Question:

I've surfed and repaired surfboards my whole life (thanks, dad) and as far as I had always known using fiberglass was a great way to to do body repair. However, I know there's plastic weld and some other strategies such as careful melting for ABS body repair.

So here's my question; what is best for body work on a bike?

Let me give you an idea of what I'm going to be looking at doing. I've been mezmerized by demented's F3 with the RR tail and F4i front and I think I'm finally ready to do the tail on mine. I've got some RR tail pieces and am looking at the latches/brackets/etc. that I'll need to make the seats and whatnot to make this project work. But instead of using the whole RR tail and scrapping the F3 side covers, I'm thinking I can keep the front 6" to 1' of the original side covers to make the tail flow into the body a little better and to make mounting the front of the new tail to the original F3 plastics look more natural. So with my experience with fiberglass, I was thinking about some combo of molding and forming/shaping the F3 pieces to the RR tail to make it work.

Anyone have any thought/criticisms/concerns/suggestions on that? What are the advantages/disadvantages of using fiberglass for this kind of work vs. some sort of plastic weld? Has anyone done any custom body work like this where they went a different route that worked particularly well or where they might have learned some tough lessons?

Just testing the waters before I dive in. Any helpful info would be great guys!

 

I have been considering making a mold and constructing a one off composite custom tail for one of my hurricanes... I'll post up the process after it is done.
There is an ABS product sold in the appliance industry for fridge liner repairs Plastifix (PF041). It is uncured ABS and I've used it for years on abs repairs, broken tabs, etc. If you have Reliable Parts or Amre Supply you should be able to purchase some.

 

only thing i have for you is a pic. this is the whole reason i broke down and did the f4i conversion on the front. i think the f3 fairings just look to bulky. but just an opinion.

Fiberglass would be the best solution. I would cut off what you need of the f3 parts and mount them and then sit the rr tail where you like it and find some way of attatching them while you glass to keep it all in line and fitting good.

 

@Thrash:
Sounds cool, post up some pics and a step-by-step when you get rolling on that project! Thanks for the heads up on the plastifix. I am going to see who sells it around here and go check it out to see if it's something I might be able to use. My big concern with that is workability, but if it looks like something I could work with I may start with a fiberglass mold and use the Plastifix for a final product. I do prefer ABS fairings to fiberglass in the end. But I'm still trying to plan my attack here and I'm waiting on parts and some free time to start doing some mocking-up, so I am not firmed up on exactly how I'll do this yet..

@Demented:
I agree with you on the front fairings, they have a real smooth/rounded look on the F3 and the RR tail is quite a bit more edgey and pulled in. I am hoping that using the front of the F3 side covers and blending them with the RR tail will make a good transition to the F3 front. At this point I don't have the money to drop on the F4i fairings and I think this could look cool (and I'd like to keep mine a semi-unique project also ). So I'll mock up the tail and side covers before I do any cutting on the tail and see if I can get a feel for what it will look like. In the end, I may have to go your route.

Anyhow, thanks for the pics and tips guys! Any other input or help you guys or others might have is greatly appreciated!

 

I had another thing I thought of Demented...

You had to bend your subframe up to tuck it into the RR tail, right? You think there's anyway to get around that? Having to tweak the subframe is something I'd like to avoid, but at the same time that tail looks great pulled up like that and I don't know if I'd run into any clearance or mounting issues with the seats if I tried seating the back of the tail lower than you have it to hide the end of the subframe.

Any thoughts on that?

And do you have any kind of a trunk under the passenger seat, stock or otherwise? Maybe I could twist your arm for a couple more pics?

I'm thinking I'll fab my own undertail and try to make use of the RR locking system for the trunk space, but as I don't have all those parts yet I'm not sure if I'll have any issues trying to fit it all in. I have the feeling I might have to make myself an custom trunk.. as far as a pan goes anyhow.

 

wassup bro,i like fiberglass to but hate the mess it leaves with the loose strands!if you could blend the two were the passenger pegs start,closest bolt hole to the rider.circle it in the pic.demented has a great bike (i dont know how you feel)but i dont like the look of the open subframe just sitting there,or sticking out a little.when the money comes in for me,i'm going to "try to" blend the 98-99 tail, love the way those look.

 

edward that is some nice fiberglass work on that tail

 

Yea that's about where I'm thinking of joining the two. All of my experience is with fiberglass and I've been repairing surfboards with it since I was a kid, so I actually kind of enjoy it. The only thing I don't like is all the sanding!! That's the best part about plastic.. it's so easy to sand down! haha

What do you mean by the 98-99 tail? On the F3? (honda stopped building the F3 in '98)

And yea, demented's bike was my inspiration for doing this.. so you could say I like his bike!! heh I don't mind the open frame so much cuz it looks a little better with the RR tail I think, but I will try to keep the F3 fairings on if I can make it look good that way.