Fixed broken tab

[Sling]

Well I finally got to use "Plastex" When removing the front lower cowling to drain and reservice my anti-freeze, I broke off a tab...

I ordered the Plastex The link is below if you are interested. It arrived yesterday. Read the instructions and watch a short video they sent with the kit, then dove in. It could not be easier. It is drying as I write.

I have some touch up paint, so after it is all dry I am going to paint it over. The pictures below don't look too good, but you can see how the repair went. Like I said "it could not have been easier"

 

http://plastex.net/

[BigDawg]

Rick, thanks for that post, I've been thinking that when I take that front end apart for the first time I'm either going to find a broken tab or break one in the process, so this looks like a good fix. Sounds like another purchase for my new toy!

 

Brian

 

P.S. Thanks for your service!

 

USMC

1975-1999

Gulf War Vet

[Eck]

I remember I broke mine off the first time I removed the lowers.. it broke in the same exact same place as yours...

In fact, I think I still have the little tab in a drawer in my garage...

Never did put it back on..

[1joeranger]

Just removed my lowers on my way to finishing a valve job. Both are broken, 1 in the same place as yours. Thanks for the info! Let us know how it holds up!!!!

[chillywillie]

I bought some stuff in the plumbing department at Home depot called p200,it comes in a putty form and can be shaped drilled grinded or sanded. it seems to work well for a lot of things,even patching holes in mufflers.

[kj5ix]

I had the same one that was broken off, but still in the grommet when I bought my 01. I used ABS Cement (the black stuff) and it worked very well. I have used the ABS glue on many bike parts,,,,,

 

I used something like the Plastex on a front fender extender on the Honda, and that stuff is tough. when it is set it is there...

[showmebob]

Take some abs plastic and grind it up in a powder get some mek or asetone and you have the same thing as plastix, little bit less exspensive

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

This stuff is great, I have used it as well, it is very easy to work with and very versitle. Here is a link to another dealer: www.plastex.us .

 

Sling ,BigDawg, 1joeranger and kj5ix, Thank you for your service to this great country and the freedom (which isn't free) that we still enjoy.

 

Semper Fi,

C.R.

[SilvrT]

I've been thinking that when I take that front end apart for the first time I'm either going to find a broken tab or break one in the process, so this looks like a good fix.

 

Have a little optimism and faith in yourself .... I've had my lowers (not my teef!) off several times and split my fairing at least 5 times as much as the lowers ... nothing broken ...... YET (talk about having optimism and faith! LOL)

 

Wish I'd known about the Plastex back when I had my '85 tho and shoulda bought some when I had my '87 as both bikes (bought used) had this or that broken or cracked .... especially the '87.

 

When you do take things off and they are the type that clip into a rubber grommet, put a little lithium grease on the hole of the grommet before re-installing the part. Makes it a lot easier to take off next time, not to mention easier to get back on.

[1joeranger]

Take some abs plastic and grind it up in a powder get some mek or asetone and you have the same thing as plastix, little bit less exspensive

 

So Showmebob, show me! Or actually show us! How much of each?? Sounds intriguing enough to try!!

[showmebob]

So Showmebob, show me! Or actually show us! How much of each?? Sounds intriguing enough to try!!

 

Do a google search on ABS palstic repair and there is all kinds of stuff to learn out there, that is what i did, this Plastix all it is is plastic and solvent.

 

I just took some ground up abs plastic and mixed asetone to it, it will turn the plastic to a blob then when it dryes all you have is hard plastic, you can use a sodering iron to weld abs back together, i did it on a sadel bag that had a big long crack in it, welded id back together with the sodering iron took some fiberglass mat for backing and used some oats abs glue to glue ( home depo) the fiberglass to the inside of the sadel bag.

this plastix is a big rip off i think, when all you have to do is get some ground up abs and some asetone and it will do the same thing, look it up on google, dont take my word for it.

[SilvrT]

Do a google search on ABS palstic repair and there is all kinds of stuff to learn out there, that is what i did, this Plastix all it is is plastic and solvent.

 

I just took some ground up abs plastic and mixed asetone to it, it will turn the plastic to a blob then when it dryes all you have is hard plastic, you can use a sodering iron to weld abs back together, i did it on a sadel bag that had a big long crack in it, welded id back together with the sodering iron took some fiberglass mat for backing and used some oats abs glue to glue ( home depo) the fiberglass to the inside of the sadel bag.

this plastix is a big rip off i think, when all you have to do is get some ground up abs and some asetone and it will do the same thing, look it up on google, dont take my word for it.

 

I've also used a soldering gun to weld ABS ... works pretty good. I then would fill the "gap" or any irregular depressions with an ABS 2-part resin, smooth that down and final finish with regular auto body spot filler after priming. All this is fine on cracks, etc, but would be difficult to do for a broken tab, etc.

[showmebob]

I've also used a soldering gun to weld ABS ... works pretty good. I then would fill the "gap" or any irregular depressions with an ABS 2-part resin, smooth that down and final finish with regular auto body spot filler after priming. All this is fine on cracks, etc, but would be difficult to do for a broken tab, etc.

 

Just do it like they show on the plastix vid. put drop of solvent on(asetone) alittle ground up abs, and so on and so on untill it gets bulit up to where you want it, i am not no way going to pay that high price that plastix wants for there kit when i can go to hardware store for a small price of what they want for the same thing, but i have more time than money so this is the way i do things.

[SilvrT]

showmebob, you mention "ground up abs" a lot.... just exactly how are you "grinding it up" ..???

[showmebob]

showmebob, you mention "ground up abs" a lot.... just exactly how are you "grinding it up" ..???

