It seems the older the bike is, the more damage she takes from Bodgett and Scarper Esquire. A familiar sight on the GSX engines are the large-capped Allen bolts holding down the rocker cover. Nice and shiny when new, chiselled to death several miles down the road.
I'm on a budget here and there's no way I'm forking out for new bolts when I don't really know how good the rest of the bike is. Anything to help them would be good.
Here's a pic of them with engine still in bike, note the chisel mark in the centre rear bolt.
The centres of the bolts are visibly rounded. A 6mm Allen key will undo them, but is a very slack fit. Although we can never make them exactly like new, we can do something to help. Fetch the hammer.
1) The raised edges are what we want to try and knock down again. Try and brush the hammer across the bolt as you hit down - as if you're pushing the metal back into the hole.
2) Here you can see how loose the Allen key is in the bolt.
3) Hammered down flat. You'll probably need to tap the Allen key into the hole after hammering. This should give it a nice hexagon again.
4) Much better fit. It won't be perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better and doesn't look so bollocksed!
5) Next, it's back in the drill for a spin up against some rough emery cloth, 240 wet and dry paper and, finally, 320. Finished off with a rag and Autosol will soon have it looking respectable.
But some of these are bad!
Two of the bolts in the GSX cover are smaller in size, and must be harder to remove going by the chisel marks! They get the same treatment, but the hexagons are pretty worn on these two. Not much can be done with the abuse on the edges bar for filing and polishing. They're hidden under the tank to some extent so all should be good.
Big improvement huh?
The rocker cover needs more work, but all in good time. Bolts are looking so much better than before!
