Thanks to all offering solutions. Ill keep the push tab repair in mind. For now, the push tabs seems fine. I'm leaning towards Jeff's suggestion with pop rivets for the front sheared off tab. Biggest problem is straightening the tubular frame. I'd like to see one intact.
Paul
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On Feb 17, 2014, at 12:20 PM, "Norm Keller" wrote:
Those Tupperware push tabs break off frequently so anyone working on KLR's tends to develop their favorite repair. I see the type which Jeff recommended many times and, by the age of the repair, it seems to be a very robust solution. "Gluing" by various means has not been nearly as successful, IME, although some who are higher up the plastics repair food chain seem to make excellent repairs. I'm not able to duplicate. My favorite is to drill a hole for a small sheet metal screw of almost full tab length from outside of fairing into the tab. Run the screw in, combined with a well prepared epoxy and all mine have endured excepting where the trauma was excessive. The fairing will only withstand a certain level of stress so fish plating and such begins to become redundant at some point. Likely someone with a more practical and predictive nature will point out that drilling for a screw before the tab breaks..... Maybe I will try that.
Sometimes the push tab is lost but have seen several good solutions. Perhaps the most simple is to use a 6 mm screw with washer through the fairing. A nut secures the screw to the fairing so that it replaces the push tab. A length of spacer tubing, copper, plastic, can be slipped over the threads although have seen several without. An acorn head, domed head nut is tightened against the tubing or simply bottomed against the end of the screw. An elastic stop nut is also an option. The domed nut pushes through the rubber grommet and performs the same function as the push tab. This can be a good option where the tab has pulled out a hole in the fairing.