But I repaired it myself :)

[the big mike]

Edit: some people can't see the pics, they come all from this album:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/album.php?albumid=1374

hey guys
This thread because I wanted to tell you my little story
So first things first: the crash. We're talking about a sunday evening during winter, I'd been riding over snow and ice for 3 weeks without a problem.
For the last two days it had all been melting but I was still very careful. At some point I was closing up to a roundabout and I KNEW: "it will be very slippery right there ". So I entered it taking a right turn, I was going about 10 km/hr, very much awake and still I couldn't help it. On a small spot which must still have been ice I felt my rear wheel sliding from under me and I thought I was going to lowside
But I didn't!!!!!
... My rear wheel found its grip and "launched" me into a highside
No pain and no sorrow, I had been riding all winter knowing that this could happen, I was never in a dangerous situation and I always kept my throttle hand under control.
... either way: this is how I picked her up:











Next to all that damage (which I thought was quite a lot for such a small accident) my left clip on was bended.
After picking my bike up, I looked for the different parts that were missing, not finding the piece that should fit in the hole in my left fairing, put them in my pocket and finished my ride doing another 90 km to my final destination

I'll continue my story in the next post

[the big mike]

ok, well, in the next couple of days I replaced the light from the blinker and superglued the white plastic back on it and I put duct tape on all the cracks that you can see in the pictures. Too bad I didn't take any pictures of that, it wasn't as ugly as you would expect
One week later I had my left clip on replaced so that my bike would technically be 100% okay.

Now last month I had some time on my hands and I thought that it would be a cool project to not only repair the parts that were broken, but also paint them. And as I would be painting half of my bike, why not all of it?

It was never my intention to document it on ninjette.org, so excuse me for not taking pictures of all of it.

The first part I fixed was the rear plastic



Next I repaired some small damage on the front fender



as well as the nose plastics



For those who wonder how it's done, I took some more picture from the hardest part: the left fairing. This was the hardest part because it had the most cracks, a hole and does not have a flat shape.
The product I used was Motip plastic repair, which is more of a paste instead of a fluid. For the rest, I followed these instructions:

Link to original page on YouTube.











I then filled the hole up using another Motip product, which uses fibers and resin to form a hard shape, which I then covered with some more of the paste.
Next I had my girlfriend (which is the best girlfriend in the world) sand it all down with sandpaper until it had the smooth finish like the other parts

[the big mike]

The final part off course was to paint it all.

I went to my local paint dealer and had some spraycans filled with KAWASAKI Ninja lime green 636 paint. I also bought some primer and some topcoat.

After wathing hours of instuctional videos on youtube, I prepared all the parts for paint and went for it: sanding, cleaning, decreasing, primer, color, topcoat.



Remember, my whole point was to gain some experience with this project and to learn as much as possible without giving out too much money that is why I used spray cans and did it in the garden pavilion

Well, enough talked, here are some pics of the end result. I have to admit: my goal was to have a paint job that looked as it was before: nice and shiney. However it is now a little bit bumpy, but you can't feel that. I is still visible though, but I really like how it gives my bike a more 'matte' look
Now if any of you guys have some hints about this whole project that could have changed the outcome in any way: please tell me
Overall I am very, very, very happy with the outcome, it looks way better than I expected beforehand I have a beautiful bike again, ready for next winter

















That was all, enjoy

[JohnnyBravo]

Wow rode all winter and just now had a wreck?

I did not have any pics to load, but sounds like you did pretty good?

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Wow rode all winter and just now had a wreck?

I did not have any pics to load, but sounds like you did pretty good?

You can't see the pics? it's full of it
can any one help with making the pics visible?

edit: @Alex I added the pics the way is described in sticky thread for pics and I can see them myself, but others can't...

[Alex]

I can see all of the pics just fine.

[Alex]

Maybe make sure that you haven't put any privacy settings on that album?

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by Alex

I can see all of the pics just fine.

On my pc I can see them, but on my iphone I can't...
@JohnnyBravo , what are you using?

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by Alex

Maybe make sure that you haven't put any privacy settings on that album?

ok it's public now, I hope it changes for those who couldn't see

[alex.s]

good job

[NevadaWolf]

What you have there is called Orange Peel. Here's some tips on preventing and fixing if you want. http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/...rangePeel.html

I used rattle cans on mine when I repaired the plastics, but you did far more than me. I may have to invest in some more cans and actually go through and fix the cracks vs just painting over them. My poor girl looks like she has a surgical scar on the side.

