Cosmetology 101

The custom fiberglass seat cowl is a pretty long and drawn out process.  I wanted to make it myself and to have a custom fit and appearance on this bike.  In retrospect it might have been cheaper and most decidedly easier to purchase a premade unit from a supplier.  One option is www.hotwingglass.com .  I spoke with him at The British in The Blue Ridge Rally after I was pretty well invested in doing it myself.   $100 seems like a lot of money but when you add up the supplies, the time, and the mess, not to mention the quality of the end product , BUY ONE!

 

I started out with a trip to Walmart.  Yes Walmart.  I purchased Dry Foam in the home decorating department.  This is used by florist when they arrange flowers.   Painters tape, fiberglass cloth woven and non woven, fiberglass resin and hardener, paint brushes, and 3M spray adhesive.  I had to buy resin and hardener three times at $17 a pop.  I could have gotten a gallon but I didn't know how much I would need.  I spent about $90 by the time I was finished.  The process is as follows.

 

 

Foam and adhesive from Walmart.

 

 

Glue the blocks together in the general shape you want. 

Allow to dry for about 3 hours.

 

Using a marker layout the basic design you want.

 

Trim away the excess material.

 

 

 

Sand the end product down to get the finished form.

Then check fit on the bike.

 

Fine tune your design.

 

I cut out a recess for my brake lamp and that allowed me to mount it

directly to the cowl.

 

When you are satisfied cover the form with painters tape.

 

Use a good quality Carnuba car wax on the tape as a release agent for the resin.

 

 

First brush on a light coat of resin then begin to apply the fibered fabric followed by more resin.  When mixing the resin with the hardener mix a small amount at a time.  It hardens very quickly. 

 

I allowed an excess amount of fabric beyond the form.  This can be trimmed away easily after it has hardened.

One reason I wanted to make my own was to have a closed bottom area over the rear wheel.  The prefab units are just top shells.



 

Once the resin was hard I was able to remove the foam form I had made.  The closed bottom made it necessary to pretty much destroy the form to get it out.  After a little trimming and some sanding I was able to place the cowl on the bike and check fit. 

 

 

The fiberglass fit the bike like a glove.  The fitment was actually pretty gratifying but the finish was rough.

 

A lot of sanding and three additional procedures of laying fiberglass and resin then sanding and repeating gave me an acceptable if not perfect seat cowl.

 

I moved the turn signals to clear the cowl.  I also placed some 1/2 inch rubber weather striping on to the frame rails under the seat.  This helps to dissipate the vibration from the engine.   I also drilled holes for the brake light in the recess of the cowl as well as fabricating a mounting bracket for the light.   Oh yeah, new rubber mounted up and ready to ride!

Black gloss rattle can paint on the cowl, bracket, and the aluminium side panels.  

 

I had cut a piece of 1/4 inch plywood out to match the seat area of the cowl.  I had also picked up some black upholstery fabric at my local auto upholstry shop.  I used some 1/2 inch closed cell foam I had around the shop and stapled the fabric on with a neumatic stapler.  Note embroidered logo.  I used four bolts to attach the pad to the cowl from the under side.

 

With the cowl on the bike I was able to slide the aluminium side panels under the 1 inch side extention in the seat area of the cowl.  I then drilled through both panels and screwed both peices securly into place on the seat frame. 

 

Not perfect but not bad for my first try.

 

I've got a Cafe Racer!

 

 

The CRASH and The Functional bike!



 

       I have had and survived what will hopefully be my only crash related to this bike.  The old discarded office chair I have been using to sit in while I wrench on the bike suffered a catastrophic structural failure.   The resultant crash left me bruised and dazed.  On the up side there was no one else there to film the crash so I was saved the unending embarrassment of YouTube hell.

 



 

 

 

I finished attaching the new shorty reverse cone muffler.

 

 

New brake pads front and rear.

 

 

I had mentioned earlier that I was going to be able to  use the existing kick stand and bracket on the bike if I could work a few things out.  Well I did.  By reversing the bottom rear motor mount bolt and screwing it into the mount I was able to mount it on the bike as shown.

