Tourer hardbag repair.

[Tropic traveler]

We had a little mishap today  , Kim ran her Valk into the LH bag on my '97 making quite a nice little repair job necessary. No damage to her Valk she hit it with the front tire.


Anyhow, I got all the chunks from the hit but I am kinda at a loss as to how to go about the repair. I don't know what kind of plastic it is to get the right product to repair it. Can I use heat to get the distorted pieces to go back into place?
Anybody been there & done that??

[hubcapsc]

Our bags are made from ABS, like cheap plumbing parts. The plumbing supply store
has ABS glue.

I can't imagine it will look right after you glue it back together... if you have
to go that route, I understand good painters/body-workers can fix our
bags up like new even if they're real busted up...

-Mike

[Tropic traveler]

Yeah, I kinda thought the same about repairing it but I'm going to give it a shot. I've been itching to do a repaint so this may be the springboard. 

[Oklahoma_Valk]

If you decided to fix it, make sure to take pics!

Looks to me like too big of a job to be fixed. You will probably need a new bag. : (


okie

[Jess from VA]

I repaired cracked ABS lowers on a Harley (but not a hole).  Glued it back together, and then roughed up the inside and laid in a couple wider layers of fiberglass cloth and resin.  I know glassing ABS is probably wrong, but it made the repair much stronger and lasted for many years before it began to slowly separate (and it was out in the weather unlike the inside of a bag).  The inside dried rough and abrasive and was never sanded smooth because I could not get a power tool in the narrow curve, but it was inside and barely visible.  FWIW

[hager the horrible]

I have had some success repairing such items using the black abs plumbing glue and fiberglass window screen just did a badly busted up fairing on a gl1500 wing I say go for it what have you to loose

[fudgie]

Your getting good at fixing bikes recently. 

[signart]

It's repairable allright. You can "sew" up the crack with a soldering gun. Make stitches back and forth like in a baseball using the heat instead of thread. Repaired my sons mx fenders back in the day. Hopefully you have the large piece for the hole.
Get a Permatex plastic radiator repair kit (kits) to fill any holes left on the outside, and then reinforce following directions in the kit on the INSIDE. Kit contains fabric & everything you need to make a strong repair. Works fast, you need to work fast. File the outside repair with about 60 grit on a paint stir stick, then use filler and finish sanding & shaping. You have nothing to lose.

[John Schmidt]

Really, how fast was Eddie backing up when he ran into you? 

[longrider]

I've done repairs on abs.  As stated, try to piece back together what you can to keep the shape reasonably smooth.  Rough up the inside with some medium sandpaper and lay at least two separate runs of fiberglass maybe 3-4 inches each side of the damage.  This will add all of the strength you need.  Bondo her smooth pain the inside black and repaint.

warren

[jimmytee]

I've done repairs on abs.  As stated, try to piece back together what you can to keep the shape reasonably smooth.  Rough up the inside with some medium sandpaper and lay at least two separate runs of fiberglass maybe 3-4 inches each side of the damage.  This will add all of the strength you need.  Bondo her smooth pain the inside black and repaint.

warren

My experience, as a teenager, my first street bike was 1981 Honda Silverwing. My dad and I, he had a 1982 same,  were riding side by side and came to a split in the road. He was on my right and he went left and I thought we were going straight. The bike fell when I hit the curb and cracked the fairing. I tried fixing and using bondo, but the bondo didn't seem like it adhered well to the abs. Ended up getting a new fairing shell.

[welder]

do a search on internet. search Craig Vetter he sells a ABS repair kit on his web site

[scoot]

This may be another option:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Honda-Valkyrie-GL1500c-Saddle-Bag-Left-Bottom-Only-/170971274105?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ceae9b79&vxp=mtr

[BF]

This may be another option:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Honda-Valkyrie-GL1500c-Saddle-Bag-Left-Bottom-Only-/170971274105?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ceae9b79&vxp=mtr

Why does that bag look like it's been in a house fire?

[Gryphon Rider]

This may be another option:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Honda-Valkyrie-GL1500c-Saddle-Bag-Left-Bottom-Only-/170971274105?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ceae9b79&vxp=mtr

Why does that bag look like it's been in a house fire?

It certainly isn't an OEM saddlebag. Probably a Champion one.

