Side Cover Repair

[Guest]

The side covers on the 83 1100E that I just bought are held on with wire because the tabs are all broken off. I don't want to replace them because the bike was repainted and the outside of the covers look great. Has anybody found a way to repair these broken off tabs? Can you fashion new tabs somehow and epoxy them on the covers? Any help would be appreciated.

[Road Rash]

I had pretty good success rebuilding areas of my factory plastic headlight bucket with ABD cement. Just wondering if you couldn't do the same with your side covers. Maybe use the cement to fashion them off the covers, and then use the cement to attach them?

[terrylee]

I believe there is a couple of ways shown on Basscliff's site. terrylee

[AJ]

ABS cement from a good plumbing supply house will provide the correct glue, but getting the tabs fabricated is the hard part.

You can make the tabs out of any ABS plastic (the flexible black plastic that so many bike parts are made out of), as well as things commonly thrown on the curb on trash day (e.g., the nozzle of a leaf blower or many children's toys).

In fact, you can even make your own ABS cement by shaving it into a jar and adding a little acetone (search for my thread on how to do this).

The hard part will be to fabricate the tabs just right, and to get them aligned right, especially if somebody filed off your original tabs (as was done to my side panels),

Good luck!

[Road Rash]

Yeah, well what I am trying to explain is that you can use the ABS cement to make the actual tabs, too. Like your DIY cement, all it is is ABS plastic dissolved in a solvent, so when the solvent evaporates, what's left? ABS plastic. Pour it in a homemade mold and let it set up.

[retcol]

Thanks all, I'll try to make them out of ABS cement.