[arkons]

i got a very small dent on my tank where the handle almost touches the tank, it hit agaisnt it when the bike was knocked over the other day. its not on a crease, if popped out will it have to be refinished or will it look fine? thanks! it will cost me 200 or free!

 

[ScottRNelson]

Just leave the dent. It's now part of the character of the bike.

 

[technogrunt]

I have a similar dent, I left it alone. Make up a story to go with it. "Ya, so the crazed driver grabbed me, and I smashed his face into my tank, right here, where the dent is." "That will teach him not to mess with a Ducati MONSTER owner."

 

[Norm]

I'm with technogrunt, leave it until you get a bigger dent to keep it company & then have it fixed. Pulling dent is a relatively big job, but the $$ are the same whether it's a little dent of 5 big ones.

 

[ewolnosaj]

never tried this with a gas tank but you can try sitting the bike in the sun on a hot day for a couple of hours. Then take some dry ice and place it only on the dent. It may pop right out.

 

[Michael_Gannon]

never tried this with a gas tank but you can try sitting the bike in the sun on a hot day for a couple of hours. Then take some dry ice and place it only on the dent. It may pop right out.

I tried the dry ice thing last weekend with minimal results. I didn't put it out in the sun to warm up the tank first though. I think I still have a hunk in the freezer so maybe I'll try it again when I get home. I figure it's worth a shot. I'll let ya know how it works.

 

[Matt13]

How does that work?

 

[Michael_Gannon]

When metal gets hot it expands. When it gets cold it shrinks. The idea is that a rapid change from hot to cold can cause the molecules in the metal to contract fast enough that the dent pops out.

I would think this would only work on minor dents

 

[lll0228]

Try liquid nitrogen for expansion...

 

[MDarkside750]

Where can you find dry ice?

I have a semi-large dent, but it would not hurt to try.

Tom.

 

[jrfuisz]

I've never herd of the sun trick, I have heard of VERY skilled welders being able to manipulate the metal by heating with a welding torch and then putting water on it. I thought the trick was how and where the metal was heated. I'm not sure heating the entire area and cooling the entire area will do much good. Since you have gas fumes in the tank, forget the welder. I don't think the sun is hot enough to do much good, but I could be wrong.

Most metal, if it is not creased, retains a memory of its initial form. I would think a suction cup / dent puller (the stuff advertised on TV) would work as well as, if not better than, the sun and ice trick. Nothing is going to work though if the metal is creased.

 

[rush996rider]

once it popped, your heart stop.

sound scientifically correct, I concern the force is enough or not. But I will give it a try.

 

[Michael_Gannon]

I just bought a "Twist a Dent/Ding King" dent puller over the weekend and have had pretty good luck with it. Ive gotten most of my dent out and I think after a little more work on it tonight I should have her fixed up pretty good. I plan to post more details and pics when I'm done.

Here are some details and pics of my dent
http://www.ducatimonster.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=forum1;action=display;num=1082312586

 

[800darkdread]

Buy bullet-marking stickers from a local gunstore. I got 3 covering mine!

R.