 

 

I then placed another bolt in the remaining hole to create an additional brace to support the weight of the bike.  Behind this bolt I placed a flat washer and a modified S-hook to attach the spring.

 

 

I then tacked a few beads on the back of the kick stand with a mig welder.

 

                               

I then carefully ground them down until the kick stand was in the proper position to clear the belt.   Really clean and affective.  Not to mention CHEAP!

 

 

A trip to my local Insurance Agents office and the County Tax Commissioners Office along with a few minor mods left me with what you see below.  A pretty decent little RAT bike.  I have been riding it around town and back and forth to work the last couple of days.   When it is parked I come out and folks are standing around and they inevitably ask, "What is THAT? "  I'm not really sure how I should take that.  

 

If I can get the seat cowl finished and the new tires mounted I plan to take a break and ride the bike for awhile, before moving on to  more serious refurbishments.  We are getting Close!

 

A little rest and reasearchation!

     I have been a little lax of late on my post.   The sudden death of a friend, heavy rain the day of the memorial service that caused a large tree to fall across my driveway, and a trip to the beach have resulted in little time to work on the bike.  There has been some progress but waiting on parts to arrive and trying to resource parts can be time consuming and not very exciting to blog about.   Even less exciting is looking at the mounting cost.  The total expenditure so far is in the $1600 range.  Really not that bad if you look at the bikes I looked at this weekend. 

     There was one 1973 Triumph Bonneville for sale with an asking price of $4750.  Cosmetically it was what I would call average.  There were some really nice bikes that it was obvious that somebody had put a lot of work and money into.  The majority of the bikes I looked at had little more done to them than a seat cowl and a set of clubman bars.  It made me feel pretty good about the work I have done on my bike.  One of the vendors I was talking to said most people just can't do what you are doing. I don't know if he was stroking me a little but it made me feel good anyway.  

 

 

 

Triumph 

 

 

BSA

 

Norton

 

Eye Candy!

 

BSA

 

Benelli Tornado 650

 

Rickman Metisse

 

Really nice ride.  Trailer Queen though.

 

 

It inspired me though and I picked up an exhaust there as well.  The bike is in ride able condition now and the latest test ride is below.  I am getting there!

 

 

Take me where the trail leads.

     I had a little bit of a revelation today.  I have been trying to figure out how I can measure the actual trail on the front end of my bike instead of estimating it.  I was back in the shop and saw two Lazar levels I use to align work on the screen printing press from time to time.  They have magnets on them, the bike is metal. I can project the lines I have been drawing on the computer on the floor.  On a yard stick even better!

 

Aligning the Lazar with the head tube angle.

 

Cool!

 

 

And we have?

 

5 inches?  Based on my earlier research and drawings not what I had expected.  Not even close.  Can you hear the wind dropping out of my sails?  Dead silence.  It's not gonna be a sport bike. 
   I have intentionally not mentioned this before but I am a BMW guy, a sport touring type of rider. My other bike is a R1100RT, the trail on my RT is 4.80 inches and it is a perfect blend for the Super Slab and the twisties. The RT is a great bike but it sort of insulates you from the feel of a more pure basic motorcycle. That is what attracted me to this project, the raw wind in your face hunched over feel of a simpler more basic bike. Something I can ride everyday back and forth to work and have a connection to because I made it what it is. I don't want the same bike everybody else has and I guess that is why I choose not to go with the kit. That and I am kind of a cheap SOB too. (I know that and BMW have no correlation whatsoever.) That choice has made this project become much more cathartic than I expected. Every change I make every decision shows a little bit of who I am, doing things because I like it and not because everybody else did it that way. Every discovery I make about the bike tells me who it is.   Finding a balance between what it was and what I want it to be.  Finding the soul of this bike and where it bonds with mine and who I am.  I mentioned finding a stopping point in the last post I think I have my answer.  Where do I bond with this bike.
   Looking at photos of this bike I have tried to figure out what it reminded me of and realized it was the Ducati Diavel. A Sport Cruiser!   Well in all honesty it has similar geometry, a similar stance so to speak. My bike will never be mistaken for a Diavel nor will it cause grown men to gasp when they see it, snicker maybe, gasp never.  The Diavel's MSRP is between $17,500 and $26,500. The Lycan is going to come in somewhere south of $2500.  What do you know, grown men are gasping, well some are, some are still snickering I feel sure.

