side cover search woes

[thewiz]

Hi, everyone !! My 79 Special sat without much attention from me for the last few months but Spring has sprung in SoCal .... and I'm working furiously to get this puppy on the road ASAP.

The good ... bike came with a freshly painted tank and sidecovers (I liked that) ... the bad .... What I didn't know then is that the left sidecover isn't for a 79 Special .... PLUS, as the sharp-eyed Planedick pointed out when he stopped for a visit this last weekend, it's lock tab is snapped off too, nice paint though, right, Dick? Surprise, surprise. Had I known about this issue, I woulda' begun the search long ago .... I'm learning ....

Question is: by some slim chance, does anyone have one that they are willing to sell or know where one can be had? ... you can pretty much name your price .... the bike will look kinda' stupid without it, right?

[tab1324]

I don't have one for you unfortunately, but maybe it you sell me yours you can buy one on ebay.. I just lost mine.. long story. Is yours off a 79 standard? which side.

[desert1]

what price

What do they go for on ebay anyway?
Bruce

[prometheus578]

"Waiter... I'll have a Tab, please."

Hey, Wiz,
Not familiar with the Special's side cover, but if it's anything like the cover on the Standard... the broken piece of the tab can often be found still stuck in the lock mechanism. A little crazy glue or some such can often put it all back together. Mine's been holding fer 6 years.

[desert1]

possibly

Maybe one will show up on ebay soon?
Bruce

[thewiz]

sidecover blues

Tab ... the left sidecover that I have is likely for a Standard .... has a slightly shallower profile than the correct right side I currently have and a broken lock tab BUT I know for certain it is fixable .... not cracked, pretty paint and I will make you an owner if I can't use it and we can determine what bike it fits. I'm gonna' see my buddy with a 79 Standard tomorrow and I'll check it against his bike. The only info that I can find online on these covers is that www.benefisco.co.uk parts fiche and cross reference site. Wold be nice to eyeball a couple of Specials for reference ...

Desert ... a set sold on ebay yesterday for 99.05 ... the seller refused to show me the left side underside so I imagine it was broken too ... and claimed that he didn't know what bike they came off of but advertised them as 80's ... hmmmm ... I bid for a while but gave up when the seller became evasive ...Someone using the name zbot got em, I think. I would have paid more than he got if they were OK ... That seller has another set too .... don't know what they fit

Prom ... good tip as always, thx ...does Snap On make an 'easy-out' for those Snapped Off tabs ?

Andreas says that only 79 and 81 Specials are directly interchangable .... hmmm ... I wouldn't know

Mirriam says he has made a mold/molds and can fix or cludge together busted ones or certain other ones even though they are incorrect as long as they have the right overall shape .... hmmmm .... hundred bucks to fix ... two hundred to make you a brand new one outa' fiberglass. Half as much as I paid for the WHOLE flippin' bike .... but at least there is that option ... and it's lookin' better all the time

This is all I have found out so far.... the search continues .... and I wonder... What would the Teuttle's do if they found themselves needing a sidecover like this? ... Senior would shout ... Mikey would fetch the plastic stock and Paulie would hop on the English wheel and start fabin ', right? ....

[Ken Talbot]

The snapped-off tab will pretty much pop out by itself when you use the key. If it is a bit stuck, use the key, then pull it out with needlenose pliers. Yup, you could use your snap-on tool for that if you've got one.

[thewiz]

Thx, Ken ... I truely was just tryin' to be funny by goofin' on Prom some about the extraction tool .... you know he'll do it to us whenever he sees an opportunity. Next someone is gonna' say that you don't use plastic stock on an English wheel too .... then another of my feeble attempts at humor will be crushed

[John]

Side covers

The 79SF side covers will not interchange with any thing, but the 80-81 Specials are the same with the exception of the mounting holes for the emblems. The only SF side covers that I have are for the right side.

[andreashweiss]

The 79 special and the 81 standard have the same sidecovers. I just wanted to correct that. andreas

[thewiz]

Thx for the clarification, Andreas ... my mistake ... you told me correctly to begin with and I repeated it wrong.

[Shuriken]

I think I must have paid like $300 bucks over the years for side panels. I have 2 intact ones on my bike now, but I had to pay heavily for them on ebay.....

Ben

[thewiz]

story just about over ... for me ... for now

thx, Ben ... I bought a few when my 79 Standard was new too ... I had flames on 'em ... fortunately, I rented a building to some body shop buds who had 11's too ... in fact they got me into one as I was riding a GS 750 at the time we all met ..... paint was cheap back then ...

Another member PMd me this afternoon with a full set at a very friendly price. I was shaking as I read the email, then I couln't find the 'reply' button on the screen ... was truely moving. Hope I can help out Tab with the one I have ...

I have said it before and I'll probably say it many more times .... THIS SITE AND THE PEOPLE ON IT ROCK !! Woooohoooo!

[desert1]

Hard to find as well

Hard to find as well are tops for the Yamaha hard bags, I ended up making 2 out of fiberglass using the one original top that came with the bags.....so, dont flip your lids and firmly attach your side covers. Hang onto your parts!
Bruce

[XSRIK]

econo yet functional

If you have young kids, go out in your back yard and look at the swing set they never use. At the top of the teeter totter thing you may see two oval bolt cover dealies. They are made of plastic and look kind of like late sixties early 70's motocross number plates from an old bultaco or maico. Now, (here's the tricky part) when the wife's at the store and the kids are napping, sneak in the yard with two 1/2" open end wrenches and remove these things from aforementioned swing set. With GREAT haste run into your dirt floor/carpeted "shack like garage" (if you don't have a dirt floor /carpeted "shack like garage" a real garage with a concrete floor will do just fine) Break out a rattle can of satin flat black and spray these gems HEAVILY to hide the...er..protect them. Use an awl to poke "zip tie" size holes on the edges to affix them to strategic parts of the frame and VOILA! instant sidecovers! they look "like they sorta grew there" from ten feet away, and from 150 feet away they look OEM!
Jammin' econo!
XSRIK
79 XS1100F "Talkin' 'bout shaft"
77 CB750 A "Dumpster classic" aka "Rattus Ottomaticus"