New Project bike hits the stable - '90 VFR750

What? you aren't going to whine to TC for some help? You just blew your chance for a menage a troi with the numbnuts twins, Cundanutsack and Krispyscrotum.

Dude, if you are really plastic welding, you don't need any "fibreglass" ( BTW the cloth is the fibreglass) Both epoxy and polyester resin doesn't adhere well to ABS plastic. Pry out all that old shit and start over. You ain't got rid of those decals yet. Those on the tank are under the clearcoat and on top of the color coat. The stick ons will come off with a little heat and some help with paint thinner or naptha. Lighter fluid is naptha. So are some barbeque starters.

Reinforcement on the backside of ABS fairings is better done IMO with screenwire, locked down with the stick weld or one of the MEK based adhesives. The paint on the backsides of the pieces has to be removed too.

Painting just parts that you are fixing is a waste of time. That red has faded and getting a match will be impossible. A little trick if you plan to use the red again or especially if you are going to change color or colors is to shoot out all the backsides of all the chunks of ABS with a flat black, then your detail work on the front starts bigtime.

If your local Honda dealer hasn't run you off for telling him how to run his business, he just might have a chunk of a busted fairing to make some new tabs. The plastic weld ain't gonna work. Hold em in place with a drop of "superglue" and use one of the many proprietary ABS adhesives on the market. Most if they sound too good, ain't.

I know you know more about this than probably anyone in the world, but if you fuck it up you can blame me. I understand.

 

The irony of this is epic. Interested to see if personal dignity will overpower the yearning for a top notch result......

 

I have had luck using an epoxy like JB weld or PC13 & alumiminum or nylon screen to build tabs or repair heavy damage. Kinda red neck, but it has worked for me.

 

Then ya got the old plastic coat hanger and propane torch repair kit at Walmart for a buck 99.

Here's the real deal.. Doing the repair right is critical. Do it wrong or slipshod and it's not gonna hold. Finding out after spending a shitload of money on repair materials that are just OK and not being really careful and not thinking things through will jump up and bite ya right on the ass after spending several hundred bucks on paint, not to mention those $7.50 a pop black ABS expansion rivets.

 

Good luck!

 

dont get too fine on the parts you want to fill. the filler works TONS better with rough (and clean) surfaces.

 

also (if you havent seen it)
PLASTEX PLASTIC REPAIR KITS

watch the fairing repair vid on that site

 

havent used it, but saw it in the flesh and demoed at a bike show... looks legit

 

I used some of that plastex before. Maybe i didnt quite get the hang of using it, but the plastic turned out to be very brittle and/or didnt adhere well to the things I was try to fix. Give it a try, you may get better results if you sit down and really figure it out...

 

Nice work. Looking forward to see how the tabs hold up.

 

Optimum bond on "plastics" is with the same plastic used as the matrix. Not always possible even with the latest technology plastic welding techniques. Short of that increasing the surface area of the bond is IMO a good idea.

Those tabs can be held in place with a couple of drops of gel type superglue and then "welded" either with the actual stick welding or by one of the adhesives. Inreasing the surface area or the bond can be accomplished by drilling a series of small holes in and around the area that is being repaired making sure the entire area is free of any paint or primer so that the process works.

Kind of one of those "measure twice, cut once" deals in spades.

Look for more cracks after your first coat of primer too.

 

"Don't go to a salvage yard wearing a tie" LOL!!! That is Tshirt material..

If the dude was smart, he'd have given you the scrap in the first place. He's out zero bucks and gets goodwill brownie points on top of that for the next time you show up.

The gel superglue is like right now for holding parts in place for further work. Especially those %^%## tabs and slots..

Lookin good so far..

 

Hey Tink, why a cover on your cruiser?

Dust and tools flying in your garage LOL?

BZ

 

This is somewhat leftfield material, but as I'm beginning the process of getting mine sorted out I had the following thought: would it be possible to use existing cracked fairings as a mold for making your own carbon fiber replacements? You all seem to have a pretty good idea about what can be done with composites; I've only got experience working with metals. What do you think?

Edit: http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/carbon-fiber-motorcycle-parts/

 

I am playing with this. Took a mold of my 92 seat cowl, but due to track committments havent cleaned up or made an attempt at the CF layup. Here are some "inspirational" vids
YouTube - HOW TO FIBERGLASSS * How To Make A Mold * The Origina Fiberglass Series
http://www.youtube.com/user/carbonmods#p/a/u/0/qKrl1PPvliQ