Extended Carbon Fiber beak.....Help me design it....

My paint.net skills are a bit avg, but hopefully this might give you an idea. I think carving with foam with your skills you could come up with something neat. I guess its a cross between the G650GS/KTM990/KTM dakar fairing types:

Having seen ChiTown's bike this weekend, I'd love to see something that lets me do a bike like his without having to do the TT tank.

Did you see fellow inmate "A"`s thread on his work in progress on just that???
I think they are on to something.....

Erling

All,

Sorry for the delay, i have not been surfing the forums lately as I have been to busy to lurk around here.

The amount of muck is not too back. I have had only one time that it was an issue of flying up onto my face. Not sure why it has never happened again. I have taken it all over, done the Continental Divide trail from Denver to Canada and several other big wet rides.

From my view, it basically only throws enough to dirty the bike and headlight. Thus I would say 3-5 inches should be fine. Additionally, the length also depends a bit on how wide it is at the tip. If it is a point, it will have less effective use then a shorter extension that is wider. I would prefer not to change the whole look of the bike, simply make a replacement extended piece that looks like it was stock.

I figure there are 2 ideas here.

1) new beak that is longer and then use the plastic front (as mentioned earlier, I agree this would need to be painted)

2) Use my original idea of just a longer "extension" I am still good with this. it the angled lines could simply extend to more of a point, it would offer a bit more spray protection. However, if the lines were changes slightly to meet further forward and still not come to a point (similar to the current) this would be even better.

As for the plastic idea, I happen to know a guy that makes hand guards used to make his living machining molds for plastic injection. He may be able to make the molds to get this going or consult on the best way to go about it. However I think this is a much larger investment of time and energy that would need to be supported by a real business plan.


Regardless of what you determine, I am in for testing and checking out. Barring having to break the kids college fund, I am in for buying whatever.

So after much thought, and ....uhhmmmmm... more thought.... I have decided on two options...... Either a one piece replacement for the plastic beak....reusing the front black tip. The whole unit being a few inches longer...... Or....
Two....
Tie this into a new set of side/top panels ridding the bike of the crazy lines on the top part of the snorkel, along with the sharp bend in the side plastic front of the riders knee....... I cannot get myself to put a high fender on the bike...... TO....and the important part here..... is TO ME..... it looks bad. But I really like the pictures people have posted here with just the low fender removed..... I think along with that, and a set of CF fork guards..... I'm in busyness. So... the question of the day.... Curtsey of a fellow inmate.... 3-5 inches is volunteered..... That is quite long. Wadayathink....???????

So.... I took a stick on a 90 deg. angle to the tire....at the point of contact with the lower fender.... There was 2 inches to the beak..... so in theory to yield the same protection....beak goes forward two inches. Beak is now off, and release agent is applied. The simplest way is to make a print of the original beak, and use the front and rear part, so you get an accurate press of the mounting of the beak, and the forward section where the stock black plastic will bolt right on. This way it is vastly different than the stock, and thus no copyright infringement issues, if I decide to make a mould, in case any one are interested....



So it has begun.....

First of two layers of epoxy.....

Not to hijack, but I am gonna have some BMW parts for you to make now that I bought one an hour ago........

Second layer of epoxy.... Now it will sit overnight.....

Ohhhhh dear...... Sertao?....or perhaps the 700....no wait..... 8GS.... 1200 is not you, plus too much money goes in to the city of Aspen, for you to shell out the doe for the 1200....... OK...shutting up....wadayaget.....Buddy old pal.....:huh

After you pick up your new 650 single in Durango....just head south.....and we'l fab something up...... Congrats amigo.

Ahhhh, you sneaky devil! But, this is Nancy's new bike!!

There have a bit of talk in a few other threads here on advr, regarding orange peeling of epoxy after laying up. And several ideas have been pitched to "correct" the issue.....Most of them wrong, so I thought that I'd post what works, and have been working for me for years..... Simply just wash the piece you are going to make, in soap and water.....then dry it,and apply the release agent, and after two layers of epoxy ( MAX CLR-HP).... you can see that there are a clear, clean surface, even after a few squirts of acetone to rid the bubbles.....


Note the reflection of the garage door....


Until next time....

As this piece is going to be a throw away after the first cast is made, I tried to use a bit of fiberglass , but was reminded of how bad it conforms, as compared to the CF. This beak has some crazy angles, but I am hoping that I cam make this without vacuum moulding. So far so good. This will now set, and then the next two layers for a total of three will be laid.

So the first layer of CF has stabilized..... and thus the second layer of Carbon....and one glass, for a total of three layers.... cure overnight....

Love these builds.....

I kind of knew I was in for a hoot...... With these sharp angles..... and surely enough.... The fabric was not able to conform to the outer angles.... That would be somewhat different though as you lay up into the cast.... but this is not worth fixing..... Plan B tomorrow..... It almost certainly involves a Garage Gangsta Vacuum bag.

Looks good, earling!

What's wrong with the layup as in nothing seems to be amiss. Were you planning to use the CF part as a mold, or as the part?

Before I start a project, I do a little testing first. In this case..... I knew the angles were pretty crazy for a non vacuum layup. So I first try to see if it is feasible to do this. I begin as such, so if it does not work... I don't have a lot of time in the piece....like foam extension, that all breaks away when I separate the two pieces. Second. ...I try to make a cast of the part needed to be worked, if possible and then save the original, so when I f%$# it up..... No harm done. That is what this cast would serve as.By now I could have made a print.,.... sand...buff....etc, and be done with it, but as there have been interest here, I am focusing not just on me, but on perhaps a future production, and as always it has to make sense financially. And when you step into the realm of vacuum bagging, there is another cost associated with it. Historically, that does not work in the favor of the small shop, as the pieces simply becomes too expensive for people to buy. That is why you have not seen me do any of those.... Plus it is a pain in the a$$, and you tend to disturb more than you help. I will try a few things today, and see what I come up with......
Look on the two aft corners, and the two forward center part of the beak.... see the pull off. Everything else is good. What happens.... mould making 101.....When you have a sharp 90 deg. corner, as the matrix cures, it creates a bit of heat. That heat is what is spiraling out of control as exothermic runaway when you have a pool of resin. Weather you set the piece out in the sun....or it created its own heat the polymeric composition changes. Like...... its tacky........ you add the sun..... now it re-flows again. That happens until the polymers have aligned and set. In that process the fabric...sort of can disturb itself, and that is where vacuum bagging can be helpful, as it holds the matrix in place....regardless of what goes on. Truthfully, I am surprised that it only pulled in the corners...... But I have done this more than once.... This piece would serve a few casts, before it would be in need of work, but I am not trying to copy a stock beak in Carbon Fiber.

Does'nt this look hideous.....?????? Seriously..... imho...it's better than the sm fender..... at least to me it is.... but it sort of messes with da lines..... wadayathink??????....Of course...just imagine the low fender is gone.... Let's call this Option Number 1