Minor Scratch on Gas Tank

While getting my 600 miles break-in service done at a local dealer I picked up a Cortech 14 Liter Magnetic Tank bag for my blue 2007 FZ6. I tried it out on one of the used FZ6s in on the sales floor. As the bag looked good, seemed not to scratch the tank, I was positive about riding back home with the bag on tank.
When I took the bag off I noticed a pretty deep 2" + scratch on the right side of my tank. OUCH! :rant: It must of have happened as I was taking the bag off. Instead of carefully and slowly lifting the magnets up and away from the tank, I must of have caused the magnet to slide on the right.
Does anyone have any advice on scratches? I was thinking something like touch up paint, perhaps a short reflective tape, or estimating how much it would cost to have a tank repainted? For now I have stuck on a thin strip of carbon fiber tank pad – just enough to cover the scratch. I stuck on a matching strip on the other side of the tank so that it looks like it might have been designed to go there. Anyway, I look forward to your suggestions/recommendations.

A picture may help.

I have a magnetic tank bag, quite a small one which I keep my mobile phone etc in. It has never left any marks on this bike. However it did mark my last bike as it picked up a piece of metal from the garage table and I then put it on the bike. So I check it as a mater of routine now.

I think you could try a few different scratch removers that you can buy at the auto parts store. Or go to a reputible body shop and see what they say about a whole tank repaint. I dont know for sure but i'm thinking Yamaha paint is not cheap. Let us now how it works out for you.

yeah, post a picture, it may be able to be taken care of with some buffing and re-waxing.

grommit said:

A picture may help.

I have a magnetic tank bag, quite a small one which I keep my mobile phone etc in. It has never left any marks on this bike. However it did mark my last bike as it picked up a piece of metal from the garage table and I then put it on the bike. So I check it as a mater of routine now.

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Is there any kind of film that you could put between the magnet and the tank to keep this from happening?

To Quote Paul Hogan " D'ya call that a scratch"

My very own tank mod. See hall of shame. I was quoted £150.00 by a spray shop with out decals and I had to remove the tank myself ouch.
I got a bagster tank cover for £10.00 from e-bay.
I have got a similar damaged tank for £20.00 from e-bay that I am going to prep and spray myself.

Good Luck Mate.

Sorry to hear about your scratch! My last tank bag scratched my Thundercat all up.
I'm thinking that probably a tiny little pebble or the like got trapped between your bag and your tank and not so much the magnets in the bag. Pulling the bag off would scrape the pebble accross the tang and scratch it.

My new tank bag will be in on Wednesday and I'm trying tofigure out what kind of material to put between the bag and the tank to keep the scratches away - but let the magnet still work.

teslas said:

I'm thinking that probably a tiny little pebble or the like got trapped between your bag and your tank and not so much the magnets in the bag. Pulling the bag off would scrape the pebble accross the tang and scratch it..

Click to expand...

+1 That is the only way I have ever scratched a tank w/ a magnetic tank bag.

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I have that exact bag but no problems at all. I am very careful not to set it on a dirt floor, etc.

Depending on how deep the scratch is there are a variety of polishes that work great. I have the Griot's Garage polishing/waxing system. I got it as a birthday present one year. I have a medium polish and a fine polish. That with the random orbital machine do a great job of getting most scratches out.

Car Polishes - Griot's Garage

Good luck!

as far as the film, i know they make some stuff, they use it as an invisible bug shield on cages and you should be able to order a sheet and cut it to cover the top of your tank

this is the stuff:

UltraShield

Wow what an awesome product! Wished I had seen this sooner. Anyway I will post a picture of my small albeit annoying scratch later on. Cheers. I actually bought Something called Nu Finish - Scratch Doctor Cream - but it did not do much for me :-(

The Tankslapper. A clear non adhesive tank protector for your sportbike.

Tankslapper Tank Top Protector

Along with the Car Polish advice look promising.