I’d heard of problems with the Wonderlich oil cooler screen, specifically that they sometimes fall apart. I found out about this problem first hand in Death Valley in April.
![trim piece](./t-20060525-124715.jpg)
trim piece
I had lunch with friends at Furnace Creek. When I got out to the bike I found this on the ground very close to my front tire. I recognized the shape and remembered the stories I’d heard. I stuffed the piece under the map holder of my tank bag.
![Screen on mounting frame and trim piece](./t-20060525-124740.jpg)
Screen on mounting frame and trim piece
I finally got around to doing something about it, today.
This pictures shows where the trim piece belongs. The trim piece and
screen are just glued to the frame piece. I was lucky in that only the
trim piece came free. Doubly lucky that it came free when parked so I
didn’t lose it.
![tape clamp](./t-20060525-130917.jpg)
tape clamp
I found some epoxy I had and glued the trim to the back of the screen. I used tape to clamp the bits together until the epoxy set. The pieces to be joined were cleaned with alcohol before applying the glue. I’m hoping it will stick.
![Back on the bike](./t-20060525-134252.jpg)
Back on the bike
After the epoxy set I removed the masking tape. The edges weren’t pretty so I covered them in black electrical tape before putting the screen back on the bike. I don’t know if this repair will hold or not. I invested less than an hour of my time; if it doesn’t work I’ll just replace the screen with something else.
Update: As of March 2012 the repair is still holding.