Motorcycle tank dent repair?

I know there are few bikers and car enthusiasts here ................

I have a 1982 BMW R80 (airhead). The tank has a dent in the area where the front edge of the seat meets the tank. The previous owner was going to fill the dent and respray the tank but didn't finish the job.

I am drawn to the idea of having the dent removed by a 'paintless dent repair' process.

The bike was a police bike and as such is fitted with a tank that has a equipment tray/box fixed within the top of the tank - this makes access to the dent for repair a little more difficult I would imagine.

Are these paintless repairs a good idea and do they work or would I be better off getting it filled and re painted?

I am having a hard time visualising the area, but depending on the dent, paintless repair can definitely work. Creased metal is usually the main issue, but gentle dents can certainly be pulled out to the point of being imperceptible, especially if they can be accessed from behind (inside the tank?).

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Ah, yes, that looks like the kind of thing they deal with. I recently had two similar dents done on my car and they are completely undetectable to me and anyone who has inspected it. In all honestly, I'd rather leave the dent than fill it, but I think that can very much be improved by paintless repair.

And great bike! I know someone who has two of them in the US.

That looks tricky to Me.To get leverage behind the dent the tray would have to be removed I would think.

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Originally Posted by adigra

Ah, yes, that looks like the kind of thing they deal with. I recently had two similar dents done on my car and they are completely undetectable to me and anyone who has inspected it. In all honestly, I'd rather leave the dent than fill it, but I think that can very much be improved by paintless repair.

And great bike! I know someone who has two of them in the US.

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Thanks! I did wonder if it could be improved on by using one of those kits that pulls the dent out? I think they glue a couple of pads either side of the dent, put a suction cup over the dent and then use them as a lever to gentle pull the dent out.

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Originally Posted by lew07

That looks tricky to Me.To get leverage behind the dent the tray would have to be removed I would think.

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Yes, I think it might be tricky to get one of the rods with a ball on the end into the tank and onto the back of the dent. The tray can't be removed as it's part of the tank and I don't think is worth the hassle!!

I am tempted to leave the bike with the patina it has accumulated over its life but the dent in the tank bugs me!

Hey it’s just a thought.Would You get access to the dent by removal of the fuel tap underneath?

That impression must have bruised the riders pride when they hit that ! Rapid / emergency stop incident.

They glue the pegs on and pull, a good dent guy would do that without a major problem.

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They can also be done using an airline hose into the fuel tap. Alhough it sounds you have effectively a bomb at that point the filler inlet and lack of pressure from a compressor means it is not quite that dangerous.

Thanks for the replies - I'll see if I can find someone local to me in the first instance - if not I see that there are few places that you post the tank to be repaired.

Those old airhead tanks use very thick metal, much thicker than car body panels.
And there's not much surface area where you're tank is deformed, curves and edges will make it harder.

If, as suggested in a previous post, that you try to blow it out with compressed air you're more likely to blow out the sides of the tank, not the dented area.

A decent dent guy will sort that no problem.

If your tank is double skinned a pdr guy can only work with glue pullers but as it's a soft dent and not on a leading edge or body crease that might be all you need.

If it's a single skin and he can get at it with the rods, there should be no problem at all getting that out.

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You could just accept it as character as I do my parallelogram shaped right hand pannier on my GS.

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Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK

A decent dent guy will sort that no problem.

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That's the next problem - trying to find a decent dent guy!

It's true - the tank is very well made and does have thick metal. It is single skin, not double walled. I don't know how it got there but it wasn't from doing an emergency stop!

The bike has character for sure but the dent has to go!!!

Shame about that tray thing. You could fit a Bagster and forget about it.

I have no experience of using a car dent operation for bike tanks but have used John Lock "The Dent Doctor" for classic bike tanks. He got some major dents out of a priceless P11 tank for me a few years ago.
www.originaldentdoctors.co.uk

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Originally Posted by uptheaddicks

I have no experience of using a car dent operation for bike tanks but have used John Lock "The Dent Doctor" for classic bike tanks. He got some major dents out of a priceless P11 tank for me a few years ago.
www.originaldentdoctors.co.uk

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Thanks for the link - I’ll give them a call and see what they can do. I’d rather use someone who specifically repairs bike tanks to be sure of good result.


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Made my eyes water at the thought of what made the dent … ouch