Sporty Grab Holes Made Easy

  If you have every tried to make a nice grab hole on your bike, chances are you used some type of saw and ruined your new sidepanels (or worse, your expensive airbox), or  you successfully made a grabhole with a saw but the grabhole's design wasn't as artistic as you'd like it to be. Here we'll show you a technique for making a nice looking grab hole in minutes. (This technique was adapted from a post on the freestylemtx.com message board. )

    Step 1: Design your grab hole. 
                  This can be done with a felt tipped pen (marker). Draw your grab hole on your plastic just how you want it to look. This will make things much easier and less frustrating.  After the grab hole is finished, the marker (if a little is still on the sidepanel) will be covered by the trim, or it can be rubbed off.

    Step 2: Heat the plastic that needs to be modified
                  If your plastic comes off, remove it and take it to the kitchen stove. If not, grab a heat gun (a hair dryer may not be enough for this job). You want to heat the plastic enough so that it becomes fairly plyable, but not to the point where it is dripping all over the place!

    Step 3: Heat your cutting tool.
                   I prefer to use an exacto knife for this job. While this type of razor generally isn't very useful for cutting through thick plastic, it works great when the plastic and razor are heated up to a high temporature. The thin design of this type of knife allows you to make intricate designs and smooth curves that a larger, more cumbersome razor or saw couldn't  handle.  If you heat the razors cutting edge  until it is fairly hot, it will cut through the warm, soft plastic like butter.

   Step 4: Cut the plastic.
                 Using your hot exacto knife, apply some pressure to your heated plastic. Getting the knife started may take a little extra force, but once it gets moving it will be a very smooth process.   Take it slow, however, because if the knife slips, you may be needing some band-aids.  Take a break after a few inches in order to re-heat the plastic and knife if neccesary. 

  Step 5: Line the edges.
               After your grab hole is finished, you should be left with a very smooth cut.  If the cut isn't completely smooth, you can shave the cut down a little with the razor blade (heat it up first). For a cosmetic addition, you may want to line the grab hole with some trim. Wal-mart sometimes carrys automotive trim in several different colors. This comes in a U shape and is easily applied to your grab hole. You may want to put some super glue on it to ensure it doesn't move or come off.  Lockhart Phillips (an aftermarket roadracing catalog) carries some very nice chrome-finished trim available in several colors that is the perfect thickness for plastic. It's actually designed to line windshields on street motorcycles, but looks and works excellent for lining grab holes.