Well I thought today I would start cleaning up the top box, the PPO must have had something that he wanted to hide cause it was lined top and bottom in metal tape! strange but true.... I have also decided to scrap the original extra carrier that was on top as I won't be using it at all and it really could do with rechroming... Some pics to show how I have got on...














The Pile of crap that I removed from the inside of the lid!... Still need to do the bottom half



Holes filled and ready for priming at the weekend

TC , did you think of whether to use the original mount ( underside of lid) for remounting the strap? that way you can plug that hole as well.
did the foil take much to remove?
PO must have had aliens in the topbox.
good work so far.

I was a bit confused as to what the hole in the middle was for, it had a rubber grommit in it I am still thinking about filling it in but need to get something to fill it properly before filling with filler...

The other 4 holes I flared them on both sides so the filler would get a good grip... need another quick coat of filler still...

The foil was a pain it came off in small strips but using a scraper helped and then soaked it in the bowl to get rid of the sticky residue!

I am thinking of sparying the inside with a black plastic spray to give it it's shine back...

The bottom half is putting up a fight in allowing the foil to be removed there is a hole in the bottom of the case which makes me think that it may have been used to hold a transmitter of some sort ae mounted in the case roof apart from that I think the PO was trying to hide something inside lol!!!

A wild stab in the dark would be he/she wanted to reduce the amount of heat radiating into the top box and warming the contents but I suspect it would only be marginally effective at doing that. the hole in the lid might have been for a radio antenna. Anyway you look to be doing a top job in fixing it all up.
Regards,
K-BIKE

twincarb wrote:I was a bit confused as to what the hole in the middle was for

Could it have been for an aerial, TC?

Paul.

If there was active electronics in it the metal tape could have been to stop the RF emissions or induced emissions as per the CE standards that is the tape was a shield.
Halo

Plugging the hole on the top?

Easy, stick a nice BMW roundel on the top and fill the bottom with epoxy.
It will be clean, waterproof and looks like original.

Be careful with this type of top case. They open the wrong way. If the cover is not latched correctly, the wind will catch in and open it. (How do I know that ?)

CF

I can only imagine that it was for an aerial....

I like CF idea but may adapt it slightly and put the BMW badge on the inside that means I get the nice smooth surface on the top but when the case is opened you have an obscure badge....

If anyone was to question me about it I just turn round and say you question a badge on the inside of the case, but don't mention the engine lays on it's side!!!

Been there , done that. Surprisingly everything remained intact , just took a bit to close it on the run.( no strap insitu ).

Found a bit of time today.... So decided to fill the hole in the top as I am not going to be using it.... finished filling the other holes and got a couple of coats of primer on....

Looking magnificent! Don't want to pop round and do mine do you
Regards,
K-BIKE

Good work twincarb!

+1.

Aaargghh it was a pizza delivery box.....and the drinks on the tray on top to keep them cool.....
"BMW OK Pizza, we deliver"

LOL

Klompy the grey brick wrote:Aaargghh it was a pizza delivery box.....and the drinks on the tray on top to keep them cool.....
"BMW OK Pizza, we deliver"

LOL

That would explain the invention of the square pizza to allow it to fit into a top box a lot easier!

I have just rubbed down the primer there are a couple of war wounds on of the edges that I should fill with filler... or I could just leave as it is and keep it with some character!

Will get another coat of primer on today and see if I can't get the colour sorted tomorrow....

Send your fairing bits to me and I will sort them out..... May take a while mind lol!

i have an answer for the crap under the lid mate

he must have been using a communications type 2 way radio ...uhf cb perhaps ?

the aluminium may have provided a "ground plane " used to match the swr of the antenna when mounted

on a metal body car ...no problem ...but plastic on a bike ...= big issue and poor transmission

looking good !!!!

Got some colour onto the lid today... going to let it dry out for the next couple of days I managed to get a run on one part..... where the middle panel drops to the sides..... but it will come out with some 600g without any problems. Will get it lacquered when I am on nights

Nice colour!

blakey wrote:Nice colour!

sure is..... noice.
top job TC, fantastic effort and it shows.

Very nice indeed TC!

Good work TC, looks great

GMcQ

Thanks for the comments I am happy with how it's coming out .... Am trying to decide what colour to paint my work bench hehe

I was able to sort out the run yesterday and give it a final coat of colour before getting the lacquer on the lid.



