Took my tank off for the first time to check for the dreaded rubbing of the wiring loom. All good under there , but some extra plastic sheet cable tied around the bad spots as a precaution. Taking the tank off wasn't so bad thanks to a bit of a heads up on a post I found on here . Thanks for that ,what a great resource xt660 .
Now for a question for you all out there - why were the front tank bolts designed so heavy duty ? They are about 150mm long of solid steel and are quite weighty. Other than being a convenient length for easy access they don't even double as another mounting point for for the grey tank pod.
Can any one see why they couldn't be replaced with a conventional short bolt and save half a kilo. I'm shedding weight with other changes as well. I know on their own it's not much but all these things add up and this is how bike manufacturers build a light bike , a bit saved here and a bit there etc.
Cheers

The reason they are so long and weighty is that they act as crash protection. If you go over on one side, the sacrificial grey panel will get scuffed up and all the weight the bike gets taken on these two long bolts and transmitted to the frame, rather than being than the tank taking the brunt of it.

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That was one of my first thoughts but the head of the bolt doesn't engage or touch the grey panel. It's not even close and doesn't protrude out to level with the side of the tank with the grey pod removed. Even if the pod is stoved in I doubt it would absorb much impact.
Having said that I haven't tested the theory in a real crash so maybee anyone can confirm in a real life low side do the bolts offer any help or support ??