Breather Reroute and stripped screw question...

[theoctopus]

Hey everyone.

So, as some of you know, I have a 2009 XB12Ss. Did the breather reroute a couple days ago ala the tutorial available on this site (word for word, part for part....I'm not mechanically inclined, so it's best I stick to directions). Today, after riding the bike for a bit (and loving the new smoothness bestowed upon it by the reroute), and shutting it off to run into a supermarket, I came back out and started 'er up again. Smoke started coming out of the breather filter on the reroute. It didn't particularly smell like anything funky (i.e. burning), but it continued to waft out for a while, including during the ride back home. When I got home I checked all the connections and routing, and everything was just fine. Is that smoke normal? Is it maybe some residual moisture in the lines after installing the reroute? It's a very young mod (2-3 days of riding old), so I'm not sure if this is indicative of a much bigger issue that I should address immediately.

Also, during an oil change today, I found that one of the screw holes on the chin fairing (the one attached to the left front side of the exhaust) had somehow been cross threaded. The screw showed no signs of such damage, and I never force any fasteners, so it's bewildering how that happened. I need to fix the problem because I'm a perfectionist and need to have everything in its right place. How would I go about fixing it? Should I retap the hole? If so, with what? I'm a total idiot with engines, but I'm handy enough with tools (given the proper instruction). Anyone care to help me out with this?

 

[ophawk]

Yes their will be oil vapor, smoke and even the occasional drips of fluid, oil/water. The purpose of the breather is to vent the lower side of the engine, the Crank case, as the pistons move down they have to move the air under them somewhere so it goes up along the pushrods to the heads, where it is vented to airbox normally, or the atmosphere after the reroute. The smoke could be a little blow-by if your rings haven't seated in yet.
I Hope that helps,
Later
Dale

 

[ophawk]

the screw hole would be best to do a Helicoil to it.
they have kits for all sizes of threads, you drill out the old threads, tap it with the supplied tap, then use the tool to install the new thread insert. then just break off the installation tang on the inside of the thread, and you have threads that are stronger than new, because they are spreading the load over a larger area of the base metal.
later

 

[theoctopus]

Beautiful. Thanks for the speedy reply Dale. Now to see if I can fix this damn mount for the chin fairing. I think I may just call the stealership tomorrow and see if I can blame it on them. I really don't get how the mount is f*%&ed up....it makes no sense. I figure drilling it out and popping a heli-coil in that sucker may be my best bet.

 

[theoctopus]

Didn't see your second response. Thanks again! Should I be looking for a specific heli-coil to fit the threading on the screw?

 

[ophawk]

yep, most better hardware places have them, or napa should have the most common ones.