Stompgrip Traction Pads

STOMPGRIP Traction Pads

Peel-and-stick gas-tank grip

HANDS AND FEET AREN'T THE ONLY body parts that interface with a motorcycle; your legs are always making contact with the gas tank. That's why STOMP Design manufacturers its aggressively textured "volcano profile"

STOMPGRIP Traction Pads, which are kind of like hand-grips for your knees.

STOMP got its start making traction pads for snowboards. Now, it also produces the non-abrasive, premolded grip strips for airbox shrouds, frame rails, gas tanks and sidepanels on many European and Japanese motorcycles, with both onand off-road applications. Universal cut-to-fit sheets are also available.

We installed a six-piece Sportbike Tank Kit on a Kawasaki ZX-14. Per the instructions, we cleaned the tank with rubbing alcohol, warmed the pads with a heat gun, removed the backing paper, exposing the sticky 3M adhesive, and positioned the pads on the tank, working steadily from one end to the other to eliminate air bubbles.

In use, the pads performed as claimed, which is to say jeans and leathers alike

adhered to the pimpled surface like a boot sole to a knurled footpeg. After several months in service, the pads never moved a millimeter and still looked brand-new, with no discoloration. What’s more, they peeled off easily without leaving behind gummy residue. In fact, the glue didn’t appear to have lost any of its adhesive properties, leaving us with the notion that the pads could be reused another day, maybe even on another motorcycle.

Turn down traction? Not us. □

DETAILS

STOMP Design, Inc. R0. Box 2744-252 Huntington Beach, CA 92647 888/612-5240 www.stompdesign.com Price...$49

ps Clear view of graphics and/or sponsor logos Dirt and street applications Easy removal Downs Proper install requires patience What, no colors? Bubble wrap for bikes?