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HOW TO: Remove front Cowl Under Winderscreen

Gen 4: 2011-15 
12K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  ukzx10r 
#1 ·
This is my first how to, another member posted a thread asking how, so I replied to his thread, and also will make this one for anyone wondering, and misses his thread. If a mod could move this to the HOW TO. I'm not able to post there. There maybe already another thread like this one, I'll admit, I didn't even search,Sorry, but some people do things different than others.

If any of my information is incorrect, or you would like to add to, please let me know. I'm not afraid of admitting I done something wrong.

Thank you & I hope this helps.




STEP 1:​
Remove windscreen & windscreen bolts. I didn't take a picture to upload because I have faith you know where these are. :thumbsup:

STEP 2:​
The are 2 screws in the area in behind the cluster where the arrows are pointed. They are Phillips head screws & they are silver







Once those are removed.


STEP 3:​

Look underneath the fairing, there is 1 screw here.




Now, you may to pop loose the side fairings, which are black in my case, where the black and the red meet to get you to the next step

STEP 4:​

There is a screw on each side, which are kind of a pain to get to, but after enough cussing, bending, and throwing screwdrivers like I did, they will come out.







If you have any further questions, I'll do my best to answer

Hope this helps
 
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#4 ·
Thanks for the pics and all. I'm familiar with all of the process minus the two silver screws behind the dash...I need to take mine off to retrieve one of the rubber windscreen grommet bolts that I somehow pushed through when I was putting the windscreen allen bolt back in :headshake
 
#7 ·
I'm also stuck at this point. I can't see how these would come off without taking the dash and practically everything apart. Is there a trick to this? Help! I don't want to take all the lowers and side panels off. I'm just trying to get this upper panel off so that I can paint it seperately.

Thanks
 
#10 ·
I wish it was the ones you mentioned above. :icon_sad: Those were easy. It's these ones instead:

I had to bend forward the top edge of the ram air cowl and sneak a photo through the gap from directly above.

I hope this photo attachment works. It's been awhile since I've done this...
 
#12 ·
I took the photo above with the windshield removed. The screws in question are near the top of the back side of the cowl piece and I had to take it by flexing the top edge of the fairing forward to create a gap to peak through.
 
#14 ·
I have a new theory...since the 2013 has a new electronic steering dampener with associated wiring and other bits, maybe the 2013 front cowl has additional mounting points...
 
#15 ·
just rip it the fuck off!
 
#16 ·
Haha! I'm almost to that point. In fact, I'm sure that I'll turn into the hulk during the ressembly process rather than dismantling!
 
#17 ·
OMG I feel like such an idiot. I thought those screws were attached to the fairing stay, when in fact they were just the screws for the LED running light!

Well after doing this, I can definitely recommend that if you try to take off this piece upper, work your way from the bottom up. Trying to remove it top down risks breaking something as it wasn't hung up on any screws, it wouldn't comee out because of the way it interfaces with all the neighbouring parts and the ram air assembly. It really won't want to come off without first having at least side panel removed first.

 
#18 ·
I'm truly baffled as to how you can remove the front screws (step 4) without removing the side fairings or the headlights. Furthermore, how did you disconnect your front flashers (in the mirrors) without removing anything else???? Sucks, I'm looking at removing the entire sides to keep from breaking shit. Am I missing something here, sounded pretty easy from the write up.......
 
#20 ·
Rideit, you can get to those screws easily by first removing the whole black unpainted inside fairing which is visible in photo step #3. It's all pop rivets and a couple screws to get that off. You'll have to bend the piece quite a bit to get it out because there's a tab that tucks in to hold it in place. It's hard for me to explain from my bedside computer but once you remove all the visible screws and pop rivets it should be obvious how it comes out. Once the unpainted black inner fairing is removed, the screws in step 4 are easy as totally visible.

brimal_rage, the most logical way to remove the mirrors the first time is to remove the dash panels first. Once they're off, the ends of the signal cables are easy to trace and then you'll just unplug them. Then you can easily unbolt the mirrors themselves and thread the cables out through the holes in the fairings.
 
#21 ·
Oh and to answer your last question Rideit, yes you should remove all the lower fairings and at least 1 mid fairing before even attempting to get to the front cowl under the windscreen. The original write up omits telling you that which is why it initially seems so easy from your armchair.

After examining all the interfacing parts during disassembly and reassembly, I suppose you could get the upper fairing off without taking all the lower stuff off first, but I sure as heck wouldn't want to even try. You'd have to bend and twist some of the pieces so damn much that you'd definitely risk breaking something.
 
#23 ·
Maybe this helps the next guy, here's whats missing........

Remove the small black internal fairings under the clip ons (maybe do it early on as it will give ya a little more room removing screws behind dash) as this is necessary to disconnect both the front directionals wired into your mirrors as well as the LED running light wired up on the left side of the bike.

Additionally, remove all fasteners connecting the lower fairing on one side of the bike. Pick a side, doesn't matter, it will make removing the cowl i describe next easier and give you more room to re-install everything in the end. You don't need to actually remove the fairing but all Allen bolts and quick rivets should be out so its completely free (fairing will stay on the bike due to the tabs)

Finally, remove the fairing from the underside of the "nose" of the bike. You already removed the single phillips screw in the front center, now pull the quick rivets and completely remove the piece. This will allow you easy access to the screws that connect the front cowl to the uppers in the very front of the bike.

Hope that helps!
 
#25 ·
I removed this piece for the first time the other day. I had already removed the mirrors, side fairings, and covers so this was actually pretty easy once I got those out of the way.
 
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