Been in the garage this afternoon to prepare my 2011 ABS Blade for what we hope will be a perfect summer. I replaced the battery that has been removed and on charge all winter and whilst re fitting the bolts I dropped one, it went down the gap behind the fuel tank. See photo taken from the service manual, bearing in mind mine is the ABS model it is a slightly different layout with the battery along the back rather than one side. I could see the bolt but made the second mistake of the afternoon and nudged it with the pickup tool, it’s now dropped out of sight and despite an hour of swearing and fiddling around I can’t get the bloody thing out. I am thinking it must been lying at the bottom on the plastic ABS cover but it looks like I will need to dismantle half the bike to get at it. What really pissed me off was I thought, ‘better put a cloth over all the gaps in case I drop a bolt’ then didn’t bother. So, I am thinking the simple option would be to just buy a new battery terminal bolt, and leave the original one where it is until it goes to the dealer. After all it can’t go anywhere, or can it? I won’t be able to leave it there forever as my OCD nature means it will constantly piss me off until it is recovered. Perhaps someone would be kind enough to give me your hopefully informed opinion. On a more positive note, the bike fired up first press of the starter, after first turning the engine over with the kill switch turned off to pump a bit of oil around. Not bad seeing as it has been up on stands since about September last year when I slipped that bloody disc. Thank you in advance.
Just a thought and simple job, remove the tank cover and lift the tank and see if its visible from there.
Did exactly the same thing the day i took delivery of mine brand new blade whilst fitting the optimate leads... I too have an OCD nature an within an hour was surrounded by nuts and bolts tanks, fairings etc! Got the bleeder though! And have to say apart from the fairing the bikes ace to work, particularly like the fuel tank removal!
Didn’t it look peaceful after its winter hibernation before I lifted of the cover? It even looked hopeful I was going to be taking it out for a ride, little did it know what a clumsy ham fisted numpty I am? I brought these bad boys today to try and retrieve the dropped battery bolt, if you’re wondering the box is to put a pound in each time I swear whilst I am doing it, I also have an empty dust bin on stand by just in case it gets a bit tricky or I can’t the bloody thing get: Fingers crossed.
No mate, it’s a mates garage, it’s his Norton, assuming that’s what you are talking about? I have tried to buy it off him, and even resorted to the worst kind of black mail and copious amounts of alcohol but he won’t let it go, its lovely, totally original and ripe for restoration.
Looks like you're planning world domination with the james bond enemy type model in the background. So, i suppose you expect me to retrieve the lost bolt? No, Mr. Bond, i expect you to die.
Hi FoC, Know how you feel. Recently tidied up the rear end on my 2010 (non-abs) model and dropped a self-tapper whilst taking of the undertray and it slipped through a gap in roughly the same position as yours. After about 90 mins of looking for it I eventually found it sat on a horizontal piece of frame between the rear of the belly pan and the rear wheel. I'll put the bike on it's Abba stand tomorrow and crawl underneath and try and take a photo of it's final resting place. Unlikely yours is in the same place but you never know............... Good luck.
Thank you Flathead. I am going to need all the help I can get, patience is not my middle name. If I can’t find the bloody thing I will have to pack it off to Arthur on a transporter for him to sort it out and whilst he has it he can change the oil and filter, fit a PCV, do some of his magic air flow wizardry and fit some sticky tyres at the same time. I was seriously considering changing it for a Panigale but having seen it again for the first time this year, when I started it, the hairs (what I have left) were standing up on the back of my neck) I think I will keep it a while longer.
Hi freedom , go for the panigale , blade 2nd bike , if I had the money I would I love the look of them .
I don’t have the time to ride one bike let alone two, although I am thinking about buying a dirt bike to goof about on, we have five and half acres of land plus there are hundreds of miles of Fenlands all around us. It would be good for Ling to learn to ride and mucking about in our field seems the logical way to do it.
Small square of foam goes under the nut then it stays in the terminal pressed up against the top making it easy to screw the bolt in.. Dont help with dropping bolts though...lol
Hi FoC, Hopefully you will have found the bolt by now but here's where I found my screw that I dropped recently. I was just able to touch it and drag it back with my finger before being able to grab it. Best of luck mate.
Thank you. I have not had a chance to look for it yet and we are away at an awards event this weekend, but hopefully I will be able to have go tomorrow if I get a minute. Sent from Freedom's Hellberry
