I managed to strip out the center bolt holding the windshield in place, and didn't have all my tools and a place to remove the outer fairing. So, I removed the windshield and managed to slip the replacement insert(Harley)down to the hole. I pushed on it a little to seat it and then set a 1/4" nut on the end of it between it and the fairing. Screwed a 1/4x20 bolt into them and proceeded to use a wrench to tighten the nut against the insert. It threaded in and got real tight, and at that point I removed the bolt and nut and reinstalled the windshield and everything is good. Man that was kinda scarey, didn't know what I would have done if the damn thing had stripped or broken the plastic around it. Now I also need to replace one more, but it is holding for right now(gorilla glue on the road repair). Will ride it to work to day and see if it holds ok. Has anyone ever had to drill holes all the way through the inner fairing to fix the problem, if they break out the area for the inserts. I guess it would either be that or new inner fairing, ugh..

Joe

 

I have had to drill out one of mine. Brass can be a tricky thing to drilll because the drill wants to pull into the part. You can see how deep the insert is so if you can put a collar on the drill so it can only go so deep you'd be fine. Like I said I did one of mine but I used a helicoil for a replacement thread. Before drilling out the insert though keep in mind the diameter of the new insert going in there. If you drill it out you may not have any material for the new insert to screw into. If that's the case than a helicoil is your next best bet. You can buy those generally at any auto parts store.

 

I would most likely use an easy out instead of trying to drill the insert out. What I was asking has anyone drilled all the way through their inner fairing and bolted the outer and inner together due to the inserts or material around them failing to the point that they are useless.

Joe

 

Joe.
An easy out won't be a good solution. Those original inserts are molded in place not screwed in. If you try and spin one out it may break the boss it's molded into. You can try using a soldering iron to heat up the insert and pull it after the plastic becomes pliable. Just remember as I said the hole left over has to be small enough to accommodate the new insert.
Bob

 

Before using the repair insert you are supposed to drill the plastic to size first. I made this mistake before and cracked the plastic. When installing the insert the slotted end goes in first.