Hi Chaps,

There are some holes in the frame of my pre-owned 2005 Blackbird between the crank-case and the heel plate for accessing some big nuts (swing-arm, etc) - 33mm & 38mm on one side, 38mm & 43mm on the other side. The top hole on each side has a plastic cap or plug covering it, the lower hole on each side doesn't have a cap in it. All four holes have some sort of rubbery adhesive in and around them, presumably to stop the original caps falling out (?). The previous owner says it was like that when he bought it from the first owner.

Photos on the Web seem to indicate that these holes aren't generally capped but occasionally they are. My local Honda dealer can't find these caps in their parts list. I can get some very nice looking stainless steel ones from Ebay but they're a bit more than I really want to pay. As the existing nuts are slightly 'oxidised', I'd like to cover them up (although I'd considered just replacing them with new ones). but I wonder whether the real problem is that they oxidised because they got wet and couldn't dry out quickly enough because they were enclosed behind the cap and the moisture couldn't evaporate off them.

Does your 'Bird have these holes covered? Plastic caps or some sort of aftermarket items like these: http://www.rula.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk...bird_frame.jpg? Or am I worrying about nothing?

Comments?

Frame plugs are something made by "after market" suppliers, Jaws is a UK based master of all things B'Bird and he'll sell you a set I'm sure:

Jaws Motorcycles - cost effective bike parts

They look nice but I'm still not convinced. They're held in by silicone so should be water proof (at least from the outside) but I've seen a few stories of people find theres wet when opening and I can't see that doign anything much good.

Thanks. I've been staring at them for the last twenty minutes and I'm starting to tend towards replacing the rusty oxidised nuts, smearing silicon grease on the new ones, then buying those stainless steel caps and sealing them into position. I don't think I'm going to need to access them in the near future (fingers crossed).

Here is a link with the same problem I had. Water behind my Aluminium Frame Plugs
And here is where I bought my aluminum frame plugs. Motorcycle Accessories and Clear LED tail lights (Great to deal with.)
I have no pcs to offer but what I did was clean up all the silicone. Then I had some small aluminum rod laying around and threaded it to a 5mm thread. I then drilled a hole in the back of each frame plug in the middle(careful not to drill all the way through) and threaded it also to a 5mm. My tap and die set only had a tap that was pointed so I bought a another tap that was flat ended to get the threads right to the bottom of the hole. Now I measured and cut to the length needed and threaded the other end of the rod. I then sprayed some spray lube in the holes as mine had a bit of rust from the water that was present when the plugs were glued on. Then I threaded the plugs on and tightened them with two pair of needle-nosed pliers, one on each side by putting then into the holes of the plugs. Now I can take them off to check for moisture. I was worried if I reglued the plugs and the rust continued the swingarm would seize up. My $0.02 :-)

I cheated and made my own plugs up after much nagging by Ghazzah!
Building "The Duck"

Before I fitted them I sprayed the pivots bolts nuts and adjusters with corrosion block and having had to remove the plugs recently there is no sign of any corrosion.

Originally Posted by ScottyUK

They look nice but I'm still not convinced. They're held in by silicone so should be water proof (at least from the outside) but I've seen a few stories of people find theres wet when opening and I can't see that doign anything much good.

VERY simple cure for that!

When you install them using the silicon, place a piece of string at the bottom edge of the frame hole.
After the silicon has gone off, pull out the string.
Instant drain, and no more moisture build-up!!

I've had my frame plugs in my Bird for 8 years, no problems. From Jaws.