So.. it'* not likely to back in through the access cover it fell out of.

Nope!
Spring has to go in there, and then the whole thing slides in.
How ya gonna keep the spring the piece and line it up in the small slot,
without finger space to grab it?
Even skinny forceps won't navigate the area... Unfortunately.
But maybe the guy with the broken housing ...might... be able to somehow do it...
But I doubt it.

Prove me wrong, and I'll be happy about it!

I was afraid of that. Part A can fall out of Hole B.....but Finger C can't ever get it back in through Hole B...Therefore Part A stays out for a while.

Yes.!
What gets me.... is how the thing fell out t begin with.....
When it'* all together... there'* just enough room to have a little clearance.
With mine, it fell out as I was disassembling the column, and paying attention,
to what I was doing further up. Then .......Oops! what are these parts on the floor........

" Hmmm ....Now where the H**L did that come from?? "
Another half hour wasted, trying to figure out what it was,
what it was supposed to do, and how it was supposed to sit! then the PITA of trying to
keep it in place, while reassembling the unit, using only two hands...

Then, "The Awakening" .....> > > > > Masking tape!

First seeing this thread I would have assumed it broke off somehow being that it jumped ouf of their columns. Are there any little pins, tabs or anything that hold it that may have broken off?

Mine appears to have no broken edges. It popped out when I was in there fiddling around with the lever.

Fiddling? Did you push on something the wrong way? There has to be some kind of crazy answer to how you guys did this.

the bonneville is so fast that I have to flick my beams on a lot crusing through the fast lane. Im going to try to put mine back in but I dont have this spring you speak of.

the rod that pushes the switch is easily accesible for me so should I be able to put this part back in?

Negative. It slides in a carrier.... That'* it!

The rod, is accessible to everyone. it'* out there in plain sight, at the lower end...
It'* the upper end that this piece goes on.
I couldn't really say that you could just put it back!

The spring, is a curved piece of spring steel about an inch+ long,
and slightly less than an eighth of an inch wide. It provides "preload".
The whole thing resides inside the tilt mechanism assembly.
The arch faces uo to the bottom of the black plastic part.
if you saw it... You'd say

Wish I had a scanner that worked.. (I've got two)...would make things a whole lot easier...

Can anyone scan and PM him the page from the FSM ?

In the FSM it'*, fig 1, page 3F5A-2 it'* part # 44, and has a spring # 45 and fits inside #46
Again, if you saw it... You'd say