Fairing clip removal

I'm struggling with those pesky plastic clips that hold the fairing together at the bottom and to the "front" fairing. All I want to do is remove the left lower to change the oil. Of course, the manual makes it sound so easy, just press down on the center pin to release the lock and then pull the clip out of the hole. What do you use to push and then pull? Do you push and pull at the same time, or push first and then pull? I'm stumped.

I bought a couple spares before trying this, so I sort-of know how they work when not attached to the bike. Getting those little buggers off the bike is a different story.

 

I push them in with a piece of wood. I have heard that a popsicle stick works well. Once you release the first one you will understand. Good idea to have some extras, some of mine are laying on the road somewhere. Take them with you in the tool pouch.

 

I took needle nose plyers and pinched the ends together. Then they push right through. Getting them back in was a lot harder. I must have spent at least an hour putting the body work on after changing the oil Hopefully it goes faster next time.

 

I use a small allen key to push the pin in and a flat head screwdriver or my fingernails to pop the unit out. Make sure you push the pin in first, if you have any pressure on the clip it makes it harder to push the pin. I like the allen key because it can get into the tighter spots. Once you have done the first one it becomes easy. Also sometimes you need to wiggle the panels to stop the clip binding on the side.

 

I use my ignition key to push in the middle of clip and pull them out with my fingernails
Dan

 

Thanks! I finally got those little devils out! My mistake was that I wasn't spending enough time & effort pushing the middle in before trying to yank it out. I can't believe I'm saying this, but they're not too bad once I got the technique down. Still annoying and harder than it should be, but at least I'm no longer calling them all sorts of bad names.