Making it shiny

[Tango89er]

So, now that I've got my bike running nicely, I've decided to start focusing on the looks. Unfortunatey, the upper cowling/fairing is cracked to hell and back. What I wasn't expecting was how hard it would be to find a replacement. Neither of the motorbike wreckers around my area have them in stock, so I'm probably going to have to fix up the one I have

Photos of the damage

[Ghostt]

Try eBay, if your lucky and patient you will find one the same color you need

[VaFish]

Looks like all the pieces are there. Just plastic weld it back up.

[Tango89er]

Originally Posted by VaFish

Looks like all the pieces are there. Just plastic weld it back up.

Yeah, everything is there. Never done plastic welding though

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by Tango89er

Yeah, everything is there. Never done plastic welding though

It's pretty easy.

I use what is basically a soldering iron with a triangular tip.

http://www.harborfreight.com/80-watt...kit-60662.html

And some plastic welding rods.

http://www.harborfreight.com/50-piec...ods-41602.html

Heat it up to melt things together and add a little filler rod. I've been using the White ABS rods in the pack. They seem to work well on the 3 bike fairings and 1 fender I have repaired.

Here is my daughters damaged fairing filled in.



This video is pretty much how I do it. Except I use the triangular tip of the soldering iron to create a V instead of the dremel tool.

This video has been sped up quite a bit to make it shorter. You need to go much slower than what is shown.

Link to original page on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_0ge01X5jI

[Tango89er]

Two questions

1) Can the plastic weld be sanded to a smooth finish?
2) Would fibreglass and bondo work as an alternative?

I assume the answer to question two is no, but you never know

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by Tango89er

Two questions

1) Can the plastic weld be sanded to a smooth finish?
2) Would fibreglass and bondo work as an alternative?

I assume the answer to question two is no, but you never know

Yes you have to sand it smooth afterwards, probably need some sort of body filler like bondo as well before you paint it. (unless you just like the Frankenstein look)

From what I have seen fiberglass/resin doesn't stick well to the plastic. But that may have had more to do with the prep work done than the fiberglass itself.

Where in Australia are you?

I lived in Alice for 6 years. Two of my kids were born there so they are Aussies.

[Tango89er]

Originally Posted by VaFish

Where in Australia are you?

I lived in Alice for 6 years. Two of my kids were born there so they are Aussies.

Perth. Grew up on a farm. Learnt to ride quads and dirt bikes when I was 18, mostly because of using them for work on other farms. Wanted one of my own ever since.

Plan for the bike is to get it running (done!) and make it look as nice as possible. Thinking gloss black and gold for the colour scheme, try to modernise it a little. Also contemplating a digital gauge setup

[jkv45]

One suggestion on the plastic welding - work on the backside whenever possible. Do the majority of the repair on the backside, and even leave some extra build-up for added strength.

On the frontside grind a V-notch and use ABS filler to fill it and level the notch.

Regular "Bondo" has no strength, and is not flexible enough to work well on a fairing.

Another way to repair it is to grind a V-notch in the backside in the crack plus grind an area about 2" on either side of the crack. Apply ABS adhesive to the entire ground area and use fiberglass mat (about 4" wide) saturated in the adhesive to cover the crack and ground area.

You can use fiberglass mat with almost any adhesive or resin to give a repair added strength on the backside.

[JohnnyBravo]

Learn how to fix it... You might like that kind of work

[Tango89er]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Learn how to fix it... You might like that kind of work

I love that kind of work, I'm just used to working on car bodies, not bike fairings

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by Tango89er

I love that kind of work, I'm just used to working on car bodies, not bike fairings

My page didn't refresh to see all the discussion... Well test it out, I doubt you can mess them up worst

[Tango89er]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

My page didn't refresh to see all the discussion... Well test it out, I doubt you can mess them up worst

Refreshing issues are a problem with all forums mate

As for the work, you're not wrong. Somebody's already done a poor job on previous damage

[JohnnyBravo]

Duct tape really doesn't fix everything

[Tango89er]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Duct tape really doesn't fix everything

The duct tape did sweet FA anyway. Still been on the hunt for a new fairing without luck. Also seen some people do chop jobs mixing the pregen fairing with the new gen, so looking at that as an option as most of the damage is around the mirrors/windshield.

But I haven't been idle. I have a new alarm/remote start to install, as well as a 12v USB and phone case to mount to the handlebars

[JohnnyBravo]

Oath

[Tango89er]

So after being given ludicrous prices on new near fairings, I've elected to fix the ones I have. To prepare and position everything for reinforcement I've removed the crappy duct tape job it already had and added my own. Next free day I get I'll be fibreglassing the inside

[spent_too_much]

I need to repair one of my fairings as well. Looks about as beat up as yours. The ABS plastic cement works wonders, but takes days to dry ( when you are laying it on thick ). I can't quite tell from the photos, but drilling two small holes, and using zip ties, while the glue / cement sets up, works well too. You can then fill in the holes after the major repairs are compelte.

I have also used 2 part epoxy for these types of repairs, with pretty good success. It dries much faster, in my experience.

[Tango89er]

Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. I've taped up the outer side so everything sits nice and flush. Will be looking at using two part epoxy as that's what I have in my small collection of adhesives. If that fails, I'll give ABS cement a go.

Got to sand back some of the poor plastic welding too. In the end, I want this to be something of a show bike, something that expresses who I am as a person