New Plastics
#1
Brooks' Cycle Centre'
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Centreville, VA
Posts: 166
New Plastics
I went down last month with some minor cosmetic damage. I was planning on gettting a paint job anyway. Does anybody know of anywhere to get plain aftermarket plastics?
Jay
Jay
#2
#3
Just my two cents.......if you're going to paint, fix the scrapes and cracks yourself...it's not hard. PlasticWeld at any auto store, bondo, sandpaper. You'll save hundreds....that you can spend on the paint job. Plenty of tutorials on the net...search them out.
#4
Redman's right. My local motorcycle salvage yard wanted hundreds for plastics that were almost as busted up as mine was after a crash so I went to Harbor Freight and bought a package of ABS plastic welding rods for $5.00 and fixed my cracks with a soldering iron. Some sanding, some filler and looks as good as new.
What have you got to loose? The existing plastic's damaged anyways, right?
What have you got to loose? The existing plastic's damaged anyways, right?
Last edited by Chitownson; 12-28-2007 at 02:58 PM.
#5
Plastic welding works best if you use same plastic formula (honda with honda) preferably same type (superhawk with superhawk)
Use an extra busted up piece of fairing and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips.
Use an extra busted up piece of fairing and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips.
#6
Manufacturer doesn't matter, it's material that does. If you take the plastic panels off and look at the stampings on them, they will have the part #, an L or R for left or right and whether it's ABS plastic. You have to use ABS rods with ABS panels, etc.
The ABS welding rods are pretty easy to work with (like solder) and can fill smaller holes, etc. (You can get the plastic welding rods from Harbor Freight for around $5.) I just used a soldering gun with a big flat tip, held the broken plastic panels together with C-clamps and fixed the broken pieces by using the ABS rods the same way you would use solder. Then its on to fiberglass filler, 3M Acryl Green from an auto body supply store to fill in the minor scratches, etc. prime and paint. I have actually created replacement mounting tabs using the rods for tabs that were broken off or damaged.
I crashed damaging the left side of my bike and one of the local residents was kind enough to pick up all my busted plastic off the road and stick the pieces in my tank bag. I was able to reuse every single busted body panel (including some that were in multiple pieces) using this method and the results were better and stronger than I expected.
The ABS welding rods are pretty easy to work with (like solder) and can fill smaller holes, etc. (You can get the plastic welding rods from Harbor Freight for around $5.) I just used a soldering gun with a big flat tip, held the broken plastic panels together with C-clamps and fixed the broken pieces by using the ABS rods the same way you would use solder. Then its on to fiberglass filler, 3M Acryl Green from an auto body supply store to fill in the minor scratches, etc. prime and paint. I have actually created replacement mounting tabs using the rods for tabs that were broken off or damaged.
I crashed damaging the left side of my bike and one of the local residents was kind enough to pick up all my busted plastic off the road and stick the pieces in my tank bag. I was able to reuse every single busted body panel (including some that were in multiple pieces) using this method and the results were better and stronger than I expected.
Last edited by Chitownson; 12-31-2007 at 09:59 AM.
#7
I cannibalized an old vcr for it's ABS shell case and with some 4 dolla home depot ABS cement was able to repair a crack and I even built up some ground-down peaks. Best part is it is not a FIX for the part, when it's welded it IS the part...
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