half tank bra or tank pad

[JohnE1000]

I want to get either a half tank bra or a tank pad. I am confused about which will look better on a Candy Blue 03 600 Kat.
Members with picture of thier kat please come forward.

[Wingspan]

That's easy, tank bras look awful on any bike.

(Just my opinion, of course)

[Black_peter]

I never understood the Bra concept..
(on women or bikes/cars.. Though that first wonder bra ad.. )

You put this piece of vinyl over the body part..
To protect it...
However:
While its on the paint fades funny.

Trapped water can mess up the paint.

Dirt can get trapped under it and mess up the paint worse than if there was nothing

People never take them off so why bother?

They are uglier then paint chips..

IMO get a magnetic tank pad..
Make sure it stays clean..

[Dan Dubeau]

I put a bra on my old corsica. Only because the front of the hood had rusted through and I used the bra to hide the only cosmetic blemish on an otherwise perfect body.

Point of the story? every time I see a bra on something, I don't think Oooo, nice bra. I'm wondering whats underneath it (Most women included)

Me? I'd go with the tank pad, I think certain ones actually look pretty good. some....not so much. But thats just my $0.014 (after the exchange rate of course)

[JoeCool]

Well I'm going to buck the opinion of the others...
I have the tank bra, and I really like it...here's why...

1.) It's not permanent...just worried a tank pad would start looking like cr@p after a few years and it's not coming off...
2.) It covers more, the pad just doesn't cover much...
3.) I've had bra's on cars and they aren't that hard to take care of, you take them off every few months and clean under...takes a whole 5 minutes...not that big of a deal.
4.) Never had paint fade so bad it was noticeable between the bra under area, and the non bra area. If this did happen it's nothing that couldn't be buffed out easily.
5.) It's nice that its big enough that it helps you grip the bike a little better and it's better than putting your legs on cold painted metal when it's really cold out.

The tank bra is a whopping $30, so if you get it and don't like it your out maybe the cost of a night out sit down dinner...or a night at the movies.

If you want to resell your bike a few years down the line you can easily take off the bra at anytime.

Nothing will look as nice as the beautiful bare Kat tank, I don't think there is a bad color on any Kat...I like them all.

I'll try to post a pic of my bike with the bra on soon, so you can take a look...oh and as for bra's on women, if no one liked them Victoria's Secret would of went out of business a long ago...and pads on women, well not so pretty...LOL

Wishing everyone the best here on KR,
Peace out 8)

[WildKat]

I'll see your bucking the opinion and agree w/ ya.

I like the look of the tank bra, it adds alittle definition to the sytle of the bike, looks nice, and protects better than a tank bad, easily removable.

I take mine off, often to clean it and keep the tank free from dust and grime.

The tank pads are nice too, dont get me wrong, but when I lean up against the tank I like having that little extra security knowing im not gonna scratch it up.

[GSX1100FL]

I have a half tank bra & really like it, I think it does add something to the look of the bike.

The bra helps hide some of the tank that I have not taken the red & gold pin-stripes off of, until I go for a complete paint job(if ever) I want something to help hide those stripes.

I remove the bra each time I clean the bike, which is not very often, once or twice a year, to me a clean bike makes me think the bike is hardly ridden.

And another plus is the area on the top of the bra that has Katana written on it

[mx916]

I recently removed my tank bra. Just wanted to try a different look. Will choose a tank pad in the spring. I like the way it looks with the rest of the tank showing. Just my .02

[JoeCool]

One last thing...I have a fairly new bike and have noticed several times that someone wanted to sit on my bike (a friend or family member) and when they got off there was a slight indent in the bra...usually from a belt buckle or something they are wearing, and a pad wouldn't of had covered the spot where it was...leaving a nice scratch more than likely.

So it's another reason I like the tank bra that I had never thought of until I had put it into use...

I have seen some pads that looked nice, I just don't think they will look nice in 3-4 years after being scuffed up..and then I won't be able to take it off...

I'm attaching two pics of my tank bra right after I installed it several weeks ago...it was cold and fresh out of the package (you supposed to let all bras car or motorcycle, warm in the sun to stretch before installing) so it didn't fit perfect at the time...but after several weeks of stretching in the warm So Calif weather, it now fits like a glove...and looks even better.

Wishing everyone on KR the best, whether they are a Bra or Pad person...

I appreciate all of the help everyone has given me the past few months...
Have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow...and be safe travelling if your hitting the road...
8)

[JohnE1000]

Hi Joe,
Thank you for the pictures and the info. Your Kat looks awesome.
What is the Tank Bra brand that you are using? How does it attache to the tank? Do I have to take of the tank, or unbolt some plastic?
I like to wash my bike every week, and it would be great if I could take it off easly.

[The CyberPoet]

You live in SC... if that means eastern SC, it means fine white quartz sand and lots of it. Sand and tank bra's don't like to mix, because the sand can get wind-blasted under there, get trapped and then repeated mashed into the paint coating. If you live up in the western end of SC, this probably isn't nearly as much of a concern... In between, it's your call...

My general advice: if you take a bra, get some paint protector laminate to go under it as well. This is simply clear plastic (vinyl or poly) that gets layered over the paint -- they even make static cling versions that would work for this purpose.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[WildKat]

Standard suzuki part, you can get them at dealers, online, ebay, etc. I got mine last year for christmas off ebay; I think crunchie paid 20.00 for it, brand new.

There is a stretch / nylon cord that wraps around the front and under ur tank, then you just simple pull it down and attach the felt pads under the fairing on each side and below the rear of the tank (under the seat).

[JoeCool]

As Wildcat said its a Suzuki tank bra, I believe I got at Ron Ayers online, it was about $30...

It takes about 3-5 minutes to put on, you simply remove 4 screws on the upper body panels (you don't have to remove the panels or the gas tank, just the seat), and then attach 4 felt covered hooks under the tank. It's very very easy.

I will remove the bra every month and wash/wax underneath it...because of the Kat's design, the height, and the placement position it would be hard for much of anything to get under the bra. I was also worried about this at first, but I took the bra off after three weeks and there wasn't anything under it...so I washed/waxed under it, and put the bra back on.

Believe me I am so paranoid about doing anything that might hurt my new Kat, it's just ridiculous...If I had any reservations about it hurting my bike I would of already removed it and tossed it in the trash.

Thank you for the compliments on my bike, I appreciate it...
Wishing you and everyone on KR the best...
Have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. Be safe if your driving for the holiday, peace out...
8)

[WildKat]

If u do use a tank pad, it will take alittle elbow grease, a hair dryer and some goo gone to get the residue off if u wanna replace the pad at some point.