In other words, nicely done!!

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by the big mike

ok it's public now, I hope it changes for those who couldn't see

I'm always on my iPhone, you fixed it!
I can see, I can see... Looks good orange peel and all

[rasta]

I'm impressed! Not sure how it looks in person, but based on those pics, it doesn't look half bad

[greenaero]

nice repair job

[the big mike]

Thanks to all of you
I also would like to mention that I added an extra horn, which I installed in parallel with the OEM one, just for the heck of it

[lgk]

Nice work.

[GearMonkey]

Wow nice work on the fix. The bike looks great!

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

What you have there is called Orange Peel. Here's some tips on preventing and fixing if you want. http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/...rangePeel.html

I used rattle cans on mine when I repaired the plastics, but you did far more than me. I may have to invest in some more cans and actually go through and fix the cracks vs just painting over them. My poor girl looks like she has a surgical scar on the side.

In other words, nicely done!!

ok thanks
take in mind: those reparations took us really A LOT of time
Either way, I'm leaving it this way, I like the way it looks

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by the big mike

............
Next I had my girlfriend (which is the best girlfriend in the world) sand it all down with sandpaper until it had the smooth finish like the other parts

Her boyfriend is lucky, patient and skillful.

I would need less motivation to go naked ..........................(bike-wise).

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Her boyfriend is lucky, patient and skillful.

I would need less motivation to go naked ..........................(bike-wise).

Huge compliment!!!!
thanks a lot

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by the big mike

ok thanks
take in mind: those reparations took us really A LOT of time
Either way, I'm leaving it this way, I like the way it looks

I can imagine. Simple painting took me forever and you actually repaired the pieces. It did sound like you were ok with the effect, it is neat if you aren't going for the mirror finish. Just thought I'd toss it in there.

[JohnnyBravo]

The plastics woulda been totaled to the vast majority around... You fixed it
Also you got me wanting to paint my bike in the basement

[7oxSin]

looks awesome, i see that you had a small bit of orange peeling, if you increase the spray distance, increase the time between coats, and high grit wetsand between coats you can usually get rid of that.

but it looks great!

@JohnnyBravo
didnt you know? all the cool kids paint their ninjas in the basement,

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by 7oxSin

looks awesome, i see that you had a small bit of orange peeling, if you increase the spray distance, increase the time between coats, and high grit wetsand between coats you can usually get rid of that.

but it looks great!

@JohnnyBravo
didnt you know? all the cool kids paint their ninjas in the basement,

Yes sir... Just gota get outa the apartment next week, an back to where I have garages, basements, and shops at my disposal... Hey that looks like the bike in my pic game submission

[the big mike]

Oh, and on the first picture of the finished bike, you can see that I installed a second horn. It's a 12V horn in parallel with the OEM one.

Just for the heck of it and anyway, if I use it, i'll be sure to be heard

The problem however, is that it starts making dents in the radiator

[csmith12]

Nice repairs!

[mrb]

very nice job!

I have some similar cracks that i bought my bike with. Not quite as extensive, but I would like to fix them. Have you ever done any body work before? How difficult was the whole process? Most importantly, Would it be less expensive to do this (fix, sand, and paint) than to just buy a new fairing for about 250? (right lower). How did you do the painting (rattle can, airbrush etc).


thanks
Ben

[rasta]

Soo would this be a way to repair relatively deep scratches on the fairing too?

[Nemesis]

Great job!

I really admire peeps who go to lengths to DIT(hemselves).

So what was the total cost?

[crazymadbastard]

Nice work there, on the rattle cans- where did you go for those with factory codes? I went to one place and they have to take a picture and come up with the mix, kinda iffy I think. The cost quoted was $38 per can.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

Nice work there, on the rattle cans- where did you go for those with factory codes? I went to one place and they have to take a picture and come up with the mix, kinda iffy I think. The cost quoted was $38 per can.

http://www.colorrite.com/department/kawasaki-10020.cfm

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Nice repairs!

Thank you

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by mrb

very nice job!

