Not sure if this is the right subforum to post this but if its not I apologize.

My brother recently handed off his 2001 F4i to me before he, I been riding for a few weeks and am taking the MSF class soon.

I noticed that there are a ton of scratches on the tank fairing.

See image
https://i.imgur.com/txmkk.jpg

1. Does anyone know what could be the cause of this or have this on their bike? I want to say either the jacket or jeans zipper. I would like to figure it out so I can avoid doing the same myself. I've seen other peoples bikes and they don't seem to have this issue. It looks like the tank protector was placed too high but even if it wasn't there are a bunch of scratches off to the sides as well.

2. Is there a good way to fix this without getting the fairing repainted again?

thank you

 

no way around it. looks thru the clear. agreed on the pad placement tho. my guess if it bothers you that much, find a pad that has the same pattern as the one you have and cover it up

 

Tank pad is too small. It could be from a zipper/belt, that would be a good guess. You can use "touch up" paint to fix the scratches instead of painting whole tank.

 

wow. those are probably the worst tank scratches I have ever seen. Either the bike was repainted with really soft paint,(not properly clear coated) or he had a hefty belt buckle or something. They are very low on the tank to be caused from a jacket zipper. Did he use this bike to commute with? I wonder if he carried something between his legs and rested it against the tank. Either way, those type of deep scratches are not normal for most bikes.

The tank protector does seem a bit high, but its main job is to protect the tank from your jackets zipper, so its placement is not entirely wrong.

They do make tank bras. They basically would cover the entire lower section of your tank. I personally don't like them, but it would cover up all of the scratches and protect the tank from further damage. Some companies will also offer them in matching colors so they will blend in a bit better as well. Just do a google search and you'll find many different types and companies.

 

You could, as a temporary fix, remove the scratch guard that's on it (To high anyway) & get a couple more & position them so they start at the bottom of the tank (widest part) & up the tank. There are a lot of different types (& they flog a lot of them on ebay) Some may be wide enough to cover the majority of damage or even one of those tank bras or a matched tank cover (Bagstar). Other than that, learn to live with them till you get the tank resprayed.