It is really not possible to fully restore mangled (technical term) threads. A cutting tap will simply cut new threads in whatever material is left and that leaves a very weak threaded hole. A forming tap (the 'thread restorers') will re-form the threads to a degree but some material will no doubt be lost again resulting in weak threads.
The better way to go is to have the hole resized and sleeved. You could do this yourself but given the expense of the tools (drill, tap and the actual sleeves) and considering there is a learning curve to use these sleeves, I would suggest finding someone who would do it for you. Larger motorcycle shops often do this as a service. Once a sleeve is in place, it will be stronger than it was originally and as the new threads will be either steel or stainless steel, odds are that you will not have any trouble cross- threading a screw again, at least not in that hole. The service should not be overly expensive. Make sure whoever does it cleans up any chips that end up in the frame though as that is part of the induction system and behind the air filter- any chips introduced in the frame will end up in the engine shortly.
Brian
My battery door only has this one bolt.
To inject some reality into Brian's expert advice, which I would take if I had oodles of spare time . . . the thread in question simply holds a plastic plate in position. There's no stress on it. A simple rethreading should be more than adequate.
Got me there, fairing cover over the battery door.
The battery 'door' has four bolts and is a stressed member of the frame.
Wait- is that really a stressed member? If so, that makes sense. When I was cursing at the design, I was thinking "DAMN- why the hell does it need all this unless it is part of the stress frame?? Nah, can't possibly be....."
Well crap, now you're just talking crazy talk.You don't really need to remove the tank to access the airbox covers. I just remoce the bolts and tilt the tank up on its rear end and support it with a football. I disconnect the overflow and vent at the rear but not the fuel line or electric connector.
Take the tank off this beast, yeah right.
That's what my favorite female owned moto shop is for.
The frame is a box- section with a big hole cut in one side. That would ruin the stress resistance to racking or twisting through that section. Kawasaki put a cast aluminum hatch over the hole and used four fairly large fasteners to attach it, with one in each corner. It seems like a lot of design and materials for just a cover and it isn't even waterproof so I think it is a stressed member of the frame. Just my opinion but that is what it looks like to me. ??I am sure Brian is right about the battery door being a stressed member. I think the throttle body hatches are also. They are cast aluminum, if they were just covers they would probably be plastic.
Brian
Glad to see my dealer wasn't the only moron that did this. I was pissed when I saw that. The monkey that did it continued to crank the bolt in there so hard that he rounded out the inside on the hex. You would've thought that he sensed there was a problem by that point, but nope. I wrote a nasty email to them. I recommended that the person that was responsible for doing this shouldn't be working on motorcycles anymore.Mine was munged also. I cleaned it up with the original size tap. It lookes to me as though the factor hole is not perpindicular.