Side cover repair...

I have a Z1R side cover that has a tab about to break off. There is about a 1/4" gap between back of tab and the body of the sidcover. I was thinking if I could fill in that area and basically make the tab a solid piece with the body of the cover it would be almost unable to break again. Anyone done this before? Any idea what I could use to fill in this open area? Not sure if regular body filler would adhere to the plastic body work enough to make a solid connection that wouldn't crack and break away later. I want to fill in that area behind the tab and will need to cover outside area of tab to cover crack in the bracket between the tab and the sidecover. Any body experts out there know of a way to do this?

3M makes a "Rigid Plastic Repair" material that sticks to the side covers. You have to sand the plastic so it sticks. Make a dam out of masking tape because it runny till it sets up.

Mark

Where would you find this stuff at?

It has to be an automotive paint store. They should have a chart showing the 3M products. It takes a gun and mixing tips but you can push equal amounts on to a piece of card board and mix it with a bondo spreader. I use a big nut driver to push it out.

Mark

I used an old solder iron and some zip tie strips to plastic weld my tab back on. This worked very well for me and I would suggest it as a solution to your problem.

I'll look at that option. I wanted to put something in between the tab and cover body to reinforce the tab beings it sticks out from the cover for added support. Whenever you pull the cover off, the tab flexes some and sooner or later, it cracks or breaks. Z1R covers sell for a good chunk of change and want to fix these stronger then stock to give them a better chance of lasting. Thought about cutting some plastic, etc. that will fit between the tab and cover and then covering the area to tie everything together. Going to see if I can find some "Rigid Plastic Repair" material also.

Have you read this?

kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_content...iew&id=171&Itemid=11

Bill

No...I didn't til now. The cement you used...was it the same stuff used on PVC pipe or something else. If it's not the PVX glue, where would I find the stuff. The method sounds like a good idea. Should do the trick once I find the glue. I already have the fiberglass matte.

racer54 wrote: No...I didn't til now. The cement you used...was it the same stuff used on PVC pipe or something else. If it's not the PVX glue, where would I find the stuff. The method sounds like a good idea. Should do the trick once I find the glue. I already have the fiberglass matte.

Hi Racer,

Not sure but I'm imagining that the color of your sidecover plastic is black. If so it's ABS and you would use Black ABS pipe cement.

Good Luck

Bill

Is that plastic repair article in the filebase here? I went looking for it but couldn't find it. Either way it's one that should be if it isn't already. The covers are the black ABS so where do I find that cement? Can you get it at a home improvement store like Menards?

Found this at Eastwood and looks to be what was mentioned above. If anyone is looking for it like me, here's the link for the kit.

www.eastwood.com/rigid-plastic-repair-kit-black.html

If you break a tab, there is a marvelous product called "Plastex" that will chemically weld the pieces back together and they will be at least as strong as stock. This stuff is simple to use has a lil dvd that comes with the kit showing all you can do with it and how. Body work shattered from a tip over or crash, save all the pieces, this stuff can mend it all and even form new tabs if you lose them. plastex.net/ The kit I bought was $34.00 where I buy my bike parts, I've repaired 2 mounting tabs on one side cover, and am estimating I used about $5.00 worth of the material.