More grommet madness!
I have had each side cover off maybe 10 times each.
The front grommets, as mentioned earlier, needed replaced almost immediately.
I found that the upper rear grommets needed to be replaced today. They are a different thickness than the front grommets but the non-OEM "oval" replacement shown earlier fits perfectly. (I had to buy a second package of the non-OEM grommets because there are only two oval-shaped gremmets per package.)
The rear upper grommets get pushed in because just like the front grommets, the outside flange is too small and thin.
The rear grommets are held by the rear fender and are very difficult to reach to remove/replace. I had to remove the seat to get better access.
Now, why do they get pushed out in the first place? I wondered the same thing!
After examining the fit of the side panel I noticed that it is very very difficult to align all three grommets/pins AT THE SAME TIME and push the side cover on. That is because they do not match! (Perhaps on purpose, because that does cause the side cover to fit quite snugly.)
I found the following process to work 100% of the time, with the seat on. (In fact, it might work with the original grommets!)
1) Push in the lower pin/grommet.
2) Rotate the front of the side cover up a few degrees (from where it should insert) and insert the rear pin/grommet.
3) Rotate the front of the side cover down a few degrees (back to the original position or slightly lower) and insert the front pin/grommet.
Yeah, this thread is a lot of talk about a simple set of grommets, which seems ridiculous.
But, if this is the worst issue we have to deal with on this bike we have it made!
BTW, the right side cover fits near flush with the frame. The left side cover has an open area at the bottom. If you run a battery tender pigtail to the left side cover area you can pop the bottom pin/grommet loose, grab the pigtail and charge the battery. When you are done, you can pop the lower pin/grommet closed and tuck the pigtail up in that open space.
