Is there interest in new locking tabs for left side covers?

[thewiz]

Yup ... that's it, ...

alright. Looks absolutely perfect ... excellent rendering. But, respectfully, Bug, the ABS ,IMHO, will still be stronger. The weakness in the metal tab will be at the attaching point (not the tab itself) ....regardless of whether screw and/or adhesive is used. With an ABS tab, properly formed and attached, the side cover will be as strong as new since the tab is bonded to it at the molecular level.

Not suggesting that this was you or anyone else here, Bug, but what broke many, or perhaps even most, of the original tabs were people who didn't know how to work the lock cylinder OR didn't realize it even had a keyed lock to begin with ... so they pryed or forced the covers off breaking the tab in the process !! While I'm sure that some tabs probably just simply wore thin and finally broke off and other tabs were broken with assorted trauma to the left side, I have several side covers that are still in perfectly pristine condition on their original bikes, not showing but only the slightest wear .... even after 30 yrs. of nearly continuous use and over 100K miles ... so that seems like a pretty good indicator that the ABS is probably adequate as long as it's not abused, don't ya' think, sir?

[CatatonicBug]

I agree that "as long as it's not abused" the original unit is great. The thing is, this is a lock, and should prevent thieves from gaining access to whatever is under it. I also agree that the most probable reason for most of these things breaking is NOT a thief, but the new owner who didn't realize tthere was a lock under there. Unfortunately, the whole side cover is ABS, and if pulled hard enough from the top, the whole lower tab will break off - not just the latch hook. Mine arrived to me with a broken, and semi-repaired latch, and it's pretty obvious where the weak point is on these things. I just figure that if I can make that weak point stronger than the original, I can't do much better. The only better thing would be to remanufacture the entire side cover out of something stronger than ABS.

[thewiz]

Surely do agree with you there, Bug ...

... the ABS construction is not gonna' prevent a determined thief from gettin' what's underneath ... and that is pretty sad. Mostly a deterent and not much more. Now if you were to take a whole cover, copy it into the CNC mill and then machine a completely new one from a billet, I think that would be the bomb snizzle!! Where are the boys from OCC when ya' really need 'em, anyhow? Think they'd do an Eleven side cover?

[CatatonicBug]

Maybe if you do a 3D laser scan of a good one, you could even include the insignia in the millwork!