Designing a new rear fender - winter project

[Jagster]

Starting to prep the surface of the mould with high build primer.
There are one or two localised areas that have not printed cleanly, so will need a bit of tlc before waxing up with mould release.

 

[Jagster]

Surface prepped ready for mould release wax..........

 

[Jagster]

.....so...the gelcoat followed GRP is laid into the mould. I'v made it around 3mm thick, which should make it strong/stiff enough.
Now cured and the initial trimming has been done around the edge of the mould prior to removal from the 3D printed mould.....

 

[stingray]

I'm interested in how it turns out. Do you think the fiberglass strong enough by itself or will it need any support? I guess you could glass it in with fender washers too since you have the mold. Pretty cool making your own fender. Big props your way.

 

[Jagster]

I'm interested in how it turns out. Do you think the fiberglass strong enough by itself or will it need any support? I guess you could glass it in with fender washers too since you have the mold. Pretty cool making your own fender. Big props your way.

I think it will be strong enough. I've got it all trimmed up and trial fitted to the bike at the moment and it feels pretty sturdy.
There is some flex in the way of twist, when I get hold of the licence plate end of the fender and try to push it about. I don't think it's enough movement to cause concern bearing in mind that it's mounted to the rear subframe compared to the swing arm like the stock rear fender, which is real harsh.
It's not going to wobble about while you're riding along, or anything like that.
It's good to have a bit of flex, as it helps to absorb shocks.

I'll post up some photos when I get a chance to wheel the bike outside.....It's a bit cramped in my workshop at the moment. Too many projects on the go.

 

[Jagster]

Thought i'd make a front fender extender while i'm dripping resin everywhere.... ....The mould is printed and almost ready for mould release wax....

 

[Jagster]

While the new grp parts + one or two stock body parts are away at the painters, I have been making the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
A multi purpose rack. It will have different components that I can quickly add to it, to perform different tasks, such as a wide-comfy pillion seat pad, the stock aluminium rack base (just for styling ) and a quick-fit to my custom top-box, which I made many years ago to fit my Guzzi sports bike. The shape will work great on this bike too (watch this space).

This is a first fit & photograph.......

 

[Jagster]

 

[Jagster]

Finally all the planets have aligned and I received the rear fender, plus some of the stock trim parts back from the paint shop, some available time to fit them on the bike, and 18 inches of snow has amazingly melted during the week, so I wheeled her out for the first 'stand back and take it all in' photos.

It's not complete without the rack etc... but I couldn't wait to finalize all the parts before uploading these initial images.

I'm 75% happy with how it looks in the flesh. Like I said, it's not all there, yet so I can't be completely critical just yet, but one thing i've already decided to do is to make a smaller light cluster ( turn signals - licence plate light & reflector). As it is, I think it's currently too bulky looking.
I can't do anything about the massive licence plate unfortunately. That's just how they are in the UK .

I'll post up some more photos when I get the rack fitted etc..

 

[philmoto73]

voici les photos de mon garde boue arrière