I have some similar cracks that i bought my bike with. Not quite as extensive, but I would like to fix them. Have you ever done any body work before? How difficult was the whole process? Most importantly, Would it be less expensive to do this (fix, sand, and paint) than to just buy a new fairing for about 250? (right lower). How did you do the painting (rattle can, airbrush etc).


thanks
Ben

Thanks
no, this was the first time I ever touched some plastics with the intention to repair/paint them.
Is it difficult? It depends, I've watched a lot of youtube videos before starting, I really wanted to be sure that I knew what I was doing. So knowing what to do and what's next takes some preparation, but once you're ready there's nothing difficult about the process.
My greatest difficulty was the lack of material. I had to sand it all by hand (wich would have taken me twice the time without the help of my girlfriend). I also used rattle cans instead of a paint gun. I know that the orange peel is my fault, but I'm sure it would've been better with a gun.

And to answer your last question: "is it less expensive to do this (fix, sand, and paint) than to just buy a new fairing for about 250?"
I didn't care. My only goal was to do it myself and to learn something new and to encounter new problems, I'm glad I did it and I know what I would change if I ever did it again.
I'll give the exact price in another comment below.

Just take in mind: it takes an enormous amount of time if it's the first time and you want to do it right

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by rasta

Soo would this be a way to repair relatively deep scratches on the fairing too?

Yes, you just apply the technique shown in the video (drilling, sanding, filling) to the one side that is damaged

I did it to the front fender, there was damage due to flying stones (I think). The picture of the repair is on here as wel. Just two small white dots.
@rasta: also check the damage I had on my left rear fender. It's invisible now

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

Great job!

I really admire peeps who go to lengths to DIT(hemselves).

So what was the total cost?

I appreciate that comment

I've never calculated the total cost until now so let's see:
- drill and grinding piece: 0€ (I had it at home)
- sand paper of different kinds (180, 320, 1200), enough to sand all the plastics for painting and also to sand the white stuff. I don't know, maybe 10€?
- the white stuff + hardner (motip plastic repair putty): 10€
- the fibers and resin to form a hard shape (motip polyester resin): 10€
- degreaser: 5€
- spray cans: 5 cans of primer, 5 cans of color, 3 cans of clear coat: 250€
take in mind: the color was very expensive, i believe that it could've been 180 with a normal color. Also: I painted the WHOLE BIKE: front fender, front cowl, two side fairings and two rear fairings.
- new tank pad: 8€
- second horn: 5€
- girlfriend: a lot, but no money
- time: a lot

TOTAL: 300€ = 405$
it is a lot of money, for this price I could've bought some nice japanese fairings for the whole bike as well, spend less time and still maybe had some fun with the fitting issues. But I had the plan to do it the way I did and I'm glad I did it.

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

Nice work there, on the rattle cans- where did you go for those with factory codes? I went to one place and they have to take a picture and come up with the mix, kinda iffy I think. The cost quoted was $38 per can.

The store I went to had about 8 official kawasaki colors in its database and mixed it on the spot.
I chose 'KAWASAKI NINJA 636'
The green is really perfect. I think your price is about right.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by the big mike

Yes, you just apply the technique shown in the video (drilling, sanding, filling) to the one side that is damaged

I did it to the front fender, there was damage due to flying stones (I think). The picture of the repair is on here as wel. Just two small white dots.
@rasta: also check the damage I had on my left rear fender. It's invisible now

Hmm I watched the video and am trying to figure out how I would do that for the scratches on my bike. In the vid, he basically drills along the line of the crack. Do you think I would want to drill around all of the scratches until I get the the layer of plastic underneath them, then fill in the big gap with that plastic stuff?

[LNasty]

after years of spray painting models as a kid I found one way to make the paint come out smoother is to heat up some water in a pan, take it off the heat and put the can in the water for about 3-5 minutes. Makes the paint come out smooth as butta

[rasta]

@the big mike, I also noticed you didn't sand the paint off the entire piece of plastic....so you only needed to sand the area you were working on?

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by rasta

Hmm I watched the video and am trying to figure out how I would do that for the scratches on my bike. In the vid, he basically drills along the line of the crack. Do you think I would want to drill around all of the scratches until I get the the layer of plastic underneath them, then fill in the big gap with that plastic stuff?

well, it depends. If the scratches are deep and thin, I would use the grinder to open it up, because the putty isn't really easy to work with.

If you believe the scratches are of a convenient size to just use some sandpaper and put the putty in it: go ahead

just pay attention: sometimes, the damage is not only inwards (the scratch) but can also come outward at the edges a little bit. So make sure these are gone or it'll leave marks

But essentially: yeah, that's how I would do it too