What does an upper cowl look like after breaking the tether at 100mph???

[Andrew Shadow]

I find it strange what causes these covers to pop off and what doesn't. This past summer I hit a hole in the road so hard that I almost lost control and went down. When the front wheel hit the hole I was literally bucked up and thrown up in to the air off of the seart high enough that I lost my grip on the bars. I hit so hard that I bent my front rim it was that violent. The mirror covers never came off. Another time I didn't notice a speed bump until the last minute and went over it a little to fast. It was no worse than many other bumps on the road and didn't seem very eventful going over it, yet the mirror cover did pop off.

 

[snowmoer]

The circular clip is the spring clip that goes around The Four Tabs (loved that group back in the '70s) and is responsible for them closing around the stud once snapped into place.

Yep, you have to make sure those spring clips are there. When I got my 04 brand new, the kid putting the bike together at the dealer did not put them on the tabs. He also did not put the zip end through the retaining slot. My cover came off at 70 mph in a headwind gust. I went back to the dealer and showed him that these things were not done and per the manual they should have been. He ended up buying me a new cover! He was not happy. So, make sure those little springs clips are there and everything is snapped tight into place.