Plastic fasteners

[Bob]

This will sound like a really dumb question, but you have to remember that I've spent the past 15 years and more of my motorcycling by working on and riding older Brit bike restorations. There are no plastic fasteners on such bikes.

Now that I have a V-Strom and am performing my first maintenance check, I'm confounded a bit by the plastic fasteners. I broke three of them already. Is there some particular method to be used with these things when it comes to removal and installatioin? Or do you always break some and just make sure you have extras on-hand?

I've been pleasantly surprised that these bikes are easier to work on than I expected, at least when it comes to standard maintenance. I must admit that getting at the damn spark plugs was a nuisance though. On an unfaired, naked Triumph (as they all were back in the 70s and earlier) it is just so much easier to remove a spark plug. Takes all of about 30 seconds. Of course, you have to remove them a lot more because the bikes don't run properly for very long.

Bob

[rhinoWERX]

Use a small phillips screwdriver or nail punch to push in the center pin (about 1/8") -- you should hear it 'pop', then you should be able to easily pull them out.

To reinstall; reset it by pushing the center pin back out toward the top of the fastener, reseat it, push the center in flush - and you're done.

Hope this helps

Cheers

-Jack

[Bob]

Perfect, and thanks. I was trying to pry them off with a flat screwdriver.

[tedder]

Don't worry, they were new to me too.

[wpennington]

Thanks guys, that's really good information!

[STROMETTE]

May I suggest next time you're in your local Stealership or wherever you get your Strom parts that you also get an extra couple of these gizmo things to keep on hand. Cheap to replace but a major headache when you lose/damage one, especially on the road!

[TomG]

Perfect, and thanks. I was trying to pry them off with a flat screwdriver.

Don't worry about it. I was pretty counfounded by them, too. My ZR had plastic "screw" fasteners that never seemed to go back in as well as they came out.

[MWValley]

Those ARE funny fasteners. I first saw them on my 1999 Saturn SL2.
Pretty clever actually.

Yes I broke one. But I did a postmortem on that one and cracked the code.

I bet the person that designed them still laughs knowing how many get broken every day!