tumble59

Thanks to all - don't worry, you can't hurt my feelings, I've got a pretty good sense of humor about myself, and I'm Thomas Edison compared to my old man... I know enough to know my limitations - that is why I asked specifically about the panels. While I will accept the compliment on my willingness to dive into something unfamiliar, the world can sleep safe, knowing that I won't be doing any brake work, suspension tweaking or tire changing - but I feel certain that I can tackle the CCT with the picture post - it is pretty straightforward, and I needed a torque wrench, anyway. I found the needed torque values, and the can swap recipe in the manual that "joelmikel" linked me with - thanks, more helpful information. I now pretty much accept that the body panel thing is a show and tell for me and someone who can do it. I have a tech buddy who used to do all the work on my now long gone BMW's, so I will probably let him help with the body panel/CCT - and the can swap, it just gets down to coordinating with his schedule. Anyway, I live in Nashville - a long way from most of you guys, but if there is somebody around, it would be nice to know. As for getting out into it, due to my numerous, recent conferences with the Rangers on the Trace, I'm driving Miss Daisy these days, until the bounty comes down a bit, so I don't know how well I would keep up with any real enthusiasts out there, but I guess I'd catch up eventually...

Thanks Rider - I am pretty 'tuned in' on the CCT swap out, and that post is what put me there - its the getting to it and back part that I am concerned about - I couldn't find any similar information about bodywork removal, but I will look again.

For all you obviously more capable bike owners than me out there, this is going to be a really stupid series of questions, but at 46 yo and 12 bikes into it all, I have never taken bodywork off any bike - unless you count the time I took a full tank off a GS750 without closing the petcock and pissed off my mother-in-law for killing a large part of her yard, running to a washtub... Anyway, I bought the CCT from John, and, as funny as it may sound, I want to install it myself to save the mortgage for a dealer service visit, along with the shit I'll take over the reason I didn't just buy the part from them, so I am going to need a little advice about getting the right side skin off - and - on again, straight. Are there any fasteners I can't see just looking at the bike, and are there any plastic clips for which I should buy some spares, before I begin? Is there a rule of thumb on tightening the threaded fasteners to keep from cracking the plastic? Is there a better order for off and on to avoid a crooked panel? Is there anything else I am too ignorant to even realize I need to ask...? Also, if I manage not to completely screw up the bodywork, I intend to change out my mysterious catalyzed left canister - what is the best order for removal of the can - peg first or header first, and of course the re-install? Other than anti-sieze. is there anything else I need to get? Finally, what are the torque numbers for the clamp and the peg hanger? Thanks. Keep in mind that if you get a kick out of these stupid questions, I'll be encouraged to ask more...

I have scoured the postings for information about the ~4000 RPM noise I am getting from the '02 I bought a few weeks ago. I can't really tell which side it is coming from, but it sounds like the left side. I have surmised from the postings that it is the CCT (?), but I am finding it hard to believe that a bike with 7,000 miles would already have this problem - is there any other thing that could be making this noise? The dealer said it was "normal", but that alone is enough to make me wonder. Also, if this is the problem, and I replace it with the unit John sells, what keeps it from happening in another 6-7K? Somewhere in here, someone said that it was heat that caused the spring to fail, so what if I jet-hotted the exhaust and ran NPG (Evans Cooling Systems - Non-aqueous propylene glycol) in the cooler to lower the overall operating temp? Does anyone have any ideas/experience as to how effective this may be in controlling the heat? Thanks