Heat Shield Hex Bolt

cr0ft said:

Maybe Purple loctite would be a good compromise?

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I'll contact them to source the proper adhesive for the application. I was thinking 222 or 242 or a poly patch but the heat from the header must be considered. Header, nut, and bolt material may play a part due if different due to thermal expansion.
It also appears to be a blind nut so I might try a vented bolt.

The engineer in me wants to analyze the problem but the rider in me just wants to forget about it and ride.

I have the exact same problem with the heat shield bolt. Worse, I was trying to install the Rivco risers on the past weekend and when it came time to loosen the hex bolts I found the same problem, tight as fark.. snapped a cheap allen key.. I had to abandon the project and I am now considering handing it to the stealer to do the job.. I hate that, but they probably can deal with it easily.
I noticed the Rivco risers came with a small amount of grease or anti-seize on the threads.

Lostride said:

I have the exact same problem with the heat shield bolt. Worse, I was trying to install the Rivco risers on the past weekend and when it came time to loosen the hex bolts I found the same problem, tight as fark.. snapped a cheap allen key.. I had to abandon the project and I am now considering handing it to the stealer to do the job.. I hate that, but they probably can deal with it easily.
I noticed the Rivco risers came with a small amount of grease or anti-seize on the threads.

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Sorry to hear about your troubles.
I loosened mine by using a microtorch to heat the screw in an attempt the soften the Loctite. You could use a soldering iron as well to heat up the bolt.

This was the Speed out I bought at home depot to extract the screw:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ontel-Speed-Out-Speed-Out-Screw-Extractor-4-Piece-1000264/205110987

What many do not know when applying Loctite, or anti-seize, is that they act as a lubricant for the threads and changes the tightening torque by about 15-20%, which results in over-tightening the bolts. Can be a complete pain in the arse when trying to remove the bolt later.

Good luck, hopefully the stealership wont get you too bad.

TOMCAT said:

Always a good idea to smear a bit of grease on the threads of all the nuts and bolts .. they do strip and round off quite easily.

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+1 even more so with alum. bolts

Ok, so hear is some news. I have the bike at the dealership today to sort out the high idle/low idle/rough running issues. What is interesting is that they found a crack in the exhaust header in the vicinity of the over-tightened/stripped hex bolt is. Apparently it looks like in an attempt to crack it open in the past someone welded something and it has cracked. A lot of air was entering right near the O2 sensor. They have sent it out to be repaired by an exhaust specialist. Tomorrow we will see if that was the culprit.