Top Case Hex Head Mounting Plate Bolts - what holds them?

[WingMan71]

So, that's the question: What do the four hex head bolts that hold the Honda 45L top case mounting plate on screw into?



I can't find any nuts underneath them that they screw into. Do they screw into some sort of threaded sleeve molded into the plastic/body somewhere?

The right front one on mine just spins and isn't holding that corner down anymore. Help!

 

[Woodaddict]

they screw into like a square nut UP inside of the U shape rail. with fingers, can feel up into rail-----maybe. watch might loose them if they let go. might want to put tape on them so don't slide away. those rails are supposed to be fiber reinforced plastic. i always thought they were steel

 

[DirtFlier]

Two of them are fixed in place and two are only added when you buy the top case kit. I believe the fixed nuts are the front 2? I used epoxy to secure the back 2 nuts in place.

ps. I would suggest running the bolts down on any of the nuts you secure via epoxy BEFORE the epoxy cures.

 

[mikesim]

Yes, I seem to remember being warned in no uncertain terms that if you didn't fix the square nuts in place somehow during assembly that they would succumb to gravity and disappear into the tupperware never to be seen again.

Mike

 

[WingMan71]

Yes, I seem to remember being warned in no uncertain terms that if you didn't fix the square nuts in place somehow during assembly that they would succumb to gravity and disappear into the tupperware never to be seen again.

Mike

Yes, I just looked under the two front bolts with an inspection mirror.

One has still the square nut in place covered with some tape. On the other side, the loose one, the square nut has fallen off. I looked around underneath the tupperware with the inspection mirror to see if I could find it, but no luck.

Headed to the hardware store to see if they carry anything at all like this square nut. Wish me luck.

 

[Hondafan]

I lost the 2 rear ones due to stupidity. I ordered 2 from a Honda dealer in Idaho. It took the parts lady a bit of time to find them. They were on the a page with an exploded view of the rack assembly.

 

[ST1100Y]

Nut, Headlight Set , 61304165013

the aft ones are snap-fit, the forward ones (towards the seat) will fall out if the bolts holding the carrier stay are detached...

 

[Hondafan]

Good info. I have 2 older Honda's with bucket style headlights. They use those to secure the light bucket to the fork bracket. Never connected them to the NT ones.

 

[Moto-Kafe]

I guess one could use some Female M6 (??) Metric Hex Standoffs in lieu of those nuts which are near impossible to reach?? Not cheap, but an alternative maybe?? Suzuki uses the same kind of square-shaped-nut as the NT behind its front fenders on the Vstrom. The square portion is held stationary by bits of plastic moulded on the fender. If those plastic pieces fail, the nut ends up turning with the bolt/screwdriver.......going nowhere. The Suzuki owners do the same thing: they expoxy the nut to the plastic fender.

Stainless Steel | McMaster-Carr

 

[WingMan71]

Good info on the square nuts. Thanks.

Just got back from Lowe's and found some M8 x 1.25 lock nuts.



Hopefully, I'll be able to hold those in place with my fingers or an angled needle-nose pliers long enough to get the bolts started from the top.

If not, then I'll try to epoxy them in place. My square nut plastic borders are still in place. If that doesn't work, I'll see if I can find one of the square nuts.

 

[ColoradoRod]

I recently went through a bit of a struggle with these square nuts when removing and replacing to top box on my red NT. I ended up buggering one of them up by cross-threading it so I ordered a few new ones as part of another order from powersportsdiscount.com. I saved the bolt by chasing the threads with a die, but the nut was beyond repair.

In the end, I hot glued the nuts in place. Push the bolt through the hole, thread the nut on, but just a little bit. Push the assembly through the hole enough so you can apply hot glue. Pull the bolt upwards to seat the nut against the underside of the plate. Hold in place until the glue cures. Wait a bit before you unscrew the bolt to allow the glue to set up fully. The prior owner just used blue painter's tape. I always have to make things difficult!

 

[WingMan71]

Well, I decided to get one of the square headlight set nuts and do the job right.

I pulled the right side passenger grab rail off so that I could get underneath it and get a good look at how these nuts are retained, and also get the missing one secured in place.

Here's a picture of the upside-down passenger grab rail showing where the nuts mount.



You can see that the rear nut, which is the one that is always on the bike and used to secure the grab rail tail cover on the back, is completely captive and surrounded by raised plastic rails that hold it in place. In fact, I saw no way of actually removing that one without damaging the plastic pieces. (Makes me wonder how Honda gets them installed in the first place.)

You can also see that the front nut, though held in place a bit by some plastic rails, has fewer and lower plastic rails and is no where near as securely held in place. I believe that's so the nut can actually be installed by an owner when they buy the top case kit. So, it WILL fall out if just snapped lightly into it's designated spot and not held in place via some other means.

I secured mine in place with some epoxy.

 

[ST1100Y]

When I got the NT700 for my GF I found the forward ones missing, the OEM topcase/carrier plate wiggling on the rear bolts only...

 

[ST1100Y]

Ah. Typical small-dealer prep.

Could also be that the PO F_ed it up somehow... or the shop he went to...