Did you ever transplant the chrome from an airbox?

[Incubus]

I have two stock air boxes. One, which came on my latest project bike, is in good condition except for the chrome on the sides, which is pitted and no longer pretty. The second came on one of my two parts bikes. It has very nice chrome, but other than that it has been rode hard and put up wet. Someone apparently thought 100 pounds or so was the appropriate torque for the retention bolts - or the had serious issues with the lefty loosey, righty tighty concept - and all the retention nuts have been violently and permanently wrenched from the fragments that are left of their mountings. PO also apparently did not like the individual tubes running from the top of the box to the carb tubes and those have been amputated. The snorkel also was the subject of possibly criminal abuse and a thick thick coating of blue silicon has been smeared around its bruised and battered base. I will not use this airbox. I will keep it around as an example, though, just so I can show the other parts what happens to parts who misbehave.

I would like to transfer the chrome from one box to the other. Is this possible? Has it ever been done? How would this happen? Is this equivalent to sending a man to the moon and returning him safely?

I will leave the issue of how long the petcocks on this bike must have leaked for another, much more blood-curdling post.

Patrick

[gareth]

Transferring the chrome is not very difficult. The pieces are held on with dowels welded to the back of the chrome panels. These dowels project through the plastic sections of the airbox and are held with those friction clips ( name for 'em escapes me...). They weren't glued on on mine, although I did put some construction adhesive to hold mine on because I didn't fully trust the clips..

It might be a bit finicky, but it's definitely do-able.

[CatatonicBug]

I will keep it around as an example, though, just so I can show the other parts what happens to parts who misbehave.

LOL!! I love it!!

I've never looked into the possibility, but the drawing says that here is a spring and a nut on the inside of the airbox. One for each piece. The chrome piece has a post that inserts through a hole in the side of the airbox.

[fredintoon]

- - - I would like to transfer the chrome from one box to the other. Is this possible? Has it ever been done? How would this happen? Is this equivalent to sending a man to the moon and returning him safely? - - -

Hi Patrick,
nah, it's equivalent to putting up with pop-rivet heads in the chrome.
As has been posted, those chrome panels are held on by push-nuts on plastic studs. No way I have ever found to get those effin' things off the studs without wrecking them and the studs they rode in on.
You got two options
1) stick the chrome panels on with epoxy. Disadvantage, that's permanent. Wanna repaint, you gotta mask round it.
2) Drill through the place where the plastic stud was and pop-rivet the chrome panel in place. Disadvantage, big ol' pop rivet head in your chrome but at least you can drill off the rivet head to remove the thing.

[jmnjrpa]

I changed mine out. The process will most likely destroy the retension clips as they are hard to get to and usually rusty. When changing out I found some E6000 and bonded them on. Place a piece of foam or other resilent material against face and keep pressure until bonded. Worked great. E6000 will bond your emblems also. CAREFULLY cause it is a bond almost beyond belief. About the only thing it won't bond is teflon.

[Incubus]

I saw those posts. I actually started prying a little with a screwdriver to see if the retainers would come loose and free the chrome. I knew - call me clairvoyant - that those posts would not survive the prying process if I kept at it. I hoped someone knew of a part inside that could be removed to gain better access or a technique to remove push pins you can't really get direct access to. Sound like this bridge has been crossed and the push pin does not survive reentry.

If it is to be glue, then I will likely opt for marine silicon. I've already got a tube of it and I've had a lot of luck using it to put tank badges and such on other bikes. It's made to hold up to weather. You also can get it off later just in case you f up and put on a tank badge crooked or in the wrong place or on the wrong tank (I could have sworn that was a Honda! I got the "H" right!) .... but I digress. It comes off without destroying a painted surface.

I just hoped to do this without destroying anything.

Patrick

[jmnjrpa]

The E6000 will not destroy it but it will be like trying to take a banana from a gorilla. If you use a small screwdriver and pry the retainers off the post should remain intact. I have done 4 sets with no issues.

[randy]

I've had good results removing those push nuts if you treat it like a regular nut an unscrew it instead of trying to pry it off. A firm grip with a needlenose plier worked for me.

[oseaghdha]

Can't you just chop up the donor box to get better access to the clips?
A dremmel cutoff wheel might work to remove them and save the posts.

Then you can destroy the old chrome posts with impunity, and reinstall the new, having saved the clips from the old posts by pushing them all the way through. New clips may be available in one of those "All Kind of Weird Stuff" racks at Autozone.

[CatatonicBug]

The clips/nuts are available at Home Depot. I just bought some for my Vetter emblems on my trunk. They are threaded, and designed for things like body panels. They are called "Speed Nuts", and come in different sizes. I paid $.65 for a baggie of two of them.