[eddie]

{Shared with the Facebook SCR950 group.}

It was bound to happen: An online friend went for a ride a few days ago and came home without a side panel. 120+/- gone. =(
The bolt apparently vibrated loose and the panel fell off shortly afterward.

Before I got all gung-ho and did the Dzus fastener thing, I toyed with the idea of a set of retaining straps for the side covers and came up with a simple solution that might work. (grin)
Either with a small bolt or rivet, one could secure one end of a pair of 1/2" nylon web straps to the side panel along the upper edge. Anchoring the other ends could be accomplished by trapping them under plastic electrical wire ties pulled snugly around the under-seat frame tubing.
Make the straps just barely long enough & you could unbolt a panel and let it drop to clear the tabs holding the upper panel in place. Then you could swing the panel upward to access the under seat area OR include small buckles like the ones I made a few minutes ago shown in these photos and take the panel off completely. The buckles and webbing are really inexpensive. Just look in the crafts and sewing section of a WalMart where they keep the bracelet making stuff. I used orange for demonstration purposes. They have black along with a host of other colors.
Bolt comes loose on a ride? The panel would drop down and flap about a bit yet not go sailing away into the Twilight Zone.
Keep a spare bolt in a jacket pocket or in the tool kit and it would be a 5 minute fix on the road and not a call to your parts counter person. =)

 

[OpenRoad]

You'd think those panels would be cheap to replaces since they're just plastic, but I've learned over they years that they can be the most costly bits if you replace enough of them. This would be a good solution to save a hundred dollars of the bolt coming loose is really a common problem.

 

[TheScrambled]

For some reason this specific thread looks odd to me. Anyways, don't suppose you have a picture of the retaining straps installed on your bike?

 

[eddie]

For some reason this specific thread looks odd to me. Anyways, don't suppose you have a picture of the retaining straps installed on your bike?

The same with the page for me, too. Weird.

I didn't actually install the straps as I'd converted the bolts to Dzus fasteners. That might be a project for when we're not under tornado watch/warnings. =O

 

[Cruze]

Anyone have a direct figure on the cost of the side panel ?

 

[eddie]

Anyone have a direct figure on the cost of the side panel ?

Approximately $120 each.
:surprise:

 

[OpenRoad]

I hate how plastic panels are so expensive to replace... But Yamaha knows we'll want one anyways because of how motorcycles look with a missing or damaged panel. Had the misfortune of needing to replace the panels for one side of a sport bike back in the day and it cost me a few hundred out of pocket. :|

 

[Cruze]

That's ridiculous :|

Lol maybe they're rigged to fall off so Yamaha can bank on that

 

[OpenRoad]

Doubt they rigged it to fall off, just skimped a bit on fasteners and this is the result of it. There's always the option of leaving that area empty if the panel falls off, it really won't affect the SCR950 all that much aside from aesthetics.

 

[Cruze]

No no of course it was just a joke lol. Could be a good time to fab up something custom to replace it perhaps?

 

[TheScrambled]

Perhaps if you keep a record of the number plate's dimensions, you can fab up a custom one in case the factory piece manages to fly away. Probably cheaper too compared to what Yamaha charges.

 

[Cruze]

Shouldn't be too hard. Or take off the existing one you have and mock up a template of some sort