My classic style MC jacket is scratching the hell out of my Sportster 883 tank. Any suggestions on what I can do to fix the problem? tape on the buckle? Seems like that would look tacky to me. Also what can I do to get the scratches out. Many are light but a few seem to be deep.

 

Meguiar's Scratch-X. Follow directions on bottle.

Why is the buckle even touching the tank? Getting on the bike before zipping up and buckling the belt?

You can also get a tank bra that covers the rear portion of the tank to protect it from that kind of thing and chaps. Chaps, and even jeans, will scratch the tank over time if it's got dust on it.

 

Never seen one used on a Harley, but we've used 'stick on' tank protectors on sport bikes to solve that problem. No need to use the whole thing...many come in multiple pieces so you can use only what you need. Available in most metric dealers...all kinds of colors and styles...easily removed when you no longer want it on there.

 

My guess would be my fat *** belly.

 

LOL Well, I'm no skinny minny either, but my buckle doesn't come close to the tank.

Here is the tank bra I mentioned.



And a link to how to install it. Simple.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US...ts/-J01204.pdf

http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/sportster-tank-bra

 

Is it scratching the tank when it is buckled?

 

It is the only thing I can think of. The jacket is a little big so the belt portion isn't really cinching the bottom up and it is puffing up in the wind. I usually have a windshield on and maybe that is why I'm starting to see the bigger scratches. Going to have to put it back on.

 

I had a good leather guy put matched color leather over the buckle. Needs to be someone with skill to do it though. And I did this because I didn't want to scratch the tank when forgetting not to buckle it, or leaving it unbuckled when I work on my bike.

If it really is your belly causing the buckle to scratch your tank. I dunno man. Don't want to be an ****, but..the solution is obvious in that case and it will do a whole lot more good than keeping your tank from getting scratched.

If you're wearing this style jacket too big, by the by, you're not getting the best out of it. I needs to be kinda snug to really do its job the way intended. I probably sound like the jacket police, but since wearing these things as intended it's really made my ride better.

 

You may want to take your jacket to a leather shop or a swap meet and have the folks there "tack" the buckle part of the belt to the jacket.
I did this to one of my jackets and it worked out well.

My wife also used the "tank bra" on her bikes and they work well but you may have some paint on the tank under the "bra" but that's better than scratches IMO.

 

I really need to get my eyes examined. I'd swear that jacket is half brown/half black, with the black part of the belt on the brown side, and the brown part of the belt on the black side. Maybe my monitor is screwed up??