Article [13] ST1300 - Using new plastic covers over battery and tension knob on older bikes

[DakotaJoe]

I've seen the new black body panels that cover the tensioner/relay area and the battery side and wanted to put them on my 06. They were fairly cheap to purchase at the Honda dealership (around $27 for the pair)83410-MCS-D90 and 83460-MCS-D90
These are made to just click in to the new bikes but not mine. So I found an easy way to mount them that took about 45 minutes to do.

I cut the battery/fuse holder portion of the new right side plastic. (Save that piece for the other side.) Then I attached Velcro to the battery plastic and along the bottom of the new plastic and attached the other side of the Velcro to its corresponding area. That side was done.

The other side was a little trickier because there is just open space behind that cover. I sawed the leftover bit from the other side into several pieces and of those, I kept two. See the pictures for how it was cut and which to keep.

I shaved off the clip type edges and rounded the back of the right angle piece to conform with the relay plastic cover. For the left side I drilled a hole on the uncurved side to slide it over the existing screw hole (about a 3/8") so it would seat around the protruding frame. I temporarily attached it and put a rivet in the right side so I could align the plastic over the two and drill some holes for some low profile screws.

I screw it on and put on the side Tupperware and done! Looks great. I did modify mine around the spring tensioner as I have a 12V plug right next to it and I still wanted access to it.

I have posted the pictures with more descriptions and a bit of a numbering system in the event someone wants to try this out. See my albums for this and other modifications.

 

[Blue STreak]

Re: Using new plastic covers over battery and tension knob on older bikes

On my 2004, at least, the battery side one just snaps right on. It replaces the existing battery cover. No need to cut anything.

On the left, I mounted it with Extreme Velcro. No problems so far.

 

[DakotaJoe]

Re: Using new plastic covers over battery and tension knob on older bikes

I was trying to leave the bike with as much of the original items as possible plus by doing it this way, I can take it off without messing with the battery connections. (I have wires from my fuse block going over the existing battery plastic that would always be in my way. Hind sight. With the left, there was nothing behind it on the top that it would velcro to...except the tupperware. The plastic relay cup thing just didn't cover enough of the black plastic for me to velcro it to. But thank you for the input, always appreciated.

 

[RealST]

I was wondering the same thing on the batery cover side. My covers just came in and it looks as though the battery cover side snaps right on, but I'll definatelly use your mounting points for the left side.

 

[roper5874]

I've been wondering about adding these myself, mine's a 2006 also. After reading your post I ordered some. Collected and fitted them today after following your directions (made a couple of very minor alterations due to available materials). Your instructions and phones were spot-on and they look GREAT.

Thanks again for taking the time to post what you did, it was a wonderful help (and a kick up the butt to do something about it).

Regards,

Dave R

 

[playfair]

Thanks for the great writeup, DakotaJoe!
Ordered these after reading your thread, even before I picked up my '07!
Installed them today, with a few minor changes to your process.

The battery side replaced the current cover as others have stated. I did put a little Velcro across the bottom of the battery tray and the cover to keep it from flapping.

On the left side I made the two upper brackets like yours, but out of 1/16" aluminum; the L bracket attached to the relay holder, and the left side cover bolt extension. I made this such that when you attach the right upper cover screw it will tighten down.

What I did different was the bottom retaining of the cover on the left side. I ended up bending little L brackets and using JBweld to attach to the back of the aluminum frame, where the casting has recesses. The upper mounts bias the cover in, and the lower "stops" keep it sound.

 

[DakotaJoe]

Thanks for the great writeup, DakotaJoe!
Ordered these after reading your thread, even before I picked up my '07!
Installed them today, with a few minor changes to your process.

The battery side replaced the current cover as others have stated. I did put a little Velcro across the bottom of the battery tray and the cover to keep it from flapping.

On the left side I made the two upper brackets like yours, but out of 1/16" aluminum; the L bracket attached to the relay holder, and the left side cover bolt extension. I made this such that when you attach the right upper cover screw it will tighten down.

What I did different was the bottom retaining of the cover on the left side. I ended up bending little L brackets and using JBweld to attach to the back of the aluminum frame, where the casting has recesses. The upper mounts bias the cover in, and the lower "stops" keep it sound.

That works too! Looks great!