I may not worry about rubbing it down and have to go through the rigromol of doing it properly! Not because I am feeling idle.... but I want to get it on the bike now and not wait 2 weeks for the lacquer to cure fully!!!! aghhhh lol

hmmmmm lol oh what to do....

looks great

The bad news is.... This morning one of the lads in work noticed a strong petrol smell where the bike was parked...

Have just got her in the garage and had a look Tank off paint is bubbled in one area, cleaned the paint back turned the tank flat and out streams petrol.

Oh the great question do I weld it or do I get a new tank and go through the hassle of painting it. Damn

Depends on where it's gone I would say. If its gone "outside" the bottom seams then maybe weld but if it's on the underside and out of site I would fix it with some of the proprietarty chemical metals for the job. Loads of threads on here about what you can use but in the main they are very successful.

88

It has gone just off of the join and the hole is about 2mm in diameter looks like only the paint finish was holding it in place.



You can see where the paint has all blistered with the fuel

Permatex make a strip epoxy that fixes that permanently and cheaply.
http://www.permatex.com/products/product-categories/specialized-maintenance-repair/professional-repair-systems/permatex-fuel-tank-repair-kit-detail

Best thing since sliced bread. I have fixed five tanks and all are still OK with the oldest repair now at 5 years.

That would have been a dream to use if I could have picked some up from the local auto factor. I have got one that they reccommend leaving for 24 hours.... Guess I will be using the thundercat tonight for work!

Not the prettyist of repairs but it does what it says on the tin! .... Question is do I take a punt that it is going to hold and give it 2 hours to cure then get the bike back together so I can ride it to work tonight....

twincarb wrote: .... Question is do I take a punt that it is going to hold and give it 2 hours to cure then get the bike back together so I can ride it to work tonight...

Eh.......No. Although if it is expoy based a little gentle heat with a hair dryer will help it go off in these temperatures but I wouldn't rush it.

The main reason is to beware that heat can be generated in the tank by the chemical reactions in the repair compound which could cause the petrolium to go Whooof!

it specifies the minimum time is an hour, I have just checked it and it is stone cold now. The paste that comes with it drys in the air very quickly.

I don't think there is much need for an introduction to the following pics...







Just got to fit her up to the bike and get a photo on her....

Very nice top box mate, good finish. I just can't get the hang of painting and believe me I have tried!
Cheers
Dave

its easy honest!! I have just learnt from my mistakes to be honest... I was impressed by the results I got here cause I used spray cans.... I would have rather used a compressor as you can control the flow a lot easier, but I had no chance of bringing the little compressor back from work due to my car being off the road.

Schweet TC. Looks almost Candy coated - can't believe you got that result with spray cans. Good work.

88

Nice work TC just love that blue

Looks good, great work

GMcQ

Put the top box on the bike today.... No pics as had to take it off as I need to replace the foam bits on the carrier.... I seem to recall seeing some in work so shall grab some tomorrow.

When the top box locates on the carrier how much movement should there be? I seem to have a fair amount not sure if the foam lifting up the carrier would help at all.... Also I noticed at the front there is a clip thats broken on my top box.... on the front at the bottom... is it important?

twincarb wrote:Also I noticed at the front there is a clip thats broken on my top box.... on the front at the bottom... is it important?

Is it this you have in mind tc?

If yes, it keeps the bracket and topbox in position..relative to each other.
W/o it the bracket is able to move forth/back in the carrier....and the topbox
could fall of the bike.

But I think the chance is rather small, if you got a good and tight fit at the dzus fastener.

Thats the one Inge, mine isnt as complete as yours is it's just the ends that have broken off.

The dzus fastener isn't as tight a fit as I would have liked mind will have to have a closer look at it to see if it's been damaged over time

Just a quick post of the top box reunited with the bike! Not sure how many years it has been but I think it looks good. It may not be the largest of top box's but I have more than enough room on the bike storage wise now

More than enough room WoW can I have one of those please it sounds like the tardus top box.

Looks good TC . I'm a fan of the OEM top box - just right for day trips

twincarb wrote:

The dzus fastener isn't as tight a fit as I would have liked mind will have to have a closer look at it to see if it's been damaged over time

Even when new, the fastener allows the top-case to rattle around a bit and then that chews the coating from the rear carrier (as well as being noisy at low speed over a bumpy road).

Try some of this:



Stick it to the underside of the case where it sits on the carrier. It's cheap enough to replace as and when it becomes compressed.

I have a roll here, PM me for my address and call around for a strip if you want.

.