Thanks Iceman....and trust me....I KNEW it was going to happen but didn't take the precaution to avoid it!! I'm kicking myself now, trust me.

 

Try the magnet again but move the bike on a hill facing downhill (without cranking it lol) with it in gear, screw might roll forward in the tank. If it doesn't you could make the front suspension bounce by putting your hands on the handlebar and push down a few times pretty good, should shake the screw loose and move to the front of the tank.

 

The screws are aluminum for the center piece. Just get a small hand to go down inton the tank. Don't reuse the screws! They're one time use only and have a very light inch/lbs torque rating. I would remove the tank, go to a dealer and have a tech do the screw install. Let them torque it. Otherwise it will leak fuel and possibly ruin the paint.

Just a heads up to save you a headache.

 

GM, what screws are you talking about? The screw I dropped was metal and came off the bottom of the fuel tank cover. I put the other one back in with no problem. Am I missing something?

 

Hey,it's not as bad as when I dropped a hollow dowel pin from a valve cover down an oil galley when working on my old Road Star.It went down into the crankcase.
After I gave up trying to fish it out,my wife got it with a magnet.

 

Leaving it in there would be the easy thing....but it will drive me crazy knowing it's in there!

 

Couldn't you drain the gas and then remover the petcock and let it fall out the bottom of the tank through the petcock hole?

Edit: Never mind - I just noticed you have a 2011 model - I was thinking about the old carburetor models like mine.

 

I thought most of those little screws were stainless steel, even a rare earth magnet won't touch em, pull the tank if you're worried.

 

You said it was a 2011. Take back to the stealer and tell them MoCo must have droped a screw in your tank, and you want it out of there.

 

No need to remove the tank, and don't try fishing it out with a magnet.

Just pick the bike up, flip it over and shake... the screw will eventually come out.

Wait a sec...

Put the bike back down.

First remove the gas cap, and THEN pick the bike back up, flip it over and shake... the screw will eventually come out.