October 4th, 2011, 09:50 AM | #1 |
Annoying gadfly
Name: Brian
Location: Cameron Park, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja EX250R Posts: 52
Blog Entries: 5
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How do I repair a fairing?
Shattered glass! That is what my fairing is like. No, I didn't crash. Heck, I have no CLUE why my fairing is like fragile shattered glass. But it is and, quite frankly, I am not one of those who believes that duct tape is a permanent fix. (But it is one hell of a great temporary fix and can even hold airplane fabric together until one can make permanent repairs -- don't ask how I know.)
I went to ride yesterday afternoon. (Bad day, getting out on the road helps.) As I was getting ready my leg brushed the bottom of the lower right side fairing and everything kinda' went SPROING! I don't know why but I suspect excessive heat from the previous owner's special exhaust system. It seems to have turned parts of the fairing brittle. Cracks I suspect I can deal with using an appropriate solvent-type adhesive followed by a a lay-up of glass or carbon fiber and epoxy. (I would used crossed weave because I am not sure whether I am dealing with tensile or shear stresses and want to carry loads in all directions.) So, I solicit input as to whether this makes sense or not. What I am more concerned with is rebuilding the attachement ears that are on the upper fairing to which the lower fairing bolts. (Yeah, the upper fairing needs repair too.) That has to be a high stress point and a weak repair will only fail again quickly. That has to be strong. Again, I am looking for suggestions from someone who has dealt with this and found a permanent fix. Lastly, perhaps the best fix is to find another fairing that hasn't been damaged. I am open to buying one from someone. My 2006 ninjette is black but I am not picky. Function is more important than appearance. And there is always tastefully-applied paint. So, since I am getting ready to take everything apart in order to do the forks (new springs, new seals, RaceTech cartridge emulator, different fork oil) and adjust the valves, I guess I am going to be making fairing repairs at the same time. Damn. I was hoping to take off and do some serious riding, not sit around gluing my fairing back together. Help!
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October 4th, 2011, 10:08 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org dude
Name: 1 guess :-)
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much.
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One of our members put together a DIY for repairing cracks in a fairing:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42690 and another here: http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16348 But your fixes might need to be more extensive. Finding cheap plastics as they pop up here and elsewhere might not be a bad way to go either. /thread moved to pre-gen tech, not about a specific crash.
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October 4th, 2011, 04:48 PM | #4 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Steve
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Moto Guzzi V11 LeMans, 2001 ZZR250 Posts: 38
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Sounds like my old FJ1200. Vibration, heat (air cooled bike) and cheap (almost ABS -like) fairing material did that one in, as it never hit the ground but needed extensive (!) work on the tabs and had large stress cracks. I've crashed Hondas with nothing but surface scratches, but Yamaha plastics....
Your approach with solvent based adhesive (or krazy glue) followed by glass and resin is what I did on mine (works best if you thoroughly roughen and clean with solvent in behind first), and I found that the ears could be rebuilt with a two part epoxy putty (purchased here in BC at a place called Industrial Plastics) to form the tabs. I then machined them to shape with a die grinder and added a bit of resin/glass reinforcement. It was a lot of work, but as all the pieces lined up perfectly and had no paint damage the end result was fantastic - couldn't see the cracks, paint all lined up, and hey they only weighed about five pounds more (ugh).... Some of the fittings needed to be changed from the original style so I riveted and glassed in Dzus quarter turn fasteners. I'm sure you can adapt whatever you like to use if you need to BUT.... On that note, new fairings might be a better option and certainly less time intensive. Steve |
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October 4th, 2011, 05:41 PM | #5 |
Annoying gadfly
Name: Brian
Location: Cameron Park, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja EX250R Posts: 52
Blog Entries: 5
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Well, considering the amount of work that will be required, I pretty much resigned myself to getting a replacement ... until I got the price:
$600 for the upper fairing and $400 for the lower! So, I am looking to repair or buy used. The tabs were the thing I worried about most. I have worked with structural reinforcing material for epoxy for making structural fillets. (I used to live on a 48' wood, glass, and epoxy sailboat so I became fairly adept at using that.) It is good to know that someone has done this before and has charted the waters. I like the idea of Dzus fasteners or camlocks but I can live with bolts. Thanks. I'll go hit up my local plastics supply shop for some materials and advice.
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Brian -- World domination through science! |
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October 5th, 2011, 06:41 AM | #6 |
CPT Falcon
Name: J.Emmett Turner
Location: Newnan, GA
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '08 CP Blue EX250J, '97 unpainted EX250F, 2nd '97 unpainted EX250F (no engine), '07 black EX250F Posts: A lot.
