I Broke it too......

Well, all I really want is to be able to do the small repairs on my bike myself. Last night I took the tools out and set out to remove the ants from my gauges. Not only did I not manage to get the ants out, when I was trying to loosen one of the bolts it snapped. Now I have to take it in to the shop and pay someone to fix it. I could just cry!

Now I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't attempt to change the fuse box by myself. I wanted to chnage the oil last night too but after snapping one bolt I was pretty much finished.

Anybody in the Madison, WI area who would be willing to take a newbie under their wing and teach her how to wrench?!?

 

What bolt did you snap trying to do an Oil Change, mama?

 

no, not the oil change, it was when I was trying to remove the guages. It is the bolt that holds the guages to the frame.

 

I think is was one of the gauge bolts that she broke Rick.

 

Well, you don't always really NEED all the bolts to hold it in place. I know I lost one of the nuts on the guage cluster(fell off cuz I didn't tighten it enough), and I've been riding around with it as is. So it's not a huge deal.

But if you are thinking of taking it to a shop, why not just go in an finish the job yourself? The worst that can happen... is you still have to take it to a shop. So you wouldn't be out anything, and if the shop was working on it, there's a good chance they would have broken the bolt if you did. Rust is a biotch.

 

Speedwagon is right, might as well continue and see what you can do. The oil change is not a big deal, just make sure you are turning bolts the correct way. As for the fuse box, it is not hard, just make sure to either lable the wires before you cut them or only do one set at a time so that you don't get them crossed.

Check this out:
HOW TO: Install an aftermarket fuse box http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=6350/

 

I agree rust sucks, bolts break you might as well save yourself some labor costs and continue on and get the guages cleaned up. If it was/is a bolt then now you get to learn how to use a a screw extractor set LOL! If it is a nut on a stud well then you get to visit your local welding/fab shop and have them tack a new one on for ya. PB blaster works well if you see some corrroded bolts you plan on removing give them a soaking and let them sit for 20-30 min then give it a go. When working on a 20 something year old bike as we all do things are sometimes going to break don't let it discourage you from doing things yourself. If you don't have a service manual pick one up odds are any shop you take it to these days are going to be looking in the book as well. Most of the guys working there now weren't around when these bikes were new.

 

Righty = Tighty
Lefty = Loosey

Just be sure to have 6-Point Sockets for the Oil Change. The Drain Plug and Oil Filter Bolt are sometimes a little stubborn to get started out.

 

And get some penetrating oil (PB Blaster works good) to spray those nuts and bolts ahead of time so they will come off easier.