 

 

I feel another test ride coming on!  With different expectations.

 

 

        

    

Day Dreaming?

     One of the truly great things about doing a bike build is you can change direction at anytime.   It is also interesting how much time you spend sitting and staring at the bike.  Day dreaming about what if?  What if I shorten the forks and drop the front end?  What if I switch wheels?  What if I go with this design aesthetic?  Do I value rideability or appearance more?  How much money have I spent already?  If I don't like the way the bike feels when I am finished what will be easier to sell and move on, a red bike or a black bike?    Will I ever be finished?  Probably not!   Ok, when do I reach a stopping point and how will I know?   Ok, now I hear Whitney Houston in my head, "How will I know?"  You will too for the rest of the day.  Hah!  Sucked you right in to that one, didn't I?  

       It can make you a little dysfunctional and unproductive in other aspects of your life.  It is always in the back of your mind, "How about this?  What if?"  I am still waffling back and forth on the wheels and on chain drive verses belt drive.  Someone pointed out the other day that chain drive is much easier to fix in a pinch than belt drive.  The only real draw backs are maintenance and the greasy dirty mess.  I could use both sets of wheels with a chain drive.  I could have a set of cruiser wheels for commuting and riding around town and a set of sport wheels with tires that are quicker side to side for the mountains!  Now we are talking.  Maybe an 18 tooth front and a 52 rear, we will have to explore this a little further.  I think I can do this with the addition of a front sprocket, a chain and an additional 52 sprocket for the GS450 rear wheel.  HMMMM?

      Cast wheels on bike with tubeless Kenda K671's, these may have just bought themselves a second life.  I was planning to try and move them, maybe not.  Maybe I'm not married to the belt drive idea after all.

 

 

    See how this works, you can go just about anywhere with this.  Anyway here are my updates.  

 

I have installed the clubman bars and bar end mirrors. 

     

 

 

      The fabricator I was using is having a hard time getting to my seat sub frame.  I could wait but I get a little impatient some times.  Below is a motorized tubing bender I have for bending awning frames.  Tight radius's like I had in mind are not possible but small changes are.

 

Just looking at these photos I think I will put an additional bend in the rear part of these and maybe a slight upward turn as well.  I plan to mount this frame to the holes in the top of the frame tubes.  I have done very little cutting to the frame so far.  The tabs for the belt guard had to be removed but other than that we are stock.

 

 

 Rear turn signals.

 

 I had almost given up on using the original seat pan but this has given me a little hope that there may be a level of comfort as well in my future.  The cafe seats usually don't look very comfortable.  My normal rides are in the 150 to 200 mile range.  I will have to come up with a cradle similar to the original frame configuration to mount on top of the sub frame.

 

 More photos and design renderings below.

 

That does look pretty good. 

 

    
I have ordered some parts and waiting for them to arrive, some are on back order.  The list is below:

Air intake filter

Crank case breather filter

Muffler

Grips

Oil filter

Rear brake shoes

Fork seals

Brake light

Brake light actuator cable. OEM part.

 

 I have been putting some thought into selling some of the parts I have removed.  Some of them where in pretty good condition and positive cash flow is a good thing.  It has all been negative so far.   I put them in a spread sheet the other day and looked up retail value and it came out to be about $3600.  The used market will usually bear about 15 to 20 percent of that for good parts, that would be somewhere between 5 to 7 hundred dollars.  I need to get on the stick and get the parts washer up and running.   There just aren't enough hours in the day to think and plan.  My plans are getting bigger!