Fixin' the fairng plugs

[Anonymous]

I'm new to the world of Motorcycles and repairing them. I have just acquired an '83 GS550E and am starting to pull it apart to make it road worthy. As I am so far without a manual I don't know if the plugs can ve repaired and with what? I pulled of the side fairings and learned that the (male) parts of the fairing were broken off (all but one on each side, three in total). I looked in the (female) part of the plugs and 'no luck' finding the missing pieces. I would assume I could contact cement them back on if they were there, but do you all know of a replacement plug either makeshift or factory, or do I need to replace the fairings all around. :?

[Anonymous]

None that I know of. Maybe you can switch to Dzus fasteners. Check them out at Jegs or Summit. They are 1/4 turn fasteners used in a lot of racing applications.

Steve

[Anonymous]

try doing a SEARCH there should be at least one thread on the subject.

[argonsagas]

Not certain of your quest. Is it to fasten the lowers to the uppers?

If so, you can get them at Canadian Tire. Also called well-nuts, they are rubber, with brass or steel nuts permanently mounted in one end and will compress and spread out laterally when a bolt is used with them. Look in the metric bolts/screws section.

[Anonymous]

What I've done after many tries of regluing the original "plug" back on is file the remaning portion of the plug off. Very gently tap a small hole into the back of the cover (where the original plug was mounted), being very careful not to go all the way through. Find a sheet metal screw larger than the hole that was just tapped, but with a small enough head to fit into the holding gromet. Gently turn the screw into the hole, but not all the way through the cover, so that it has a good hold. Don't try to "test" the screw by putting any more pressure on it than is required to get it in the hole and "tapping" threads. Mix up some JB Weld and coat the entire visible portion of the screw with it plus the cover aorund the screw. Let it set overnight, or longer, and you will have a "new" plug to fasten your cover down with. I did this on both my side covers and they hold to the bike GREAT. Good luck.