Plastic repair tips for side cover panels + alternate attachment options

[Guest]

Have recently purchased a set of side cover panels for my 82 850L, both of them have minor cracks. In the past I have used a soldering iron with a flat tip to melt the plastic together, and since I have to repaint these anyway, I will probably do both sides and sand smooth. Anyone had success with a different method? Both side covers are also missing pieces off the flats, around the edges, and I am stuck on how to fix this beyond using a different piece of plastic as a patch and "welding" it in. Thoughts?

One of the covers is missing one of the attachment plugs, any tips for alternate attachment options to keep the side cover secure?

[Burque73]

Here's an idea from a bike I looked at earlier this year. Different profile side covers but an improvised mount.

[chuck hahn]

I use PLASTIC WELDER that I get at Orielleys. Its 2 part epoxy sort of thing. Take a dremmel and make a ditch ion each side of the cvracks and fill them with nthe mix. After 24 hrs its sandable and will be like nothing ever happened.

As for the missing spots on the edges. I have done them 2 different ways. I use duct tape and pieces of plastic from blister card packaging to make a dam around the area that's missing. Then I have used the plastic welded and shaped once hardened. I have also use Bondo in the dammed up area and shaped that. Both seemed to be very effective.

[chuck hahn]

Where that piece is riveted on, I would get some plexiglass and that Plastic Welder and glue a piece in. Shape it and paint over it. I will get on my home computer and post some pics of a XCB550 cover I did and you can see the results.

[chuck hahn]

For the tabs..I roll up waxed paper and fill the tube with Plastic Welder and let it harden. Peel off the waxed paper and youll have a round piece of stock. Glue that in place and shape with a dremel and your good to go. Guess you could also buy plastic round stock somewhere for a blank.

[Guest]

+1 on the "plastic welder", I think it works better than "slurry"

[chuck hahn]

In fact, I have a aside cover on a customers 79 Honda that I have to make a tab for. Gonna use the Plastic Welder method.

[Guest]

For the tabs..I roll up waxed paper and fill the tube with Plastic Welder and let it harden. Peel off the waxed paper and youll have a round piece of stock. Glue that in place and shape with a dremel and your good to go. Guess you could also buy plastic round stock somewhere for a blank.

Thanks for the tips! I will pick up some plastic weld epoxy and try it out. For the tabs, ever have any issue with them detaching at the base, or is the plastic epoxy strong enough to hold them? Was thinking could add a small thickish baseplate with a hole the size of the tab drilled through it, use that to give the tab some lateral strength. Or maybe making a mold of one of the original tabs is the way to go, and just cast the tab out of plastic weld epoxy with a small baseplate integral to it, for a larger surface area on the attachment point.

[chuck hahn]

I havent had a release. I set the stud up and let it dry. Then I add some more up around the base kinda thick for reinforcement.

[Guest]

Have recently purchased a set of side cover panels for my 82 850L, both of them have minor cracks. In the past I have used a soldering iron with a flat tip to melt the plastic together, and since I have to repaint these anyway, I will probably do both sides and sand smooth. Anyone had success with a different method? Both side covers are also missing pieces off the flats, around the edges, and I am stuck on how to fix this beyond using a different piece of plastic as a patch and "welding" it in. Thoughts?

One of the covers is missing one of the attachment plugs, any tips for alternate attachment options to keep the side cover secure?

Here is what I did to prevent my side panels from cracking at the weak points. Inside the panel I lined it with fiberglass and let it set up, sometimes two layers. It really strengthened the panel. No more cracks or fractures.

[chuck hahn]

That works too Bill. But doing a ditch and filling from both sides you can sand it and make it look like there never was a crack there.

[Steve]

Next time I have to create something, I will try the Plastic Welder stuff. So far, I have only had to worry about small areas and fixing some cracks, my slurry has done a wonderful job.

When my bike took a few flips in the ditch several years ago, the lid on the left saddlebag was damaged a bit. I pushed the pieces together so they were pretty much aligned, then covered the inside with some slurry. Let it set up for a couple of days, it hasn't moved since.

At the 2016 Ozark rally, my bike went sideways in the parking lot when my foot slipped off the centerstand while trying to get the bike up on it.
I did not realize it at the time, but it apparently started some serious cracking along the bottom of the fairing panels. The cracks made themselves known by vibrating at certain speeds, and it took a while to realize that it was fairing panels making the noise. I removed the fairing, ran some slurry along all of the bottom edges (inside and out), the fairing is nice and quiet again.

Yeah, Plastic Welder might have done the same thing, but I already had the slurry.

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[Guest]

Here is what I did to prevent my side panels from cracking at the weak points. Inside the panel I lined it with fiberglass and let it set up, sometimes two layers. It really strengthened the panel. No more cracks or fractures.

Another good tip, thanks! I would assume after a certain number of years the plastic ages and gets very brittle. A little extra insurance is always nice, since these parts are becoming hard to find and one wouldn't want to lose half a panel going down the road.

[chuck hahn]

One other idea. If you had an old cover from any brand bike...long as it had the same type of tabs...cut an already molded tab out of a donor cover and transplant it to your broke cover.

[Steve]

One other idea. If you had an old cover from any brand bike...long as it had the same type of tabs...cut an already molded tab out of a donor cover and transplant it to your broke cover.

Before I learned about slurry, I found a donor tab, drilled a hole down the middle of it, then drilled a matching hole in the side cover. Also put a countersink in the side panel, then used a short drywall screw to enhance the epoxy that I used. A little bondo covering the screw head, then some paint. Fortunately, it was a black cover, so it was easy to match.

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