Tail tidy woes; rounded off screwhead, then dropped!

Hi Everyone

New to the forum; got my SV after passing my test on Monday and... ballsed up already!

Fitted the OEM seat cowl with no troubles this eve and then set to work on the tail tidy. Got both seats off and then, whilst trying to undo a really tight screw holding the rear fairing on, managed to round it off

It gets better though; after giving up and putting it back together, i managed to drop it!! Argh!! And then pulled a muscle picking it back up again!! Luckily I only broke the front right indicator casing (now gaffa taped together) and scratched the screen (which i'm replacing with a double double anyway). A £16 trip to Fleabay will sort the indicator however...

What do I do about the rounded off screw head?! Am i as stuck as i think i am?!

Yes I am a moron; what an introduction to the forum!

Daps

P.S. Picture of my baby before I was a complete ditz...

[Spiderman]

Hello and welcome, i see you got one of those "primer-only" finishes...so what colour you gonna paint it?

Sorry to hear of the drop, dont worry we've all done it and some of us more than once.

As for the screw you rounded off...hmmm.... got a pic? Ive heard of bolts being rounded off and there are ways to sort that.

[flymo]

Hi Daps, dont worry we've all been there at some point or other.

Can you post a pic of the rounded screw?

All depends on how much access you have to it but most important thing is to avoid damaging the fairing itself as you try to remove it. Normally I would attempt to cut a straight groove across the screw head and use a flat blade screwdriver to remove it.

Depends where the screw is and how much access you have to it.

What head does the bolt have?
All's not lost, impact drivers a good tool as it bangs and well as twists (ooh err)
Maybe post a pic of the offending bolt.

I recently did a complete strip and 4 of the bolts rounded, one i drilled out, one screw extractored, one chiseled and one mole grips, it really does depend on what type and where it is, like the others habe said a few good clear photos will help.

oh welcome btw.

I quite like it in silver, though granted it's a bit flat. And yes, bar the indicator my pride took the biggest dent (lesson learnt: no rear grabrail + pathetic weak arms = sitting on it and scooting it about rather than wheeling it from the side!)

I'll take a pic of the screwhead tomorrow - it's not *completely* rounded but after several attempts with different heads and some mole grips only made it worse, I thought i'd seek advice from people with more than half a brain-cell i.e. not me!

Thanks in advance guys

EDIT: it's a just a crosshead, pics to follow, ta!

[Spiderman]

if its easy to get at then i would suggest you go soak it in wd40 if you can. it'll help whatever you have to do to get it out and give it time to penetrate well.

Silver ones never look dirty tho, so you got it easy

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Silver ones never look dirty tho, so you got it easy

Raf's does!

Well, a stripped screw head is the least of my worries. I came off tonight

Luckily it was low speed so I'm mostly unhurt (right shoulder hurts and shaken up but nothing major), but God knows how much it'll cost to get my bike fixed. At <30mph I just lost concentration braking for a corner; the back locked up and by the time i got it together I was heading straight for the opposite kerb. Went up the kerb, down onto a side road, and then the bike flung me off and went down on its side.

A kind passer by ran over to check I was alright and picked the bike up for me. I *think* i've been lucky and, bar some minor cosmetic stuff (scuffed fairing and scratched exhaust), only the right hand bar and wing mirror will need replacing. The indicator was broken anyway after my last f*** up. It road home fine so I've got my fingers crossed that it won't be a horrendous repair bill

Damn.

you dont seem to have much luck, glad your ok though