Beating the Dzus Fastener Blues

rvich · Jan 30, 2011

I have never lost a side panel, but it occures often enough to make one wary. I read in another thread the opinion that it is probably often a result of the rider improperly fastening the dzus. I think this is likely myself and since I am getting old and blind, the odds are probably going up that I will eventually screw up!

So this is what I decided to do. I put a tether on my side panel made from 150-pound mono fishing line. It is long enough to lay the panel on the seat but short enough that it wont hit the ground if dropped.

The tether easily lays in the tray when the panel is fitted to the bike.

britbike220 · Jan 30, 2011

That is a great idea to save a side cover from being ruined. You need to see the side cover TimS has in his shop :lol: Run over by a 18 wheeler.

850cmndo · Jan 30, 2011

Good idea, but did you have to bring up the part about " I am getting old and blind, the odds are probably going up that I will eventually screw up!"? I might just have to follow your lead or regret that I didn't one day.

Josh Cox · Jan 30, 2011

I think both of you " old guys" should save your good selves alot of stress, losing a side panel must be worse than losing bowel control, how about you guys pack your bikes into a box and I'll take them off your hands, free of charge

.

britbike220 · Jan 30, 2011

Well I can tell ya I'd rather loose control of my bowels than loose an original side cover these days. :lol: I don't think I am ready for the tether , but it is a good idea.

rvich · Jan 30, 2011

Cripes, next I will have a teather on my glasses!

slupdawg · Jan 30, 2011

What I did, rvrich, and it works really well, is to take one of those small 5"-6" long velcro strips that you use to coil electrical cord with and wrap it around the frame and the panel bracket. It won't go anywhere, and wrapping it tight takes all the stress off the dzus fastener circlip.

850cmndo · Jan 30, 2011

Josh, are the jewels on that varmit teathered?

Josh Cox · Jan 30, 2011

850, yes secured by the cremaster muscle (look it up).

DogT · Jan 30, 2011

I guess my cremaster muscle has fallen off it's perch.

How do you know so much about this, Josh?

Dave at 67
69S

Josh Cox · Jan 30, 2011

DogT, two reasons:

1) Its kind of a hobby for me, nuts, sitting around scratching mine, and,

2) The good wife is a Doctor, so I've made a point of knowing all the nasty bits of the body to add to my insult list........ so you can get away with calling some dick at the pub a perineum breath (Just like you probably know all the swear words in spanish but could not ask for directions ?).

DogT · Jan 30, 2011

Cool, Josh. My wife is a Doctor too, but a PHD, not medical. Anyhow I refer to her as Dr. Thomas. She doesn't answer to a call for a doctor on the airplane however.

Dave
69S

850cmndo · Jan 30, 2011

Sidecovers, cremaster, perinea...I ask you, where else can you get this in one afternoon?

britbike220 · Jan 30, 2011

And only one thread.

slupdawg · Jan 30, 2011

850cmndo said:
Sidecovers, cremaster, perinea...I ask you, where else can you get this in one afternoon?

You'd have to make 2 visits: One to jama.com and the other to inoa.com

850cmndo · Jan 30, 2011

I know. I gotta let all of this soak in.

gtsun · Jan 30, 2011

I've been using the Velcro strip around the bracket/frame too. I'm running a single Mikuni with lines & a filter set up like in the Old Britts web site photos. This makes it imposible at least for me to reach the dzes handle to turn it so I just pop the cover on the two posts with the grommits, & then push the dzes in place but don't turn it as I couldn't anyway. Then I wrap the Velcro. Solid, safe easy on / off. Now if sorting my recently started charging system problem is so easy to fix I'll feel SO smart! Not much chance of that. Time to move into the modern world for my electrics! Oh boy...

Holmeslice · Jan 30, 2011

Josh Cox said:
850, yes secured by the cremaster muscle (look it up).

Matthew Barney - Cremaster 4. The synopsis based around satyrs and sidecar racing at the Isle Of Man (Dave Molyneaux's team was one of the racers). Good stuff, if you're into silly high-brow art, which was my career for 15 years. Now I just build and race dirty motorbikes.

Tim_S · Jan 30, 2011

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This is what happened to my MK III cover last summer. I've had the bike for over 20 yrs. and the cover was bolted on. I never had the stock air box and at the time didn't know any better. so I made a bracket similar to a pre-mk3. Well, after all this time one of the nuts came loose and this was the result. The road eye was on is heavily travel by gravel trucks ,,,,, OUCH! :cry:
Oh well ........

Tim_S

mike996 · Jan 31, 2011

As an old friend once remarked to my question of "What need's to be safety wired on a Commando?"

"Only the parts you want to keep!"

BUT OTOH, I never worry about that Dzus fastener...lot's of airplanes held together with them!