Our Motorcycle Tank Grips are used by leading WorldSBK, BSB, MotoAmerica, ASBK, road racing and Moto2 teams, as well as plenty of bikers around the World. If you’ve ever wondered how we create our Tank Grips, our designer Kerry explains…

The first job is to find the new motorcycle model we want to draw up. We are lucky to have many local motorcycle dealers that allow us access to their bikes in return for the odd packet of biscuits! In this blog, I will use the example of Preston Ducati and their stunning 2022 Panigale V4.

The kit I have includes tracing film, permanent markers of different thicknesses, fitting solution, squeegee, ruler, a sheet of our Tank Grip material for sizing, alcohol wipes, scissors, a couple of microfibre cloths and a folder for the tracings. Once I have rang the dealer and arranged to visit the bike, this kit is packed into the car and off I go.

Arriving at Preston Ducati, Russ the Manager shows me to the bike I can use. and I always get offered a drink which is nice (especially if I get biscuits too in return for their biscuit payment).

The first job is to give the tank a wipe over with the alcohol wipes just to remove any dust, but in most cases the bikes have been valeted and are immaculate. Next I cut a sheet of my tracing film and lay it over the side of the tank. I take a seat on the bike with my feet on the pegs and put myself in my riding position. I draw with my marker where my knee sits on the tank to get the basic shape of the area the Grip needs to cover. I am quite tall at 5’10” with stupidly long legs, so I know the grip area will suit most riders both shorter and a bit taller than me.

I then fine tune the shape to work with the tank, for example on the Panigale, on the top part of the tank there is a bit that is higher than the rest towards the front, so this gives the obvious line for the Tank Grip shape as shown in the photo below.

Once I am happy with the tracing it is photographed for reference, I give the bike a quick wipe, and then I head back to the office to draw it up on the PC.

The tracing is scanned into Adobe Illustrator and drawn digitally. It is then sent to the Mac to be cut on the plotter in Paint Protection Film to give me my test pieces.

Another visit is arranged with Ducati and off I go, armed with my Paint Protection Film shapes to test.

Using the fitting solution and squeegee in my kit I fit the test pieces to the tank. If they need tweaking I will lay tracing film over the incorrect part and retrace. The amends are then completed back at the office and new test pieces cut from PPF to test again. This process will be repeated until the design is correct.

Once the design is approved, it is sent to the toolmakers, so they can create the bespoke tool specifically for the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4.

The tool usually takes a couple of days to make, once we receive it, production will make a Tank Grip out of one of our materials for me to fit at the dealership and photograph for the website.

The finished Tank Grip is then listed for sale and offered to our network of Eazi-Grip dealers and stockists.

To order a set of our Motorcycle Tank Grips please visit https://www.eazi-grip.com/cat/eazi-grip/