Keeping your tank paint safe w a tank bag?

[Millietant]

I was like you for the first 25 years of my ownership of my current FJ Bryan - I always looked after it, kept it clean, tidy and maintained, but never worried about it being pristine........

But then.... I got old......and now I actually do care about the bike deeply - after my many "affairs"/"flings" with younger prettier models, I've come to appreciate the attributes of the old girl and I cherish her.......

She's definitely not "pristine", but I think of her as the Raquel Welch of the motorcycle world (or with the surgery she's had, maybe others would think of her as the Jane Fonda) 

[Millietant]

I'm with Pat and Bryan on this - riv-nuts in the top of the petrol tank.......nope, no way, never.......not in my tank !!!!

[fj1289]

Aaaaah, Nope

^+1.  Rivnuts are evil.  I've had to take them out of aircraft before, one with the tap still stuck in it. 

Am I the only one here who was never worried about keeping the bike pristine?  Mine looks great from a couple meters away (please note good use of metric system from a US citizen) but all my bike's imperfections means I don't worry about it and I just ride.

Nope.  My street bike is painted flat black (rattle can of course!)  "Clean" it with windex, "wax" it with WD40...

[krusty]

Aaaaah, Nope

^+1.  Rivnuts are evil.  I've had to take them out of aircraft before, one with the tap still stuck in it. 

Am I the only one here who was never worried about keeping the bike pristine?  Mine looks great from a couple meters away (please note good use of metric system from a US citizen) but all my bike's imperfections means I don't worry about it and I just ride.

Nope.  My street bike is painted flat black (rattle can of course!)  "Clean" it with windex, "wax" it with WD40...

Noooo, not WD40, use Mr Sheen!
Next time SWMBO goes to the store ask her to get it for you - she'll think you will be doing the furniture. MWHahahah.

[Waiex191]

I just cleaned off my front wheel with WD40!  Still is not pristine though. 

[Millietant]

i used to use WD40 to clean the chain lube off my back wheel before I washed and polished it....was always worried about it getting on the tyre and brake disc, so sprayed it onto the cloth I was using rather than onto the wheel itself.

I've found the Muc Off brand of products work well on the bike and recently started to use Autoglym car polish on the bodywork (because we had a bottle that was sitting on a shelf). It's good enough for me ! 

[Motofun]

I bought some of that new nano ceramic "wax" stuff to try out.  I tested in on my '95 Chevy plow truck...just in case.  Holy Cow, it really works!  After a month of using the truck as it was meant to be used (ie abused), I hosed it off and aside from some tar it looks fine.  Going to try it out on my track bikes that get lots of bugs and hot rubber stuck to them...hoping for the best.

[fj1289]

Aaaaah, Nope

^+1.  Rivnuts are evil.  I've had to take them out of aircraft before, one with the tap still stuck in it. 

Am I the only one here who was never worried about keeping the bike pristine?  Mine looks great from a couple meters away (please note good use of metric system from a US citizen) but all my bike's imperfections means I don't worry about it and I just ride.

Nope.  My street bike is painted flat black (rattle can of course!)  "Clean" it with windex, "wax" it with WD40...

Noooo, not WD40, use Mr Sheen!
Next time SWMBO goes to the store ask her to get it for you - she'll think you will be doing the furniture. MWHahahah.

Don't forget - I'm talking FLAT black paint - the awD40 just keeps it from looking "chalky" after a while.   

Made the mistake once of thinking some wax would give it a satin sheen - made it very splotchy and nasty looking - had to stop it off and start over!

[ribbert]

^+1.  Rivnuts are evil.  I've had to take them out of aircraft before, one with the tap still stuck in it. 

You may have had a bad experience with them, but Rivnuts are great (if used within their limitations ). I've found them not very suitable for thin metal (or trying to run a tap through one when it's unloaded), "Plusnuts" work much better. In fact, if only using in small quantities, thin sheet or one off applications they are always better (IMO) but they are comparatively expensive in small quantities.

However, if you need a blind nut, you need a blind nut.

If anyone has a better solution, please post about it.

Noel

[Waiex191]

I use aviation style nutplates. In this picture you can see the nutplates in the reflection.


Also the missing paint was from when I had them installed on the wrong part.  It is a handy demonstration of that the nutplate legs look like.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/categories/aircraft_parts/ap/menus/ha/nut_anchor.html

Granted this type of blind nut would be very hard to install in the tank.  You need access to both sides to set the solid rivets that hold it. You could used pulled rivets but they are not as strong.

[ribbert]

I use aviation style nutplates.......Granted this type of blind nut would be very hard to install in the tank.  You need access to both sides to set the solid rivets that hold it.

What ever section of riveted metal shown in the photo not only looks beautiful, but appears too clean to have flown? (I'm a sucker for beautiful metal work - riveted, welded, formed, worked, polished, whatever)

But as you say, with nut plates you still need access to the back to fit them and in a non aviation application, that means you could just use a conventional fasteners. The issue is using a proper blind nut with sufficient strength for the job.

What, btw, is the plane?

Noel

[Dads_FJ]

I'm with Pat and Bryan on this - riv-nuts in the top of the petrol tank.......nope, no way, never.......not in my tank !!!!

Yea, drilling holes in the top of ones tank is not for every bike or everyone, but some odd years later I've had zero issues with the riv-nuts on my trusty steed.  #Noregrets #FormFollowsFunction

[Waiex191]

I use aviation style nutplates.......Granted this type of blind nut would be very hard to install in the tank.  You need access to both sides to set the solid rivets that hold it.

What ever section of riveted metal shown in the photo not only looks beautiful, but appears too clean to have flown? (I'm a sucker for beautiful metal work - riveted, welded, formed, worked, polished, whatever)

But as you say, with nut plates you still need access to the back to fit them and in a non aviation application, that means you could just use a conventional fasteners. The issue is using a proper blind nut with sufficient strength for the job.

What, btw, is the plane?

Noel

Thanks Noel!  It's a Sonex Waiex.  My oldest son and I have been building it since he was 11 and it has not flown yet. I need to stop messing around with motorcycles and sailboats so I can finish this thing.

[Waiex191]

Yea, drilling holes in the top of ones tank is not for every bike or everyone, but some odd years later I've had zero issues with the riv-nuts on my trusty steed.  #Noregrets #FormFollowsFunction

That's hard to argue with!  My bad rivnut experience was during a restoration project of a 1946 C140.  They used them to hold tank covers on a metalized wing and a few other places.

[ribbert]

I use aviation style nutplates.......Granted this type of blind nut would be very hard to install in the tank.  You need access to both sides to set the solid rivets that hold it.

What ever section of riveted metal shown in the photo not only looks beautiful, but appears too clean to have flown? (I'm a sucker for beautiful metal work - riveted, welded, formed, worked, polished, whatever)

But as you say, with nut plates you still need access to the back to fit them and in a non aviation application, that means you could just use a conventional fasteners. The issue is using a proper blind nut with sufficient strength for the job.

What, btw, is the plane?

Noel

Thanks Noel!  It's a Sonex Waiex.  My oldest son and I have been building it since he was 11 and it has not flown yet. I need to stop messing around with motorcycles and sailboats so I can finish this thing.

It looks ready to fly, can't be too much left to do. What engine option did you choose, did your son discover girls or manage to maintain his interest and do you fly regular aircraft?

What a great project to build with your son, I love the look of the continuous line of the engine cowl and the canopy, very Bell X-1ish.
I started a less ambitious project with my son when he was 8, to build a scale car, he's now 30 and let's just say the car has a few bugs to iron out.

Love the street names!

Noel