Tank Guards

[The Misinformant]

I have bee following this thread in the crush forum for a while

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107398

and am wondering if any one has made their own gaurds for a 640 ADV.

I have checked the index but no one seems to have followind this through to completion yet.

It seems that you really cant get good bolt on crash bars for a pre 04 ADV and I want something to look after the tank/fuel cock areas.

It seems like it might be an interresting after Christmas project.

[bmwktmbill]

Misin,
I am with you 100%. Silly not to make something up. I was thinking about welding up a form fitting aluminum partial shell out of sheet aluminum and glueing it to the tank. There could be a tab that protects the petcock.
Can you weld aluminum?
Bill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.

[meat popsicle]

That is an Orange Crush thread, but I'll take a gander sometime. There are similar threads on the 640a specifically, did you see them? They are of course indexed, but noone has completed the project as I understand it. BigTwin put his method in the one thread, so any DIY fella with some skillz should be able to give it a go.

The best petcock protection appears to be the rallye skidplate boxes, which is a separate project. I suppose the best of both worlds would be to have CF/Kevlar tank guards and rallye skidplate boxes. My idea of complete protection. The 640a tank is damn tough, according to a few testimonies. Mine cracked, but it took a pickup truck broadsiding me to do that... The CF provides some structural rigidity to the guards and the Kevlar provides abrasion resistance; together they are supposedly a great combo and should augment the tank's inherent strength and may help out in quite a few situations. The rallye skidplate boxes will protect the petcock and the engine, perhaps your feet a bit as well.

Looking forward to your results.

[creeper]

Funny this comes up...

I received a PM from KTMtalk member "Chrisbarnes1" today. He just finished making his first set of glue-on CF tank protectors.
I think he did a pretty nice job... my only comment being that he should consider extending the left one down to protect the petcock.
I suggested he post his images here and do a write-up of the materials used along with an install overview.

I don't have the slightest clue if he intends to make any more sets... but I bet he might consider it if someone talked to him in sweet and gentle tones.

Personally, I think tank protectors on a 640 ADV are of limited value... but I've never let someone elses opinion stop me from doing odd stuff, like drilling a bigass hole in my fairing for example.





That's it... Happy New Year,
Creep

[The Misinformant]

Creeper,

That is the kind of way I am leaning but with a bit more coverage onto the sides. Bit of a hybrid between the Chrisbarnes and the uberbling Japanese ones that were floating around.

Probably will go with a CF and Kevlar lay up with a bit of re-inforcing arounfd the pet cock. The idea is to have the gaurd go around/ under the cock towards the lower edge and under the tank.

I have a contact in the aviation repair game were I can get cheap resins and good intel.

[Chrisbarnes1]

Finally joined--my pics preceed me! I'm going to have another go with moulds that allow more "sculpting" on the side instead of a straight line--and also to incorporate a petcock protector (although its easy enough to provide a basic shield its not going to be easy to provide both side access and a reasonable degree of stiffness to take a knock--we'll see how it turns out. I'm going to use a carbon/kevlar cross weave this time.

CB

[Loadedagain]

Originally Posted by The Misinformant

Probably will go with a CF and Kevlar lay up with a bit of re-inforcing arounfd the pet cock. The idea is to have the gaurd go around/ under the cock towards the lower edge and under the tank.

I have a contact in the aviation repair game were I can get cheap resins and good intel.

as i mentioned above i would stay clear of the petcock protection unless you can figure a way of maybe building out in front of it without impeding easy access.

for most of my layups i use west systems epoxy resin. you may want to try them out. very nice stuff. i've always used their slow hardener since time of cure is not a concern and the extra time to layup is nice. their web site: http://www.westsystem.com/

often the fibre material you use is not as critical as the matrix. for example i would stay clear of polyesters... especially with hand layups. they cure very quickly, and you will likely have too much matrix for the amount of fibre. if you are using a polyester i'd set it off real cool, and vacuum bag the bitch!

probably the best way to do guards at home is with about a dozen layers of carbon, maybe a few kevlar outer layers for abrasion, use an epoxy like west system, and vacuum bag it. you will end up with a real nice part.

if you don't have a vacuum pump you can rifle through the junk yard for an old fridge and steal the compressor outa it. makes for a really great little vac unit.

[Hyde]

Another Another Hyde Racing product.

[overlandr]

Originally Posted by Hyde

Another Another Hyde Racing product.

Only one certain way of finding out - drop the bike over and see what happens!

[Chrisbarnes1]

Looks like a nice job---in Lexan?

They look to be fixed by sticky backed velcro discs--certainly will prevent stone chips and may take a low speed fall--but will fill up with dirt and go dull after a while--I'll check out the site.

CB

Originally Posted by Hyde

http://www.advrider.com/forums/attac...1&d=1156782692Another Another Hyde Racing product.

[dl11]

Originally Posted by Hyde

http://www.advrider.com/forums/attac...1&d=1156782692Another Another Hyde Racing product.

Hi
did anybody buy this?
how much is it?
where can I find them?
how good are they?
they look fine for light off road use...

Thought I should update this thread with a pic of the Kevlar version. I know Chris hates making these versus the carbon ones so sorry Chris.

I wasn't crazy about the color of the Kevar with the orange paint but its growing on me. Besides I was looking for function any way.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to make the bike as clean as some of these other posts.

[meat popsicle]

I have those same ones surlyguy, and was about to install them last weekend, but then remembered that I am getting a petcock for christmas... so I would have to uninstall them for that.

I have the fugitive adhesive cartridges for this fancy glue gun, and the hard mount straps prepared... but I will be waiting for the petcock.

[boxermoose]

I've got a set of the Carbon fiber ones from Mark that I haven't yet installed

I'm going back and forth as to keep the bike or get something more road worthy - if anybody wants them for what I paid they just have to PM me otherwise I'l throw 'em in the flea market next week

[Chrisbarnes1]

Nice job--actually the colour is sort of growing on me. One advantage is that they don't show scratches and surface blemishes as easily as the plain carbon version.

You are right--I don't like making them--its pretty close to sackcloth and ashes-but probably good for self control-the moulding bit is ok--its the finishing.

I now have a little trick which is to start with a thin layer of glass cloth around the edges (which also goes beyond the edge during layup)--this is before I apply the kevlar/carbon. This gives a greater depth of workable resin on the outside and makes finishing the edges a little cleaner and avoids too many kevlar "feathers". The cloth disappears when wetted so you wouldn't know--unless you sand a bit too much and reveal the weave--maybe a useful tip for anyone contemplating making their own kit.

Regards, Chris

Originally Posted by Surlyguy

Thought I should update this thread with a pic of the Kevlar version. I know Chris hates making these versus the carbon ones so sorry Chris.

I wasn't crazy about the color of the Kevar with the orange paint but its growing on me. Besides I was looking for function any way.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to make the bike as clean as some of these other posts.