Crash damage options?

[fartinmartin]

Some guy in a BMW decided that my 02 ST needed re-shaping the other day (along with my ribcage). Does anyone have experience of repairing fairing panels with a plastic welding kit? Or I thought I may perhaps go the the other way and maybe do a top yoke conversion and streetfight it a little?

If I want Renthal bars on it can I use Tiger cables wiring etc to fit the higher bars.

Any ideas/help would be appreciated.
No jokes please, as it hurts when I laff!

[ExKellick]

I smashed up my front fender and damaged the nose piece on my 00 ST a couple of months ago. I used a good body filler that had chopped glass mat in it for the repairs. It worked brilliantly and saved me some money (as well as the challenge of fixing it myself). If you go this route make sure you rough up any bonding surfaces and clean up with a wax and grease remover - otherwise if the areas aren't huge its pretty easy. The most difficult part to get right is the paint.

Any pics of the damage there may be others with some good suggestions on this site.

Good luck. Sorry to hear about your off - pretty disappointing huh...

[dolson]

I've used this for years on about any and everything.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/sto...CRAGLAS+GEL%7e

It's sandable, paintable and you can even D&T it. My buddy even made a mold and cast a gear for his lathe with it. The joint will be stronger than the surrounding material.

Just about any store that carries sporting goods will have it too.

Don

[SEAsprintah]

Originally Posted by ExKellick

I smashed up my front fender and damaged the nose piece on my 00 ST a couple of months ago. I used a good body filler that had chopped glass mat in it for the repairs. It worked brilliantly and saved me some money (as well as the challenge of fixing it myself). If you go this route make sure you rough up any bonding surfaces and clean up with a wax and grease remover - otherwise if the areas aren't huge its pretty easy. The most difficult part to get right is the paint.

Any pics of the damage there may be others with some good suggestions on this site.

Good luck. Sorry to hear about your off - pretty disappointing huh...

Where'd you find your paint?

[oldndumb]

Additional info re fairing repair and adhesives for your reading pleasure.
http://plastex.ca/
http://selector.3m.com/selector/us/e...hesives&LL=aad
The selector is for 3M products. You can also use that link to access other categories of 3M products.
If you ever consider repainting a fairing or tank take a look at this site. Register on it and then go to his FAQ section.
http://www.grasshoppercustompaint.com

[fartinmartin]

Many thanks for the info. Judging by the replies it's better to repair than streetfight!

Thanks for the link Oldndumb. I've sent an e-mail enquiry to 3M to see if they would ship in small amounts to the UK.

The only options over here are fibreglass mat and filler which are OK for little boy car racers, but I don't thimk it will handle the vibrations on a bike. If I do it, I might attempt to post it as a DIY guide. Good Grief! It'll be like the blind leading the blind!!

[oldndumb]

I don't know if it was on this forum or someplace else, but I read a very good description of what type material our fairings are fabricated from, and the recommended repair materials. Now that my interest is piqued, I'll try to find it again.
You could also e-mail the grasshopper guy, because I'm pretty sure he rides a Triumph.
And then, I've found that you can't go wrong with dolson's recommendations. There are a lot of 'long distance service providers' who use the stuff he recommended (an inside joke he will catch on to).

[MickSprint06]

Last low speed fall I took my smashed plastic bits to a local spraypainter and he repaired and respayed (matched the colour perfectly) for about 1/10th the price of new plastic. He had done motorcycle farings before but he was no specialist. Seems to me it was a bit of a doddle really.

[ExKellick]

Originally Posted by SEAsprintah

Where'd you find your paint?

Actually I was a bit slack because I considered my repair to be temporary (thought a carbon fender would be nice). In the end I just used a gloss acrylic black paint from the local auto shop over a plastic primer with a few coats of clear over the top for good measure. I think the black on Sprints of my vintage has a very slight tinge of red in it, but its pretty hard to pick.

http://www.triumphrat.net/attachment...1&d=1185807803

http://www.triumphrat.net/attachment...1&d=1185808086

Here's how it went - excuse the bugs and crud from my daily wrestle with the traffic.

[MVP44]

Why not just get all new panels? Isn't the guy in the beemer paying for them?