lift fail/paint advice
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
lift fail/paint advice
Hey guys,
I'm about to go out of town for 2 months for work and found a mess tonight. Put my Road King away for the winter a few weeks ago (oil change, wash, top off tank/stabol, tender, cover) and I put the bike on a lift in the back of my garage. Only put the lift up a few inches to get the tires off the concrete. Tonight, I wanted to have one last look at the bike and make sure the tender was still hooked up only to see the bike leaning into the wall. The lift gave way and the bike was leaning to the right against the wall. I now have some serious paint damage as the gas was coming out of the tank (I have the flush mount and it let gas escape the tank). There is about a 5 inch area of paint that has completely bubbled up and the silicone around the gas cap is gone. Only other damage I can see is to the heat shield on the exhaust (about a 3 inch dent). I don't know if the head pipe under the sheild is dented as well yet. That's how the bike was balanced leaning into the wall. Bars, bags and crash bar all seem fine. The bike is now just on its kick stand, covered in the back of the garage.
I'm obvioulsly going to have to get the tank repainted. It's a 2-tone flame blue pearl/silver pearl. The damage from the spilled gas only has effected the blue paint. What is going to need to be done? Strip the whole thing and repaint? Blend in the damaged area leaving the undamaged silver and pinstripe alone? Will this ever match the rest of my tins?
I'm so pissed as I leave for the airport in a few hours and can't deal with this until March....
Any advise?
I'm about to go out of town for 2 months for work and found a mess tonight. Put my Road King away for the winter a few weeks ago (oil change, wash, top off tank/stabol, tender, cover) and I put the bike on a lift in the back of my garage. Only put the lift up a few inches to get the tires off the concrete. Tonight, I wanted to have one last look at the bike and make sure the tender was still hooked up only to see the bike leaning into the wall. The lift gave way and the bike was leaning to the right against the wall. I now have some serious paint damage as the gas was coming out of the tank (I have the flush mount and it let gas escape the tank). There is about a 5 inch area of paint that has completely bubbled up and the silicone around the gas cap is gone. Only other damage I can see is to the heat shield on the exhaust (about a 3 inch dent). I don't know if the head pipe under the sheild is dented as well yet. That's how the bike was balanced leaning into the wall. Bars, bags and crash bar all seem fine. The bike is now just on its kick stand, covered in the back of the garage.
I'm obvioulsly going to have to get the tank repainted. It's a 2-tone flame blue pearl/silver pearl. The damage from the spilled gas only has effected the blue paint. What is going to need to be done? Strip the whole thing and repaint? Blend in the damaged area leaving the undamaged silver and pinstripe alone? Will this ever match the rest of my tins?
I'm so pissed as I leave for the airport in a few hours and can't deal with this until March....
Any advise?
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 14,744
Likes: 402
From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
too bad you can't pull the tank and get it to a painter...
can you pull it and drain the gas into a gas can ( then just pour that into your car rather than leave a gas can lying around...with your luck...)
leave the empty tank where a pal can deliver it to a painter while you are gone?
probably a complete repaint if the paint has bubbled
I've seen 2 bikes go off lifts, nether of them was strapped.
1 nose dived when the rear wheel was removed, owner forgot about shifting balance point
the other the guy's kids ran into the rear of the bike when chasing the dog through the garage, the bike spun off the lift and ...down
advice for the next guy; strap the bike down...use the outriggers and wheel locks
and DO NOT trust the hydraulic ram to hold pressure*, most lifts have some kind of locking device to keep them up. the ram is to lift the bike to a height at which it can be secured, locked in position...and to lower the lift slowly.
I use a $69 China made lift..it works. The onus is on me to know what I'm doing. the locking mechanism is "automatic" but I still check visually that it works
If the owner isn't competent on a $69 lift, a $400 lift isn't going to fix his mistakes for him.
ouch
when storing a bike it is best to have the tank full or empty so that the tank doesn't rust internally.
I prefer an empty tank.
I have a bunch of bikes and usually a couple are stored "dry"
mike
*same as working under a car, the floor jack gets the car up, then you put jackstands under the car to support it. Cars can and do fall off of floor jacks all the time
can you pull it and drain the gas into a gas can ( then just pour that into your car rather than leave a gas can lying around...with your luck...)
leave the empty tank where a pal can deliver it to a painter while you are gone?
probably a complete repaint if the paint has bubbled
I've seen 2 bikes go off lifts, nether of them was strapped.
1 nose dived when the rear wheel was removed, owner forgot about shifting balance point
the other the guy's kids ran into the rear of the bike when chasing the dog through the garage, the bike spun off the lift and ...down
advice for the next guy; strap the bike down...use the outriggers and wheel locks
and DO NOT trust the hydraulic ram to hold pressure*, most lifts have some kind of locking device to keep them up. the ram is to lift the bike to a height at which it can be secured, locked in position...and to lower the lift slowly.
I use a $69 China made lift..it works. The onus is on me to know what I'm doing. the locking mechanism is "automatic" but I still check visually that it works
If the owner isn't competent on a $69 lift, a $400 lift isn't going to fix his mistakes for him.
ouch
when storing a bike it is best to have the tank full or empty so that the tank doesn't rust internally.
I prefer an empty tank.
I have a bunch of bikes and usually a couple are stored "dry"
mike
*same as working under a car, the floor jack gets the car up, then you put jackstands under the car to support it. Cars can and do fall off of floor jacks all the time
Last edited by mkguitar; Dec 31, 2013 at 11:37 AM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,216
Likes: 3,044
From: St.Louis Mo.
i would never leave my bike up on my lift for an extended period of time. it's not going anywhere sitting on the side stand. only use it for service,not storage.
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