Radiator loose?

[coldfingers]

I was washing the bike the other night and noticed the radiator wiggled when pushing on it. There is a bolt above it in the center that I need to tighten up. Thought I would mention this in case some other guys have the same problem and don't know it.

Coldfingers

It's supposed to have rubber grommets that isolate it from vibration. Are yours cracked or missing?

[coldfingers]

Hey caddman, I went out to look it over and then realized that you can't tighten it up and it is rubber mounted. It just suprized me that you can move it that much. Thanks!!

[refugio]

Mine is the same way.
Actually....I did tighten mine up by using a washer that would slip past the metal insert that is inside the rubber. It made it real firm but still made use of the rubber for vibration.
But then I removed the washer and put it back like it was so that it had the original play in it.
I decided that it was meant for it to be this way.

As the rubber wears and ages it will loosen up. One thing to do if you want a cheap fix is to put a rubber o-ring under the washer & that will tighten it a little but not too much.

I did that on my rear turnsignal bar as well. That puppy was floppy-loose from the factory. It still has plenty of give in the rubber so it won't break the bulb filaments, but it doesn't sag & look bent now when you put the bike on the kickstand.

[pablo]

I had the same play at the top of the radiator when I got the bike. I tried to tighten the bolt and the head twisted off. I now have cable ties securing the top of the radiator. Be careful trying to tighten the bolt.

[redjay]

Originally Posted by caddmannq

As the rubber wears and ages it will loosen up. One thing to do if you want a cheap fix is to put a rubber o-ring under the washer & that will tighten it a little but not too much.

I did that on my rear turnsignal bar as well. That puppy was floppy-loose from the factory. It still has plenty of give in the rubber so it won't break the bulb filaments, but it doesn't sag & look bent now when you put the bike on the kickstand.

My turn rear signal assembly became very loose also. Luckily it did not scratch the fender. I loctited all the bolts on reassembly.

Hmmm...

My bolts were tight as hell. It's just the rubber that was really loose. I think the synthetic rubber formulation they're using for these rubber grommets and hoses and isolators shrinks up a lot when the parts are new. That means stuff like hoses and bushings will tend to loosen up on a bike with 1000 miles on it as if it had 50,000 miles already.