ZXR250C Sponge thingy...

**placidfemme** · 4th July 2005, 07:53

Hey All

A few weeks ago my bike fell over onto the left side while I was cleaning my chain and sprocket (Don't ask how

lol I made a stupid mistake). And anyway, the bike went down and I now have a bent clutch lever, 2 cracks in my faring (both over 4cm long

). And... those of you who have (or have had) ZXR250C's might know, most ZXR's come with the old standard indicators still on the bike, even though the bike has newer indicators installed, that stick out the side of the bike about 3-5cm.

Now when my bike fell it almost ripped out the small indicator, which isn't too much of a problem because the smaller one isn't installed and doesn't get used. So being the smartass that I am... I went and brought myself some tiny screw drivers (those 1mm+ ones) and removed the little indicator... kind of...

The indicator was only "glued" onto the faring (which I only realised by the time I had 98% of it pulled off), with the wires going into the faring... the screws only held the indicator onto the "sponge/foam", and the glue held the sponge/foam onto the bike.

Now my problem is, that now I have the remains of glue/sponge stuck to my faring, which I can't remove... so what could I use to remove the sticky remains... and secondly... I obviously want to repair the indicator and put it back on (to keep the bike in an original as possible condition for the time being). I'm not sure if the sponge/foam stuff has to be anything special. To me it just looks like those 3M sponges that you use to wash the dishes... but grey... Could I just use one of them?

Thanks in advance

P.S. I did a search on-line and can't find any picture similar to what I'm trying to say...

**WildBoarMouse** · 4th July 2005, 08:11

If it's a foamy kind of tape, yep, you could probably replace it with the 3m branded stuff, but check to see which you get as there are heaps of different ones for different purposes. If you go into a foam and rubber supplies place they should be able to match up with width, height and type of adhesive that you need... probably set you back all of $10-20.

To get the remains off, get an icecream stick (or something equally unabrasive) and the girlfriends hair dryer. Set it to a really low setting and warm (not cook) what's left of the foam tape. You should be able to roll some of it off with your finger, the rest with your little wooden scraper. Just be careful you don't set it too hot and bubble the decals.

**placidfemme** · 4th July 2005, 08:28

Originally Posted by WildBoarMouse

If it's a foamy kind of tape, yep, you could probably replace it with the 3m branded stuff, but check to see which you get as there are heaps of different ones for different purposes. If you go into a foam and rubber supplies place they should be able to match up with width, height and type of adhesive that you need... probably set you back all of $10-20.

To get the remains off, get an icecream stick (or something equally unabrasive) and the girlfriends hair dryer. Set it to a really low setting and warm (not cook) what's left of the foam tape. You should be able to roll some of it off with your finger, the rest with your little wooden scraper. Just be careful you don't set it too hot and bubble the decals.

Thanks for your reply... I'm not sure if the foam thingy is a 3M type thing, it just looks like it is... But judging by the condition (all hard and dry) and I'm assuming it's been on there for a few years. Where could I find a foam/rubber supplies place in Auckland?

Neither my partner or I have a hairdryer... But I'm sure I could pull some tricks (no comments on that please lol) with an extension cord and a fan heater... (the neighbors will deffinatly look at me funny then lol).

I was thinking I could just buy some 3M sponges (I'm thinking in purple as my handlebar grips are purple) and making sure I buy the right thickness, I could just cut them into shape and re-glue them back on...

Any suggestions as to which type of glue to use (something that won't be too hard to remove in future incase I decided to get my bike painted when I have the $$$)

Another thing... Where could I go to get the cracks in my faring fixed? Could they be welded?

**unhingedlizard** · 4th July 2005, 09:17

i have a heat gun and a garage you can borrow if you need it.

Where abouts are you?

**placidfemme** · 4th July 2005, 09:19

Originally Posted by unhingedlizard

i have a heat gun and a garage you can borrow if you need it.

Where abouts are you?

I'm in Auckland... Thanks for the offer... What would I use the heat gun for? To remove the gluey stuff?

**WildBoarMouse** · 4th July 2005, 10:38

Originally Posted by placidfemme

Thanks for your reply... I'm not sure if the foam thingy is a 3M type thing, it just looks like it is... But judging by the condition (all hard and dry) and I'm assuming it's been on there for a few years. Where could I find a foam/rubber supplies place in Auckland?

I was thinking I could just buy some 3M sponges (I'm thinking in purple as my handlebar grips are purple) and making sure I buy the right thickness, I could just cut them into shape and re-glue them back on...

Any suggestions as to which type of glue to use (something that won't be too hard to remove in future incase I decided to get my bike painted when I have the $$$)

For the foam tape, I just did a search in the yellowpages... Try this link

As for the glue... whatever you do... don't glue it. What you want is a high quality double sided foam tape with a good adhesive on each side. Any decent foam & rubber place will be able to help you out in that respect. I had to do much the same thing with the wing mirrors on my car. If you were in Hamilton I could point you in the right direction...

Basically, the heat gun is used to warm the adhesive up making it easier to remove. It'll still be a bitch to get ride of but it'll be much easier. Make sure you warm up the whole area... you want to try and avoid a "hot spot" so wave the hairdryer/heatgun around a lot when you do it. Good luck!

Actually... if you bat your eyelashes

you might be able to get one of the guys at the foam/rubber place to help out with the removal. They might have a solvent or a few extra tricks to make it easier.

**wildcat_lgf** · 4th July 2005, 10:55

The other alternative is to use a product called De-Solvit. You can get it from Mitre 10, Placemakers, Bunnings, etc, Repco, and maybe the supermarket. It is citrus-based and pretty much removes anything...badges, stickers, etc. It doesn't affect paintwork, but just make sure you rinse it off so you don't get a residue

You don't need to use too much of it either.

Or I've heard you can use Turpentine, but not as good as De-Solvit.

Or go to Payless Plastics and get some "sticky spot remover" don't know if there is a proper name for it?

Use a bit of heat, it always helps!

**MSTRS:Me** · 4th July 2005, 11:03

Prepsol is a great glue-residue remover. Go to a automotive detailing shop. They will also have the correct grade of double-sided tape for the purposes of reattaching your indicator. Tell them that you need ultra-bond bodymould tape.