BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

After gently laying my bike down the other week I have decided to fit the black plastic BMW cylinder protectors to my 2002 R1150R. Arrived today and followed the instructions, but I'm having real trouble trying to get the protector in far enough at the front to get the last (front) bolt back in the hole....close but not quite close enough. Before I resort to brute force, are there any tricks, is it a problem to leave some of the washers out to create more wriggle room? Many thanks.

These are plastic parts, sometimes the molds are not true to life and hence your problem.

Don't panic, try to fit the part without any hardware and pay close attention to the area(s) that you are having problems with. A little hand grinding or filling might get you to where you need to be......unless the part is totally out of whack.

Good luck........

Could try leaving all the bolts as loose as possible, then when you have them all started, tighten gradually/evenly. It would help if you could post a pic or your problem.

As suggested, fit bolts loosley but before you start put guards in very hot water for a short while as this will give you a little flex, especially if it's cold outside. There should be no need to start cutting or trimming the guards. There are 2 types of guards 1 for single and 1 for twin spark.

Thanks for the feedback folks, will try more patience and the hot water trick and see where that gets me.

I just finished tackling this issue last month. Something to do while it sits awaiting the better weather. I have a single spark and found it very difficult to mount the protectors by myself. I may take some flak for this, but with the washers it was damned impossible for me to mount. It seemed that the small amount of space of the washers was enough not to allow the bolts to align.

I drafted my wife into helping me. I secured the front bolt and man handled the bracket back until the rear bolt aligned and then my wife jumped in. No washers, I await for the new riding season to see what happens....

You do have the proper protectors--they come in two flavors, one for single spark and one for two spark--correct?

Are they interchangeable?

KiwiRR,

That's a common problem with those - - - not fitting. I did a valve adjustment on an OilHead with those plastic guards on. They came off with some pent up tension evident. Putting them back on immediately forced me into plan B. Couldn't really bend them into alignment, assumed the bike fell over on them and had bent them, but found out later they all have an alignment problem. Solution: Put in one screw, note and mark misalignment on other holes, elongate those holes "to the marks" and easily install the remaining 2 screws. I clamped it in a vise and used a rat tail file for just a small correction. There was enough material still left for full strength.

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On my single spark R the guards were tough to get on the first time or 2, then it became easier. As was stated before, fit them loosely and the tighten after all three are in. Be careful not to overtighten these, hand tight is almost enough.

The twin spark model went on easily the first time.

Thanks for all the advice folks. I found that omitting the rear (non sprung) washer and softening up the guards in hot water did the trick and in half the time!