Glove Box & Battery Cover "Captive Boss" - a Cautionary Tale !

[Coconut]

The Battery Cover and Glove Box are retained by use of a "Captive Boss",
Triumph Part Number T3351111.  They cost GBP £3.65 each :



The "Captive Boss" clamps around a partial cut out in the the upper Fairing :



The Battery Cover or Glove Box are then located above the Captive Boss
and a Fairing Bolt is inserted to secure it in place :




The Fairing bolts should be tightened to JUST 3 Nm 
( Which is NOT very tight at all  ! ).

IF they are overtightened, or the bolt is allowed to corrode in place in the Captive Boss,
then it is LIKELY that the three small spot welds holding the Captive Boss components together,
will break apart when you try to remove the screw  .....

 

This can then mean that the only way of removing the cover, is to destroy it by cutting it off !

The Captive Boss cannot ( easily ) be accessed from underneath.
The Spire Bolt type section of the Captive Bolt remains sandwiched around the Fairing Panel,
while the head of the "Boss" part remains in place and just spins freely when you try to unscrew it. 

Attempts to remove the parts forcibly can also result in damage
to the Fairing panel where the Captive Boss is sandwiched.

Worse case scenario : New Captive Boss @ £3.65, New Battery Box Cover @ £25.00 approx,
and a new Upper Fairing Panel kit : Approx £210.00 = £240.00 Approx ! 

Add another £10.00 approx if it's the Glove Box that has to be replaced !

Moral : DON'T overtighten the securing screws ! ! !
( And a bit of grease on the threads will help too ! )

Cheers 

[Trophy Bike]

Ahh.  A point I will take to heart.  I was just in there replacing a battery and found that the last person that worked on the bike put a dab of grease on the threads of that screw and a piece of tape across the top of the captive boss to gently secure it to the faring and keep it from moving about too much.  I thought that was a good idea.  Your experience may explain why the mechanic did that!  Thank you for the "heads up". 

[trophied]

Good information.  I would never have imagined that would occur.
Thanks Alan.

[Coconut]

Nor would I Glenn - you can imagine how I found out ! 

( Fortunately still under warranty ! )

[trophied]

Think I'll take care of that very shortly.

[1675]

Oh, I had this trouble about 4 years ago, when my banana handed dealer fastened the battery cover down with a 3/4" drive socket and a 3 foot  bar. I only discovered this when I had to remove the battery cover to find the screw turning and the spot welds all broken. He also managed to badly damage 3 back rims and 2 fronts when fitting new tyres and really did deserve to loose the franchise. I managed to drill off the domed screw head, which wasn't easy as it turned freeky, and once it was out should have returned to him and stucķ the jagged remains where the sun dont shine

[ladisney]

Whenever I remove or replace mine I use a screwdriver with an allen insert.  Works like a charm and avoids over tightening. Even the allen wrench included in the "tool kit" allows too much torque.

[Guitarman]

Nice one I have just been in there on both sides and am now going out to apply some lubrication & tape, this forum is excellent for information.

Top man Coconut