[Ducati Scotty]

Very nice ride.  Did make me a little sad to read the stories of the fallen heroes, but I suppose that's the point.

When you replace the heat shield bolts look for some stainless metric hex head bolts instead of the allen head ones.  Much easier to keep tight and deal with.  They are quite short, I had to cut down the shortest ones I could find. 

Scott

[Rich Mintz]

I had trouble finding those heat shield screws when mine fell off - M6/1.0/8mm. The smallest I could find in any hardware store in NYC was 12mm. Rather than cut them down, I just ordered the exact size I wanted from Home Depot online.

[kammersangerin]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a good trip over all.

[squire]

Nice report, thanks for sharing story and pics.

[shamelin]

I really appreciate your sharing the details and pictures of your trip - two thumbs up for the Bullet. Did you do anything special to get it ready for this journey?

Changed my oil, tightened every screw I could find, and made a stellar tool kit for the road.  I could probably change the tire on the Space Shuttle with all the wrenches, sockets, and allen wrenches I brought.  Other than that, I made sure I had plenty of Motrin and some rain gear.

I had trouble finding those heat shield screws when mine fell off - M6/1.0/8mm. The smallest I could find in any hardware store in NYC was 12mm. Rather than cut them down, I just ordered the exact size I wanted from Home Depot online.

Thanks for the measurements.  I'll be making a trip to some hardware store to buy them and find some Permatex Ultra Black.  I'll post some pics of the exhaust gasket and steps for a Permatex fix- it seems like it's an area that frequently fails.

Very nice ride.  Did make me a little sad to read the stories of the fallen heroes, but I suppose that's the point.

The one that got me the most was the Police Officer's Memorial.  Maybe it's because I've been in the military so long and taken care of so many Wounded Warriors, I've become less sensitive to the thought of soldier death.  When I saw those empty monuments, waiting for future officers' names, it was a clear reminder that police work can be deadly.  I can only imagine what each of those recruits must feel when they see the memorial for the first time at the Police Academy.

[Ducati Scotty]

Yes, one of my old girlfriend's father was a police officer.  She described the job as, "You only show up when everyone else who's already there has lost control of things."  Not the kind of work I could do.

Scott

[Arizoni]

shamelin
You can try the Ultra-Black but don't be surprised when it doesn't work.
It's only good for about 500 degrees F and the threads on the silencer get a lot hotter than that.  You might try using it under the head of the screws/bolts.  It's a little cooler there with the shield conducting away some of the heat.

Another approach to locking the threads is to deform them.
Bare in mind this can damage the female threads so do this in steps going gently.

Take the new screw/bolt and grip the threads with the serrated jaws on a pair of adjustable pliers like Vise-Grips.  Use just enough pressure to deform the crest (tip) of the threads.  Then try screwing it into the hole.
With the right amount of deforming the screw will be hard but not impossible to turn and it should stay in place.

[heloego]

Great report, shamelin! Glad you made it to home OK.

[wildbill]

great report and a very easy read.

[High On Octane]

I used Permatex Ultra Black on my exhaust ports and couldn't hardly get the pipe back out when I had to pull the primary cover, so it holds up to heat very well.  Still thread locker is the way to go for screws.

Scottie