Reinforcing cracked floor of tour pack

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Believer45

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Messages
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Location
Ohio
My Bike Models
1962 Triuimph Bonneville (sold)
1975 BMW R90/6 (bought new, sold 20+ years later)
1985 GL1200 Interstate, LOVE this bike.
1985 GL1200I tour pack floor has cracked out around all four mounting bolts. I previously repaired with body resin and fibergass mesh but after 5 years or so it has cracked again. I have seen steel plates advertised for Harley tour packs and, after thinking about it, my thought is to use a piece of 13 gauge or so aluminum diamond plate to cut a new floor using the carpet as a pattern. I am thinking about using a large amount of body panel adhesive to glue the aluminum plate to the inside floor of the tour pack and drilling/installing with longer bolts. If this does not seem to be stable enough my next step would be to cut another plate to go between the tourpack and the rack it bolts to, gluing it to the underside of the tour pack with the same body panel adhesive. Has anyone done something like this or done any kind of repair to the cracked floor of a tour pack?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Dave / Believer45
 
Did two paint jobs this past year, my 1500 and 1200. Had several good cracks to repair and pieces to replace on both. The rear trunk is ABS, and as such needs to be repaired with ABS pieces and cement, had to repair a crack on my rear trunk as well. Remove all material from around the mounting bolts, give yourself a good 4 inch square. Vee out all cracks - dremel tool works good, and apply ABS cement to the cracks, inside and underside. Smooth out to suit, sand the area and attach new 3-4 inch square pieces of 1/8th inch ABS sheet inside and out, allow to cure well - couple of days. Use clamps to ensure the new pieces are firmly against the original surface. This will stand up.

Had issues with cracks on the front fairing as well:
Front Fairing Cracks.jpg
Had to vee these out and rebuild inside and out before painting:
Front Fairing Cracks 2.jpg
Has to be done or the cracks will appear in the new finish, not something you want. Finished product:
Front Fairing Gold-Brown Painted - after repairs.jpg


Had to repair a corner of the rear trunk as well:
Trunk Corner Repair.jpg
Trunk Corner Repair 2.jpg


Didn't take pictures of trunk repair.

Used lots of small ABS pieces and cement on my 1200 and 1500 projects.

Have always had an issue with the trunk lid going too far forward. Being an economical Canadian, decided I'd do a mod so I could attach cords to limit the forward movement of the trunk lid. I cut 2X2 squares from a 1/16th inch ABS sheet, punched a slot in this with a screwdriver. Used a cable staple in the slot - had these kicking around. Sonya crocheted the lid restraints - personalized the job. Glued these pieces to the inside of the trunk and lid. Works well and very inexpensive. Pictures of the mod pieces:
Trunk Restraint.jpg
Trunk Restraint 2.jpg
Going to something similar to the saddlebag lids, but have not decided what as yet.

Good luck.
 
Oatey still makes ABS cement and clear general purpose cleaner. I get mine on Amazon now that ABS isn't used in our area. I reinforce with fiberglass cloth bedded in ABS cement if needed. Pieces of ABS are readily obtained from friendly service departments. I was given the whole right side of a ~2014 'wing that was wreck take-offs. Mounting taps and plastic galore!
 
I'm late to this, but for reinforcement, you can always buy thin ABS sheets off Amazon or other sites, sand off the paint in the area you want to reinforce, then use ABS solvent to bond it to the location.

Also, both MEK and acetone can be used to "cement" ABS. If you want to fill in a gap, you can take any ABS plastic and make a paste by cutting it up and letting it soak in MEK or Acetone for a few days.

Note that the process is less like gluing two pieces together and more like welding. And ABS is a very common plastic.
 
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