage box without any evidence of a repair. Posted here so that others can learn from my mistake and take it easy with the maintenance lid screws. If one of the nuts should spin there is cheap, clean repair, that works!





-Saturday

 

[Tiny Tim]

The first time I tried to open the Battery Cover on my brand new "S", the left hand screw just wouldn't budge. It had obviously been done up by a Hugo Squashimoto - the Japanese Sumo Wrestler!
To say I was disappointed was an understatement. One of the reasons I'd gone for Honda was the high build quality.

I decided to try a screw and bolt remover I'd had in the garage for some time but never had occasion to use. Basically, it consists of a small left hand drill bit and a left hand screw shaft. What could possibly go wrong?

Drilled the centre of the screw head to a sufficient depth remembering to have the drill on reverse, swapped to the screw shaft and - Bingo-Bango!

I am still able to use the screw with a Cross-Head driver so happy days.

 

[Moto-Kafe]

Thanks for posting the cure and pics, Saturday. Your hand must be steady as a rock to be able to solder wire right around the plastic and not melt the housing........like I would have done!!!!! Good job!!!

 

[Saturday Morning]

Thanks Moto! Yes, soldering around plastic is tricky. I think using JB weld in place of the solder might be a safer option.

-Saturday

 

[showkey]

The first time I tried to open the Battery Cover on my brand new "S", the left hand screw just wouldn't budge. It had obviously been done up by a Hugo Squashimoto - the Japanese Sumo Wrestler!
To say I was disappointed was an understatement. One of the reasons I'd gone for Honda was the high build quality.
.

Squashimoto works for the dealer ????? So very likely has nothing to do with Honda build quality..........so your disappointment might be missed placed.

 

[DirtFlier]

The screws for the Maintenance Lid don't have to be more than finger tight because even if both screws fell out, the lid is not going anywhere!

 

[L.B.S.]

The first time I tried to open the Battery Cover on my brand new "S", the left hand screw just wouldn't budge. It had obviously been done up by a Hugo Squashimoto - the Japanese Sumo Wrestler!
To say I was disappointed was an understatement. One of the reasons I'd gone for Honda was the high build quality.

Ya, as showkey alluded to, it was whatever dealer you bought your bike from that did that particular over tightening, as the battery is not installed in the bikes during shipping. (same as the mirrors, etc., it's a dealer assembly thing)

Biggus Fingerus Welshicus, or Ham Handicus Canuckicus,was the culprit. (depending on which Chepstow I guess, lol) Hugo Squashimoto at Honda is blameless for this particular "build quality" issue

 

[rippin209]

I've had the same problem on mine, but it was my fault