Tank dent repair :(

[Charlie1717]

Well I had my first lay down :(  Fortunately I was not on the bike!
Popped a ratchet strap off and it fell right over (dang cheap wheel lock!).

The harm done wasn't to terrible however, I do have a large dent in the side of my tank now.
There are no creases and the paint is mostly in tackt.

What are the best options of getting the tank fixed?
What do you guys usually do? Is there a good place/person to send it to to get fixed and possibly painted as well. I've already found the paint and decals from... I can't remember king something?


Any ideas! I want it fixed! It makes me sad to look at :( I don't have a pic of it yet but here it is prior to the dent.


I am currently in Indiana but I am moving to Nashville in two weeks.

[TOOLS1]

Any reputable body shop will be able to take care of it. I would check with several, for estimates. Also, you might want to check with some of the "Paintless Dent Repair" places.
TOOLS

[Charlie1717]

I've heard, but never used, of paintless dent repair. So a car body shop would probably be fine to bring it to?
We don't have any reputable motorcycle places near where I live but a few body shops.

[Ray]

Empty your tank and let it dry.  Take a heat gun and get the dent hot without scrorching the paint. Immediatley  put dry ice ( in a Towel) and wipe it all over the dent.  It will pop out with no damage.

[shinyribs]

I'm with Tools on the paintless dent repair. I bought a brand new truck when I got out of high school. My dirtbike fell over in the bed one day and it got the side of the bed.Very similar situation to what happened to you. I had a pretty good sized dent that made me sick.$125 at the paintless dent removal place and you could never tell it happened.Those guys are good.

Sorry about your bikeThat sucks!

[Charlie1717]

Yeah it made me sad... I just stared at it laying there I couldn't move! ha. It could have been much much worse so I'm happy about that. $125 isn't terrible if it gets done right. I won't need to repaint it for quite some time. It will bother me but it is not really necessary to repaint it yet.

[LukeM]

While we like our bikes to be all shiny and scratch free and immaculate, I realize they are just tools to get us from Point A to Point B, just like any other conveyance.  I learned this lesson a long while ago. Sooner or later, they're going to get scratched, or dented, or dirty, or wrecked.  Next new car I get, I'm going to take my best hammer, and put the first dent in it myself.

I agree: if there's no crease in the sheetmetal, you may be able to pop it out with either the heat/dry_ice method, the paintless dent wizard people, or possibly sealing the tank and using a bit of compressed air.  Sometimes they'll pop out with a little pressure and some tapping with a mallet.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Luke M

[Lucky 1]

They use dry ice to remove the dent.

BTW...Those motorcycle tie down straps with the hooks on them come off ALL THE TIME unless it has a safety clip OR you put a couple wraps of tape on them to keep the hook from coming off when you hit a bump.

What happens is you hit a bump and the front forks depress, and the hook flies off.

Ask any motorcycle racer.
.........

BAD                                               GOOD

[Charlie1717]

Yeah it wasn't the straps fault (they were ratchet straps). Forks were compressed, straps were wrapped and attached properly. It made the 2 hour drive home. It was when I released the tension on one of the last 2 straps there was so much on the other strap it pulled it down :( So my fault! Lesson learned...

I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to my stuff being scratch free and perfect but a dent that can be fixed I will fix. The scratches will stay for quite a while.

[Cabreco]

Depending on the dent size & location you may want to try this

http://www.amazon.com/Simoniz-MPAD-4-SIMONIZ-POPS-DENT/dp/B0015D88U0



I have used it previously on tank dents wih success. It works best on flat spot dents.
If it doesn't work, you would have only lost $15