| Author | Message | ||
     Timebandit |
I've got a question about the Gripster Buckle Guard -- can anyone tell me it's measurements, and how it compares in size to the aluminum Buell buckle guard? A photo with a ruler might really help. I have a jacket with a stupid metal hoop on the zipper, and I forgot to pull the zipper up after a fuel stop. The result is that the zipper put a really long, deep gouge on the left side of my airbox cover. The gouge goes down from the top left corner of where a buckle guard might be, down toward the bottom left corner. The scratch starts pretty high up, and sits pretty far off on the left. I'm concerned that the scratch might just be too long and far enough to one side that a buckle guard might not cover it. Measurements of the 4 sides of the Gripster, or the Buell beltguard, or maybe pics with a ruler would really help. I'm thinking that if the Gripster isn't really tall, and doesn't extend far enough to the sides, then my scratch won't be covered. Then my options are to find a sheet of material that I could cut to size, or just replace the airbox cover. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. | ||
| Noone1569 |
I've got one on my XB. I'm not sure if it is the same, but I'll take a pic tonight next to a ruler (if I can find one, if not a dollar bill). | ||
| Marcodesade |
It's 5" tall, about 7.5" across at the top, and about 4.5" across at the bottom. Sorry, I don't have time to take a photo today. However, I do have one (Snakeskin), new in the plastic, that I might be willing to sell - with or without the other airbox pieces (I really only wanted the tank pieces). PM me with an offer if you're interested. You can check the retail prices at American Sport Bike. I tried to PM you, but it says you're "too paranoid to accept PM's." LMAO. | ||
| Timebandit |
Thanks, guys. My bike is at the dealer right now, getting a new instrument cluster. I won't be able to do anything until I get it back. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be there very long. | ||
| Marcodesade |
Do they have the cluster in hand? If so, it'll be done in a couple hours. If they're waiting on the cluster, you're probably looking at a week or so to get it shipped. | ||
| Timebandit |
waiting ... | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Bob(Timebandit), hello from a former Chicagoan now in Utah. You might just want to check out this link: "www.rubbercal.com/X_Derm.html" I was starting to get some paint scuffing from my leathers and this stuff has worked great! I bought a roll of this stuff because I wanted to save some money, its cheap, and custom make some knee/buckle guards. You'll have to make some patterns and then glue it to your frame and air box covers and I did with good quality silicone seal/glue. It holds well (now on two years)and it can be removed fairly easily without ruining the paint. Nice texture with great grip but I believe black only which was fine for me. See a close up picture of this stuff on my 1125R below.  | ||
| Timebandit |
Wow! That came out great! Thanks for the link. I've requested a catalog. I'm not sure whether I'll need to go with the DIY approach or whether I'll be able to use a tank guard that I can buy over the counter. A lot of this will depend on how big the available tank guards turn out to be, and whether or not they'll cover the damage. thanks for the tips! Anyone else have recommendations for DIY materials? (Message edited by TimeBandit on November 30, 2011) | ||
| Froggy |
Why not polish out the scratches? | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
You would be surprised what you can buff out | ||
| Timebandit |
Thanks for the ideas, but I'm dealing with a "really deep gouge," like it says in the first post. Unfortunately, this defect isn't something that will "polish out." It's a really deep gouge, that looks like somebody dragged a knife through the plastic, and carved up a flap of plastic on one side of the gouge. Buffing won't do anything to fix a gouge, and it won't make the flap go away. This is something that has to be covered up or the airbox cover needs to be replaced. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Unless you can see the other side, it will buff out. They are the same color all the way through. A body shop can do it in 30 min | ||
| Timebandit |
I'm inclined to agree with the guys who wrote the owners' manual -- there's a limit to how much buffing you can do before the results just don't look right. I've been through plastics buffing before. IME the type of aggressive buffing that's required to take out deep gouges never yields an end result that's as good as I'd like, no matter how fine the finishing steps are. Maybe I'm just too critical. I'd really prefer to cover up the gouge without buffing, or just replace the airbox cover. Thanks for the suggestions. |
