Screen weirdness

Message

MartDude · #1 Post by **MartDude** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:39 pm

Poltergeists have attacked my bike!

What should have been a straightforward, though fiddly, job - replacing the headlight - has turned into a manifestation of seemingly inexplicable weirdness. Got everything back on the bike, and noticed the screen was severely on the piss - which it wasn't before. At the top corners of the screen, the left side was about 15 mm. higher than the right. Everything was fine until I tightened the lower screw on each of the screen side support wotsits; tightening the one on the right side drew the screen down, while tightening the left side pushed the screen up on that side. there's now also a noticeable gap between the inside of the screen and the right-hand support. I

That screw on the left starts to push against the underside of the upper dashboard moulding as it's tightened

I've had the screen off, & changed screens, several times previously, and this has never happened before - I'm sure I would have noticed.

Thinking that I may have misaligned the front fairing assembly when fitting the new headlight, I've just taken it all off again. On closer examination, the welded tabs on the bracket for the mirrors & clocks, to which the screen supports are fixed, are slightly bent - RH one slightly down, LH one slightly up.

Measuring from various points around he headstock, and the radiator brackets, the tip RH tab is about 9 mm. lower than the LH one, and about 9 mm. closer to the front of the tank. The brackets for the mirrors are more or less identically positioned.

I have absolutely no idea how this asymmetry has occurred, seemingly overnight - if it has occurred. I am absolutely positive that the screen has hitherto always been level. I can't see how I could have bent those tabs whilst stripping the fairing, screen etc. - they're pretty rigid. I can't imagine anyone walking up the drive & bending them in the night. I am more than a little perplexed.

Should I try to carefully bend them until they're even?

Would be grateful for some guidance.

Thanks.

And sorry for being long-winded - this was not easy to describe briefly

fatboy · #2 Post by **fatboy** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:46 pm

MartDude, that is on the wierd side of weird,a proper head fuck
Your second photo shows a bent bracket (hard to imagine it leaving the factory like that )
If you are sure everything is in its right position then you have nothing to loose by a bit of gentle tweaking, you can always bend it back again
A big adjustable (twat) spanner clamped over a bracket gives you mega leverage so its easy to bastardize in fine increments !

MartDude · #3 Post by **MartDude** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:31 pm

fatboy wrote: A big adjustable twat spanner !

Is that a gynaecological device?

Seriously, Thanks, FB

randomsquid · #4 Post by **randomsquid** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:41 pm

That's just strange

I can have a ride over next weekend if you need someone to hold it while you twat it, erm adjust it.

MartDude · #5 Post by **MartDude** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:28 pm

Well, it's sorted. With judicious use of the twat spanner.

Had it all apart again, double-checked the headlight was correctly aligned & fixed in the fairing, put it all back, still no joy, so big spanner came out of his box and got to work.

There's still a slight difference difference in height between the top corners of the screen - about 2 mm. measured from the headstock & from points on the frame. I can live with that.

I still can't get my head round how it came to be like that - asymmetric brackets, but the screen fitted ok before. Perhaps the factory had access to some arcane Venetian occult lore, enabling them to assemble the fairing etc. with lopsided brackets.

Thanks for the tip, fatboy; I'd probably have used mole grips - adj spanner was much better.

And thanks for the offer, John. You're very welcome to pop over & twat things for me any time; particularly the twat next door with the b***dy pigeons.

fatboy · #6 Post by **fatboy** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:04 pm

Mart, glad you got it sorted !
Still bloody wierd. Have you by any chance pissed off Uri Geler ???

randomsquid · #7 Post by **randomsquid** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:28 pm

MartDude wrote: And thanks for the offer, John. You're very welcome to pop over & twat things for me any time; particularly the twat next door with the b***dy pigeons.

Cheers

There's a thing you can do to pigeons where you make the head and body point in different directions and move away from each other. They stop being annoying really quickly.

Aladinsaneuk · #8 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:46 pm

Feed the pigeons iodine crystals hidden in bread

More entertaining way to stop the noise....

MartDude · #9 Post by **MartDude** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:59 pm

Don't wan't to hurt the pigeons, just the eejit who owns them - standing on his patio moronically squawking 'c'mon, c'mon' at them several times a day, like a demented ornithophiliac muezzin.

Brings to mind what happened between some neighbours of a colleague of my father's, 30-odd years ago. One neighbour, a keen gardener, was in the habit of widdling into his compost bin every night. Over some years, this so inflamed another neighbour that he went round one night, knocked the widdler's door, and when the door was opened shot him with a shotgun. IIRC, it was in the Liversedge area.

A neighbour has just informed me that there's a clause in the deeds of most of the houses around ours, prohibiting the keeping of livestock, including birds, on the properties. We haven't yet worked out how to get this enforced.

Aladinsaneuk · #10 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:59 am

EHO would be a start - they are a part of the council for your area?

BikerGran · #11 Post by **BikerGran** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:09 pm

MartDude wrote: A neighbour has just informed me that there's a clause in the deeds of most of the houses around ours, prohibiting the keeping of livestock, including birds, on the properties. We haven't yet worked out how to get this enforced.

I wouldn't - you'll get loads of complaints about your cats!

randomsquid · #12 Post by **randomsquid** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:03 pm

MartDude wrote:standing on his patio moronically squawking 'c'mon, c'mon' at them several times a day, like a demented ornithophiliac muezzin.

He's doing it all wrong. You're sposed to say, 'c'mon pigeons.' And then click your tongue.