[Fariborz]

I purchased my new Rear Top Box with back rest pad from Ducati Richmond, it came fast and is really nice. I was taking all the parts off of my ST4s and ran into a serious problem. I stripped out the allen Bolts that hold the side bag frames to the foot pegs. I barely put a allen wrench to them and they stripped. I wanted to kill somebody!! I am not sure where to go, or what to do.

Anyone who has any advice I am all ears..

I am not sure how badly your Allen head is stripped but the following might help without having to drill the head out.

First of, add some WD40 or Liquid wrench to the thread area of the bolt from behind and from the sides if you can. Let it sit for few minutes so that it can get into the thread area.

Get a small amount of sand (you do not need much) and some grease. Tooth paste can also work in place of grease. Put the sand inside the Allen head and add the grease. The grease will help keep the sand in. Now insert the correct Allen wrench into the head. You might need to move the Allen wrench around a little bit to make it fit. Some grease and sand will be pushed out. But some sand will be trapped between the sides of the Allen head and the sides of the Allen Wrench. This will fill-in the gap caused by rounding the head. Once the wrench is tight enough that it does not spin freely, hit the handle of the Allen head with a hammer or rubber mallet CCW (the same direction that you loosen the bolt). You should --NOT-- try to turn the Allen head by gradually exerting force. That will simply break up the sand and wrench will start spinning in the head before the bolt starts to break loose. The sudden jarring caused by hitting the head with a hammer will try to loosen the bolt before the sand breaks up. Depending on how much you have stripped the head, and how tight the bolt is, you might need to repeat the above few times until the bolts breaks loose.

If the above does not work, Get some Torx bits (star shaped tips) Using a slightly larger Torx bit you can try loosening the bolt. The Torx bit will grab the inside of the Allen head at different grab points than the Allen head.

I have had success using both methods.

-Fariborz