[Tropic traveler]

Well, we went back to Daytona today to check out the big swap meet at ISB & I95. We were mainly looking for mirrors for Kim's SS750 either Harley to adapt or some decent 10mm mount kind. No luck there but we did come across a booth with a moderately priced ABS "welding" kit. It's basically a bunch of PVC powder & a soldering iron. Saw a couple of videos that described the procedure that signart suggested to a T. May purchase one of their kits as I have no soldering iron in my tool chest.
I do have the missing chunk so all I have to do is a BUNCH of "hot stitching" & then some ABS "bondo-ing". I guess after I get the repair done I will have a painting decision to make!
Leaning towards a total repaint, solid burgandy with some gold pinstriping. Kinda tired of the ice cream truck look or the Santa Claus look at Christmas time. 
I will take pics as I go... unless someone has a resonably priced LH Tourer bag bottom only.

[Mallett]

Fiberglass it from the the inside for strength & use Putty-Cote to fix the outside...

[Thunderbolt]

Eddie Harbor Freight has a couple of plastic welding kits.  They come with several different kinds of welding "rods"  I have one.  You are welcome to use it if you want.  I have used some of the rods, so not sure which ones I have left.  It is basically a concentrated heat gun.

[Tropic traveler]

Your getting good at fixing bikes recently. 

Yeah, you aint kiddin'. I have two workbenches with Shadow parts spread out all over them. No room to work on the Valk bag!
At least I did get the bent up tag & bracket fixed today. 

[Tropic traveler]

Eddie Harbor Freight has a couple of plastic welding kits.  They come with several different kinds of welding "rods"  I have one.  You are welcome to use it if you want.  I have used some of the rods, so not sure which ones I have left.  It is basically a concentrated heat gun.

I'll check that out Terry, there's a HF right up the road from me. 

[Tropic traveler]

Some better pics.

Missing piece.

Damage.



Looks like the impact may have shifted the whole mounting set up a bit to the left. Shouldn't be too hard to bang it back into place. 

[gordonv]

Like already mentioned, ABS glue.

As for the inside, get a piece of 4" ABS pipe, cut in half (lenght wise) and maybe 6" section (large enough to fit inside your bag).

Place this on a cookie sheet, and heat in the oven till it "melts" flat. Then while still warm, place it over the inside of you bag you want it to re-inforce. When cooled, mark it's location, remove, and sand the bag and the plastic, and then using ABS glue, place it back.

Another way to re-inforce your saddle bag lids for racks. Saw this post in goldwingdocs, for a re-inforcing for a trunk rack.

[Skinhead]

Like already mentioned, ABS glue.

As for the inside, get a piece of 4" ABS pipe, cut in half (lenght wise) and maybe 6" section (large enough to fit inside your bag).

Place this on a cookie sheet, and heat in the oven till it "melts" flat. Then while still warm, place it over the inside of you bag you want it to re-inforce. When cooled, mark it's location, remove, and sand the bag and the plastic, and then using ABS glue, place it back.

Another way to re-inforce your saddle bag lids for racks. Saw this post in goldwingdocs, for a re-inforcing for a trunk rack.

Any idea on the temp to set the oven at???

[hubcapsc]

Any idea on the temp to set the oven at???

... or how long the green bean casserole tastes like burnt plastic ? 

-Mike "seems like a great idea, though..."

[Valkpilot]

Any idea on the temp to set the oven at???

... or how long the green bean casserole tastes like burnt plastic ? 

-Mike "seems like a great idea, though..."

Using a piece of ABS pipe this way is a great tip!

ABS will soften and become rubbery at 221° F, so 220° F to 225° F should be good, just keep an eye on it.  It won't actually melt, but will go from the rubbery state to burnt if you go much higher in temp.

BBQ or welder's gloves would be good options for handling the hot material.

[Skinhead]

Any idea on the temp to set the oven at???

... or how long the green bean casserole tastes like burnt plastic ? 

-Mike "seems like a great idea, though..."

Using a piece of ABS pipe this way is a great tip!

ABS will soften and become rubbery at 221° F, so 220° F to 225° F should be good, just keep an eye on it.  It won't actually melt, but will go from the rubbery state to burnt if you go much higher in temp.

BBQ or welder's gloves would be good options for handling the hot material.

So the boiling point of water is 212F @ sealevel, would boiling it work, perhaps with a little salt added to raise the boiling point?  Just trying to maintain a consistant temperature with out screwing up the oven.

[Valkpilot]

So the boiling point of water is 212F @ sealevel, would boiling it work, perhaps with a little salt added to raise the boiling point?  Just trying to maintain a consistant temperature with out screwing up the oven.

Wouldn't hurt to try.  All you're trying to do is shape it into a backing piece that will be glued in place to support the break area.

[gordonv]

Here is the original post.

http://goldwingdocs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=690

I didn't read it again, and don't recall there being a temp listed, so I'm sure the above advise would be accurate.

I would suggest heating it slowly, curved up, and slowly increasing the temp evey few minutes till it starts to sag.