I was re-installing my left fairing today & was using a torx head in a nut driver. Torx head was not magnetic, nor was the socket that was holding it, so it did not stay put in the socket head I had on the nut driver I was using. Torx head slipped out of the socket head & down the hole next to where my seat hinges just under the stingray box.

So, just how screwed am I? Is there an easy way to retrieve the torx head?
Could this little thing cause me lots of problems later on if I don't get it out of there?

Doh!

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Kevin
'06 K1200LT

Nah. Just get another screw. Next time you take the panels off and the gas tank off, you might find it.

__________________
Raffy
www.motogear4you.com
'08 Hypermotard 1100S
(Termignoni+ECU)

....or it'll drop out the bottom on your next ride

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Allan....Eugene,OR
2003 K1200LT trike - Starfighter
2004 R1150RTP - Combat Touring
IBA 38152
BMW-MOA 97667
Patriot Guard Riders
...and man of leisure

Not many places it could cause a mechanical problem. About the only place I can think of off hand is the throttle body area, but that is pretty protected by the tank.

The only worry I would have would be electrical shorting in the starter area if it worked it's way down to that vacinity. The alternator connections are pretty well protected by covers. If I remember correctly, the battery connection to the starter MAY be relatively open. Could be wrong though, been three years since I have had an LT to work on.

It is only a slight chance of a problem though, it will probably sit somewhere until you get further into it on another service, or it will fall out.

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I don't want to achieve immortality through my work...I want to achieve it through not dying.

David Shealey
Dandridge, TN
EX: '01 Black LT, BAT BYKE (Totaled at 110,000 miles)
IBA SS, BB, BBG, 10/10ths.
No bike now, but maybe in the future.

Murphy's law #14

Any object when dropped will fall to the place least accessible.

John

__________________
ATGATT saved US it can save you.
03 R1200CLC Capri Blue "Flipper" (Tis but a scratch!)
01 R1100RT Glacier Blue "Lucky"
98 F650 "Mr. Woody"
91 R100GS "HopeIt'sNotAMoneyPit"
Proudly Published in "The Crapper"

"I like the wind in my face and Boobies on my back." And Blue Bikes.

When you drop a socket, it will by nature roll to the exact center of the car being worked on.

Yep, tested that one several times.

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I don't want to achieve immortality through my work...I want to achieve it through not dying.

David Shealey
Dandridge, TN
EX: '01 Black LT, BAT BYKE (Totaled at 110,000 miles)
IBA SS, BB, BBG, 10/10ths.
No bike now, but maybe in the future.

I usually subscribe to O'Toole's law which states "Murphy was an optimist."

Thanks for the advice & moral support, everyone. I still feel like an idiot for letting it happen, but at least I know I'm in very good company.

I sure missed having this forum the last few days. You guys are the best.
Pretty great value for the small amount of a donation.

Kevin

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Kevin
'06 K1200LT

I believe the OEM TORX screws used on our LT's are stainless and are therefore not magnetic. That's a nice feature because they won't rust. However, it does require a little more care when removing and reinstalling them so as not to loose them in the bowels of the machine.

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Lynn Keen
Central Florida
'99 Canyon Red RETIRED AT 93,000 MI
'05 GRAPHITE METALLIC
'00 GS

What I lost was the torx head tool, not the screw. You're are correct, the torx screws on the LT is a non-magnetic stainless. I did blow some compressed air in the area in which it dropped, but didn't hear any rattling around. I've also thought of duct taping some tubing to my shop vac & seeing if I could vacuum it out.

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Kevin
'06 K1200LT

And find its way right to the rear tire! That would be my luck! $$$Cha-Ching!!!

Loren

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WAK1200LT
Loren

Fortunately, nothing has become of it. 2 years later and no problems so far. Love the LT more every time I ride it!

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Kevin
'06 K1200LT

Is that a Briard? Our pals here are on their second.

Perhpas the fastener is SS (not magnetic)?

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Rob Nelson
http://www.linkedin.com/in/robnelson44140
www.yasuni.com

2007 KTM Super Duke 990
Orange Juice
2006 K1200GT [now lives in Wisconsin]
Grey Goose
2002 K1200LTC [now lives in Georgia]
Toscana Temptress

More than 132,000 (recently corrected higher) motorcycle riders have died in traffic crashes since the enactment of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 and The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. Be careful out there.

What a cute puppy! No, my avatar is our Bouvier des Flandres, Sonny. Sonny was a therapy dog & worked up until a month before she died. We lost her last June at age 14.
Thankfully we had already gotten another before Sonny died.

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Kevin
'06 K1200LT