Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Gaffers tape serves many many purposes! I love that stuff. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. How do you use it?

Gaffa tape is like the force - it has a light side, and a dark side, and hold together the universe!! (or, at least, most of my bikes!! )

I "Use the Force" all the time then!

I'm a mobile DJ and that stuff is always in my bag.

Went on a bike touring trip with my folks some years back. We had a GS850G and sidecar. There were one or 2 problems with the sidecar - and by the time it came back, it was pretty much held together by the suff!!

Duck tape is great for holding almost everything together on a motorcycle! I wish they sold it in small amounts to carry on your bike for emergencies when things start to fall off! LOL.

I know some of my bikes came with duck taped seats to hold them together and duck taped plastic! LOL.

Gotta love the stuff

Mike.

It's actually duct tape, the original purpose being to seal heating, cooling, and ventilation ducting. It's other myriad uses soon became apparent, and it is used to tape together race cars after crashes, hence the nickname "200 mph tape." You can sometimes buy small rolls of the stuff, but it's not real easy to find that way.

Who is that totalmotorcyle guy anyway? Duck tape.

First off there is a lot of difference between duct tape and gaff tape. Both have many uses. Duct tape is famous for sticking to a lot of different surfaces with a vengance. Also has a shiny slicker surface. After it is applied it still adheres pretty well when damp. It does tend to leave a sticky residue when removed.
Gaff tape is a whole different animal. Usually has a duller finish and a much higher cloth content on the outside. It does not leave a sticky residue when removed. This is why it so beloved with the entertainment people who don't want to clean the gunk off their cables. It is easier to remove than duct tape. Very expensive compared to duct tape.
As far as uses, how far can your imagination wander. After a crash in Kentucky, my wife used a friends stash of gaff to temporarily repair a hole in her leathers and as a quick saddle bag patch (along with sewing one bag shut). Duct tape has had books written about ways to use it.
I work in the entertainment industry and ride. I try to keep a stash of both around.


PS

A full unattended roll of gaff tape will change a person you can trust with your life into a thief faster than you can imagine.

I saw this story on Air Emergancies last night where a ground crew guy used duct tape to close off some holes near the front of the plane while washing it off. It was standard proceedure to use tape, but not duct tape. This was not the usual worker and the supervisor was out sick, so it got left on the little holes when they finished cleaning. The pilot did his pre-flight check around the outside of the plane, but in the dark, with a flashlight, he didn't notice the tape over the small, but well marked holes. The tape pretty much matched the color of the plane. They took off in a state of the art 757 and none of their instruments worked correct. Those little holes provided most of the speed and preasure information. With false information they crashed into the ocean, thinking they were overspeed at over 10000 feet. This was a bad day for duct tape.

I'm not sure this story was worth all that typing I just did.

keysman wrote:Who is that totalmotorcyle guy anyway? Duck tape.

I fixed the title to include Duct tape in there... haha. They have a brand called "Duck tape"... I guess it's a ripoff but that's how I always remember it...

Regardless of the name, it is GREAT stuff for any motorcyclist. Except JCS is right in saying that is leaves a lot of "residue" behind.

Mike.