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http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=465
Sheets of ABS plastic whic can be formed somewhat with careful use of heat. http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=247 PlastiFix but you can probably use regualr ABS Cement just the same. |
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October 5th, 2011, 12:52 PM | #7 |
Fighterer in Training
Name: Joshua
Location: Schenectady, NY
Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2001 Ninja 250R Posts: 316
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Easy fix:
1) Remove fairings 2) Toss fairings in a corner/trash bin 3) Ride nekkid!!!! Posted via Mobile Device |
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October 5th, 2011, 01:26 PM | #8 |
Annoying gadfly
Name: Brian
Location: Cameron Park, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja EX250R Posts: 52
Blog Entries: 5
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I am considering the efficacy of running without fairings. Certainly easier when it comes to doing maintenance. Still, it looks better with the fairings and I suspect that the fairings provide better cooling airflow through the radiator and across the exposed metal of the engine.
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Brian -- World domination through science! |
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October 5th, 2011, 01:37 PM | #9 |
Fighterer in Training
Name: Joshua
Location: Schenectady, NY
Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2001 Ninja 250R Posts: 316
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In my experience, I've noticed she runs a lot cooler without the fairings. My temp gauge used to be at about 12 o'clock while at highway speed. Now it runs at about 10 o'clock, or just above the "warm up" zone. I even cut some expanded steel to replace the chicken wire screen that kawi uses to protect the radiator, thinking that may cause more restriction, but still runs cooler.
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October 5th, 2011, 02:01 PM | #10 | |
Jigglin' your Jiglets
Name: Sean
Location: San Jose, Ca
Join Date: Jun 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 K1300S, 2013 Ninja 300, 2011 Ninja 250R, Faster than Unregistered's ninjette Posts: Too much.
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MOTM - Apr '13
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Quote:
I think they look good naked!
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October 6th, 2011, 07:05 AM | #11 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: darius
Location: GA
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2000 250 sold; 2005 636 sold. BIKELESS IN ATLANTA Posts: 753
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Naked sounds good, fairings look great IMO. I would have an issue with possible exposed wires/hardware. Now, to answer your question, I have helped repair plastics on 2 bikes, and they are still holding up. One is a 675 (damaged front fender, fairings in blinker area). The other is 750 (tail section, fairings on both sides, and front fender). I'll actually be doing the underside of my front fairings sometimes this winter. I can't remember the product's name, but it is sometype of plastic/abs fix from autozone.
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October 8th, 2011, 12:26 PM | #12 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: D
Location: Palm Beach, FL
Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250R, 2007 EFI Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
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Naked Bikes
Ninjas and some people should not be allowed to go around naked.
Its best to repair or get some new fairings. Otherwise people will stare.
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October 10th, 2011, 03:39 AM | #13 |
CBR? This is ninjaaaaaa!!
Name: Michael
Location: Victoria, Australia
Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): '97 ZZR250 Posts: 40
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If just cracks. Follow these steps and it will be stronger than the original
Sand the underside of the fairing at the location of the crack about 5 cm from the crack in every direction with some 80grit sand paper. Clean the sanded area with some rub in alcohol or similar chemical. Using a soldering iron, make a groove in the location of the crack on both the inside and outside of the fairing. This is with the sandpapered area and a groove cut in On the inside, use a fiberglass kit with fiberglass blankets. The rough surface created by the sandpaper will help the resin of the fiberglass bond better. This is the fiberglass on the inside: On the outside, clean it with alcohol. Sand it back with 80grit again. Then mix up a auto body-filler. Apply that. Sand it down. And bobs your uncle. Good as new! Here are some before and afters: Before: After (the grey areas are the parts where cracks were repaired): |
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October 10th, 2011, 05:36 AM | #14 |
Love Rival
Name: Brian
Location: Western PA
Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r Posts: 449
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The PO of my bike did a number on the fairings, so stripped them down, fixed the cracks and repainted for under $30 cash money.
It was a good learning experience and they turned out fine, but a real PITA. You can read more here
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October 10th, 2011, 05:40 AM | #15 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: D
Location: Palm Beach, FL
Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250R, 2007 EFI Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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I really don't think its a good idea to use auto body filler (aka Bondo) on ABS plastic. The problem is that most body fillers are polyester based resins. These have two issues that make them unsuitable for bikes.
The first is that they shrink over time. So all that work will turn into an ugly crack in a few months to a year. This is also true when they are used on cars to fill dents. The second problem is that polyester resin hardens very stiff. So its like a sheet of glass and prone to breaking. This isn't so bad when fixing a dent on a metal car door, but its just not a suitable match for ABS plastic which is designed to be somewhat flexible. The preferred filler for ABS plastics like on a Ninja is an ABS based filler. In a pinch, you can also use epoxy based fillers such as JB-Weld, JB-Kwik. You can usually tell the difference by the way you mix it. Polyester resins use mostly resin and a few drops of hardener. Epoxy resins are mostly mixed half and half. ABS uses a solvent which dissolves the filler material and then dries.
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