Has anyone put F &S engine guard on an 04 1600 classic

[ussnewco]

I bought one when I bought my bike, along with windshield and passenger backrest. I bought it from the deal and got the part# for my bike, when I got home I started installing and I'll all happy everything is bolting right up, no hassles, I'm glad I saved the guard for last because the lower bolts didn't fit through the holes in the guard, I was disappointed but not upset, took it back and brought the bolt with me to make sure it’ll go through the new one, nope exact same problem. They offered to drill out the hole and I told I could’ve done that at home and not drove 30 miles here, we checked another out of the box guard, and bolt still won’t fit. Service guy got involved and said he could drill it out with out messing up the chrome, I told him could do it but if he goofed it was their guard, success finally!!! I get home all happy and ready to go for a ride cause it wont take long to put it on, wouldn't you know the hole don't line up.... I can only get 3 lined up and the fourth is not even close. Now I was ****ed and disgusted and haven't missed with it for 3 months now. Has anyone else had trouble like this? Someone told me it sounds like I got a guard for a 1500 classic but the part #’s are different.

[bikeaholic]

had the same problem with mine

had to use a drift pin and rack it a little and cussed alot but finally got it
in my case it was the right side bottom bolt by the rear brake pedal
but it was not off enough to not go- it just had to be racked some
i used a heavy c-clamp with rags in the jaws and that brought it back enough

[pms07]

Seems to be the norm as I had the same problem and have heard likewise from others with the 1600 Classic....drill, drift pin and BFH solved the problem.

pms

[2WheelFun]

Same here with my Classic. I had "one" bolt that was stubborn and had to do what the others did. It's on and looks and works great.

[ussnewco]

did you have the same problem with the lower bolts being too big?

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by ussnewco

did you have the same problem with the lower bolts being too big?

I actually bought all new bolts "chrome" to match the guard as I didn't want to use the black ones from the bike.

One bolt was stubborn and did not want to go in and in fact....I spent some time with itand then it actually did begin to go in but it had cross threaded so I had to use a tap and work the hole so it finally did accept the new bolt I had bought. It was frustrating to say the least but worth the effort as I also added highway pegs to the bar which added to highway comfort riding.

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by ussnewco

did you have the same problem with the lower bolts being too big?

I actually bought all new bolts "chrome" to match the guard as I didn't want to use the black ones from the bike.

One bolt was stubborn and did not want to go in and in fact....I spent some time with it and then it actually did begin to go in but it had cross threaded so I had to use a tap and work the hole so it finally did accept the new bolt I had bought. It was frustrating to say the least but worth the effort as I also added highway pegs to the bar which added to highway comfort riding.

[ussnewco]

I was thinking that if I rimmed the holes out a bit it might give me a little wiggle room but right now the is off by a 1/4". the bolt hole is not visable thru the guard hole. Can I take a big stick and twist it in? would that cause the chrome to chip/flake?
It's a real nice day for working on the bike here, even better for riding, but I could do it today if it'll work. I don't want to mess up the guard cause I can take it back and trade it and some $ for a F&S light bar that I want, waitin on xmas for that

[2WheelFun]

I had mine in place with all the bolts loose "not locked down" to help with getting it into position so you'll have some wiggle room. My wife also helped apply some pressure where needed as I locked down all of the bolts. I wouldn't think you would need to worry about loosing chrome unless your mashing against the bar with unreal pressure.....but using a stick would not hurt it....in my opinion. Just go easy.

[CSA2lt]

I had the very same thing to happen when I installed my engine guard. Drilling out the holes a bit and then assisting the bolts with a rubber mallet.

It was a pain, but worth the results!

[ussnewco]

Thanks for everybodies help, it looks like I'll have to muscle it into place or do without but I'd really like to have the highway pegs

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by ussnewco

Thanks for everybodies help, it looks like I'll have to muscle it into place or do without but I'd really like to have the highway pegs

Don't give up on it. Do what you have to to get it on and then....when you can add the highway pegs....you'll be glad you followed through with adding the bar. The comfort level increases dramaticlly when you can use highway pegs to get comfy on those long rides. Well worth the effort!

[vulcanrob]

You know something funny is when I installed my F&S sissy bar the two bars that fit down into the mounting brackets were a tad to large to fit into the brackets. I'm not sure if they over chromed or what but they were a huge pain. Took it to the dealer and they thought it was the wrong part at first. After confirming it was correct they proceeded to hammer it into place. Didn't mess it up or anything. There must be some sort of quality problem at F&S right now.

[Jack Dotson]

I ordered two different F&S back rest for my 1600 and had the same problem as vulcanrob. Sent both back and finally found a dealer with one in stock, but had to make a 140 mile run to get it. Before leaving I took it from the box and it had the same problem. Dealer tried to make it work, but finally got tired of fooling with it and threw to the ground. Fortunately they had one installed on a floor bike and since I had already paid and they didn't have another in stock, they gave me this one. Pretty obvious that F&S have issues and I know that Kawasaki knows about them. What I don't understand is why they allow it to continue.

[Bulldog]

I had the same problem with my F&S engine guard. I wound up getting the right lower bolt cross threaded. It was a pain. I don't expect to purchase much F&S stuff in the future. There are too many options from other vendors.

[MeanStreaker]

Originally Posted by Bulldog

I had the same problem with my F&S engine guard. I wound up getting the right lower bolt cross threaded. It was a pain. I don't expect to purchase much F&S stuff in the future. There are too many options from other vendors.

Most of the Fire & Steel stuff come from folks like Cobra (I think the 800 backrest/mount/rack is Cobra stuff), Jardine (the 800/1500 billet lite bar)... so they contract it out to other companies and then put it in their F&S packaging. I know that I purchased the rear peg eliminator kit for the 1600 Meanstreak... don't know who it came from, but it sure fit like a piece of pookie... and their instructions really sucked for installation. I followed theirs and it wanted to cross-thread one of the bolts (not to mention the bottom bolt to mount the muffler mount was to short). Finally did it the way it looked like it should be done (after getting longer bolt) and it worked fine.

[2WheelFun]

It's alway's nice to have mechanical engineering skills while installing items that don't fit as they should.....since as you said....the instructions leave much to be desired.

My F&S luggage rack bracket that was suppose to bolt right on didn't even have the holes drilled in the right place so I had to do that myself. Maybe it was made on a Monday or Friday?

[Boss Hawg]

Has anyone had the same problem with Cobra engine guards?

[Boss Hawg]

Well I went ahead a bought the Cobra Guards will be here on the 12th. Now I just need to find time to put it on.

[kazoorider]

Now I don't have a 1600 but I purchased the Cobra Highway bars (the ones that are more rounded and come out a little further). I liked the look. They went right on with no problem. Pegs are a must with these things. Makes long distance riding so much more fun.

Kazoorider
2001 Vulcan 1500 classic