Address - Seized Screw

I thought I'd check the air filter on my Address, but fell foul of an issue that should have been sorted by all motorcycle manufacturers years ago.

I remember with my Triumphs and Nortons the hassle of getting the timing cover off when the Philips screws got corroded in situ.  It was a case of drilling the head of the screw(s) removing the cover, then getting a Mole wrench onto to the protruding bit of screw.

To avoid getting into the situation again, the usual practice was to buy an Allen screw kit.  Why the hell the manufacturers could not have used Allen screws in the first place, even if it meant adding £1 to the price of the bike is beyond me.

That was fifty years ago, but today I was in the same situation, when removing the air filter cover. They are not Philips screws, but the Japanese version, JIS which are supposed to be better.  

One was rusted and would not budge even using a specially bought JIS screwdriver.

It is a M5 self tapping screw, 1.6mm pitch (I measured another of the screws - the others came out fine) and it screws into plastic. But it would not budge.

As in days of yore, I had to drill the screw head off. A drill the same size as the shank is needed, in this case 5mm

 After removing the cover it was easy to get to the bit of screw that was left and to remove it with a mole wrench.

I did not want the same thing to happen again, so I tracked down some Torx head stainless steel screws on Amazon.  I only needed 8 25mm long screws but I got 25! Plus 25 of each 16mm, 20mm, 30mm, 40mm and a Torx driver bit for £6.99 including Vat and delivery.

Here it is in situ.

And, of course I replaced all of them. Maybe JIS 5mm 1.6mm pitch screws are used elsewhere on the scooter.  I'll replace them as I come across them