Old things break, especially old plastic things.

I came back from a 50-mile ride on my 2001 BMW R1100RT and set about cleaning the windshield, headlights, rearview mirrors, and taillights but the latter wobbled around when I wiped it. The rear brake light assembly was loose. Roseanne Roseannadanna was right, “It’s always something”.

Hoping for simple and quick, I looked under the light but no attachment bolts. Phooey. Here is where your life philosophy comes in. My immediate response to these situations is “it’s broken and I have no idea how this is attached”. Jeff’s response is “everything is a kit, let’s take it apart”. We pulled the rear seat off to gain access to the innards of the bike and the back of the assembly where it attaches to the frame.

Of course, nothing goes easy. The previous owner had installed a radio and amplifier in this area, padded in place with foam and wood.

So how was this assembly attached? Found two wing nut knobs. Note to self, a strong headlamp is necessary at my age to see into these small places.

I have large hands and accessing theses knobs was very difficult even after removing the electronics and wiring.

Ok, what now? I looked online for a new tail light assembly and found one on eBay. A mere $200 and would be shipped from Riga, Lativa with arrival in a month or so. Hey, I was in Riga in 2014 and didn’t think to buy one then. I didn’t ask but I suspect the BMW dealer would charge more for the part with a hefty installation fee, $400, or more. It’s a BMW after all.

Might as well try epoxy again, in this case, Gorilla Weld. I coated the separated part as it had small cracks everywhere. Yeah, ugly but it would never be seen.

Next, I epoxied the piece back in place, let it sit for a day, and then epoxied all around the repair to see if it would add strength. I considered Super Glue and maybe it would have worked just as well.

Reassembled after much cursing of the small space and it seems to be holding … until the plastic gets older. It’s always something.