 

Bench grinder, horse shoe rasp, course sanding wheel on a drill might take a little while but like i said i got more time than money, any solvent that will disolve the ABS plastic will work, asetone 100% can be bought at paint stores, home depo, auto parts stores, the asetone turns the ABS grindings to mush, just have to play with it and see how it works, if you dont want to mess with it buy some of that oats abs glue, when you glue it , it melts the plastic together welding, bonding it together, some epoxy does not bond it together jb weld will stick for a while but it will not melt the plastic together, i had to redo a fix on the fearing done by a PO, the jb weld was comeing louse.

[Cougar]

I used JB Weld about 3 years ago on mine and it is still holding

[SilvrT]

Bench grinder, horse shoe rasp, course sanding wheel on a drill ................. i had to redo a fix on the fearing done by a PO, the jb weld was comeing louse.

 

That just gave me an idea .... take any piece of ABS pipe and cut it with a handsaw ... there's generally lots of "shavings" that can be used.

 

As for the JB weld coming loose, someone correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't JB Weld come in different "flavours"?? ... and if you don't use the "ABS flavour", then it doesn't bond correctly.

[Cougar]

The stuff I used was the original old fashion type (gray) still holding strong.

[Zane]

Bench grinder, horse shoe rasp, course sanding wheel on a drill might take a little while but like i said i got more time than money, any solvent that will disolve the ABS plastic will work, asetone 100% can be bought at paint stores, home depo, auto parts stores, the asetone turns the ABS grindings to mush, just have to play with it and see how it works, if you dont want to mess with it buy some of that oats abs glue, when you glue it , it melts the plastic together welding, bonding it together, some epoxy does not bond it together jb weld will stick for a while but it will not melt the plastic together, i had to redo a fix on the fearing done by a PO, the jb weld was comeing louse.

 

A second hand blender will do it!

[MikesBike]

I used an electric pencil sharpener and a plastic coat hanger...

[straycatt]

Three cheers for showmebob.

I had a couple of cracks in the outer fairing where the windshield bolts go (the normal spot to break) and I was going to buy the Plastex kit, until I read Bobs acetone/ABS shavings idea.

 

This was so easy, and worked so well, it's almost unbelievable. Total investment $10, and the repair seems stronger than the surrounding plastic. The only downside was the huge jug of acetone I had to buy when a few ounces was all I needed.

 

I picked up the acetone at Home Depot, but had to get the ABS pipe fitting at Lowes as they were the only store nearby that carries ABS fittings.

 

I used a hacksaw to make the shavings.

 

Then swiped a glass from the kitchen, about the size of a triple shot glass. A shot glass would work great.

 

And used an glass eye dropper to add acetone to the shavings. Just enough to make a thin paste when mixed.

 

I used a Q Tip with the end cut off to mix the slurry and then used a Q Tip dipped in the mix to spread it on my repair.

 

I didn't take pics of the prep work on the crack itself, but I used a razor blade and my Dremel tool to remove the paint at the repair and also to cut a small V along the length of the crack so that the added ABS material would have someplace to go instead of just laying on top. With a little sanding and some touch up paint you would never know the repair was made, but since it's hidden by the windshield trim I'll leave it as is.

 

Oh and ps, I did the same thing to both the inside and the outside of the repair spot.

[twigg]

For a clean break it gets even easier.

 

Just use the acetone to weld the cracks together.

 

Hold the parts very close and use a hypodermic to inject the acetone into the crack. You need the tiniest gap and capillary action will draw the liquid into the crack. It only takes minutes to bond.

 

That is exactly how acrylic fish tanks are made.

[tommycole]

J B Weld

[Condor]

Three cheers for showmebob.

I had a couple of cracks in the outer fairing where the windshield bolts go (the normal spot to break) and I was going to buy the Plastex kit, until I read Bobs acetone/ABS shavings idea.

 

This was so easy, and worked so well, it's almost unbelievable. Total investment $10, and the repair seems stronger than the surrounding plastic. The only downside was the huge jug of acetone I had to buy when a few ounces was all I needed.

 

I picked up the acetone at Home Depot, but had to get the ABS pipe fitting at Lowes as they were the only store nearby that carries ABS fittings.

 

I used a hacksaw to make the shavings.

 

Then swiped a glass from the kitchen, about the size of a triple shot glass. A shot glass would work great.

 

And used an glass eye dropper to add acetone to the shavings. Just enough to make a thin paste when mixed.

 

I used a Q Tip with the end cut off to mix the slurry and then used a Q Tip dipped in the mix to spread it on my repair.

 

I didn't take pics of the prep work on the crack itself, but I used a razor blade and my Dremel tool to remove the paint at the repair and also to cut a small V along the length of the crack so that the added ABS material would have someplace to go instead of just laying on top. With a little sanding and some touch up paint you would never know the repair was made, but since it's hidden by the windshield trim I'll leave it as is.

 

Oh and ps, I did the same thing to both the inside and the outside of the repair spot.

 

Nice pencil cup.....

[saddlebum]

Well I finally got to use "Plastex" When removing the front lower cowling to drain and reservice my anti-freeze, I broke off a tab...

I ordered the Plastex The link is below if you are interested. It arrived yesterday. Read the instructions and watch a short video they sent with the kit, then dove in. It could not be easier. It is drying as I write.

I have some touch up paint, so after it is all dry I am going to paint it over. The pictures below don't look too good, but you can see how the repair went. Like I said "it could not have been easier"

 

http://plastex.net/

I rebuilt almost 1/2 of the plastic on my bike. including forming new tabs in 2008 with Plastex. I have put over 25,000 km on the bike since and so far everything is still holding up great.