Its amazing what you can pull off(literally lol) with packaging tape, cardboard, clay, wax, and PVA. I like that mid rib for strength.. what is that like 6 layers of 3k carbon?
1 layer of 3k and some crazy thick twill fiberglass/carbon fabric I have never found much use for lol (don't even remember why I have it). 6 layers of 3k carbon would definitely work good. The tank slider area is a slick layup, top 2 are the silver fiberglass then alternating layers of carbon and carbon/Kevlar to a thickness around .090"
motorsports vehicle technology at lanier tech... they had a deal at elan in braselton where we could go "play".. before that wrecked fairings and the desire to not look like a complete patch adams at the track. Its not as hard as you think... If you understand what a surface finish is and can use sandpaper properly... PVA is huge, rexco release wax two primary steps. edit dont ever use composite envisions to buy fabric (still high on google for some reason)((F from BBB)) you don't really need a bunch of bagging materials, vacuum pump, etc. either... thats just icing on the cake
As always...great work Rick! And congrats on a strong showing in the 200!!! Guys, don't waste your breath asking Rick to make you a set of anything...I've been trying for a decade...
First off, those fairings are beautiful. Nice work! I am curious about any advice you may have as well? I have done a fair amount of fiberglass work, but I don't even know where to begin fabricating the molds bodywork like this. I've done some boat building with a sandwich construction using wood and fiberglass where the wood serves as the mold but also becomes part of the final product so it eliminates a bunch of steps.
Lots of trial and error. There is a ridicules amount of info on forums (I was on Composite central iirc but I think it's gone now), basically reading about it in general and the different processes. I started off making carbon fiber 1st Gen FZ1 parts a long time ago because I was to cheap to buy them. A friend that started racing said "make bodywork", so I bought a used race bike for a template... did a race since I had the bike...
hardest part in bike fairings is the amount of mold sections... for example... the zx-10 upper fairing mold i made is 5 pieces. You have to make neat (slim line) 90 degree flanges(bolts together) off the part when making the mold so the part doesnt get trapped inside due to the clam shell effect of compound curvatures. most tail sections are like this too.
just in case people are wondering what my last project was... http://www.bikeexif.com/turbocharged-yamaha-xj750-maxim-restomod
the reason for the cuts, tape, and slurry... doing shit without a mold is a pain in the ass. he got the fairing and i had to modify nearly every surface and he had to have his precious acrylic screen lol
Cool stuff pfhenry. I've been working on the little stuff like matching the fabric weave from part to part for a long time, get it good every now and then. This one is fairly close. Ha the photobucket tag is covering most of it lol.
