motorcycle cowling repair

How to Repair a Motorcycle Fairing with Epoxy Have you ever dropped your motorcycle? If so, you know the heart-sinking feeling you get as you watch it hit the ground. A common result in this scenario is a cracked fairing. A new one can cost you $500 or more – probably more than you have budgeted right now. Maintaining your bike is expensive enough as it is, so you might be happy to hear that you can fix a cracked fairing in your garage for much less than $500. All you need is: Manufacturer recommended fairing primer and paint Epoxy is great for repairing cracks, filling holes, and filling surface imperfections in most plastics, metals, and wood. It’s also easy to use. I keep LOCTITE® EA 445™ Fast Cure Epoxy Mixer Cups on hand in my shop for situations like this. It’s a two-part epoxy that comes in convenient, single-use cups. Here’s how to fix your cracked fairing with epoxy: Sand the area you’ll be applying the epoxy to with 280-grit sandpaper.
This will create a rough surface for the epoxy bite into. A rough surface is necessary for a strong hold. Be sure to sand both the inside and outside of the fairing around the cracked area, as you’ll be applying epoxy to both sides. After sanding, remove any dust and be sure to clean the area. Open the package and push down in the center with the supplied applicator stick. motorcycle shop brownsville txThis will create a cup.vk v8 motor for sale You’ll notice there are two different colored components inside the package. bates motorcycle boots reviewOne is an epoxy resin, and the other is an amine resin. vehicle deed of sale sample philippines
Using the applicator stick, mix the two components until it has one consistent color. Using the applicator stick, apply the mixed epoxy evenly to the outside of the cracked area. You’ll have 5-15 minutes to work with the epoxy before it sets. Let the epoxy cure for 24 hours, and then apply more to the inside of the cracked area. harley davidson 48 for sale miamiAgain, wait 24 hours for a full cure.motorcycles for sale baltimore md craigslist Once you have a full cure, you can do some light sanding to smooth out any uneven surfaces.motorbike shop on oldham road Clean the area of any dust or debris, and then paint over it with the manufacturer’s recommended primer and paint.
And that’s all it takes. Your fairing can be repaired over the course of a weekend for just the price of the epoxy and some paint – a huge savings over a full replacement. Other Uses for Epoxy on Your Motorcycle Epoxy is a great thing to have on hand for a number of different motorcycle fixes. Repair or reinforce a plastic fairing boss. A boss is the plastic piece that holds the threaded inserts in your fairing. These can sometimes crack or get weak, resulting in a loose fairing. You can use epoxy to reinforce them – just apply it around the outside of the base and let it cure. Repair any hard saddlebag damage. Reinforce any fairing brackets. Reinforce any other areas that may become weak through usage. What have you fixed on your bike with epoxy? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter or Facebook. Category: Motorcycles & Extreme Sports Tags: Epoxy, Fairing, Loctite, Loctite EA 445, Loctite Epoxy, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Fairing, Motorcycle Repairs, Motorcycles
We are a retired military service member owned used dealership and repair shop, specializing in service, sales, towing, insurance estimate and repair, parts and accessories .   We work with all major insurance companies.  After several years of passion for motorcycles, we decided it was time to pursue something we really enjoy for fun on the side.  Our goal is to implement the highest standard of competency, care, and to exceed the expectations of our clients to ensure their complete and over all satisfaction. We take pride in our work.  We will assist you with everything you need to keep your motorcycle running smoothly so you can keep riding safely. We provide all services from a simple regularly scheduled maintenance, to a more complex service such as an engine rebuild. Having attended Motorcycle Mechanics Institute we can do almost any type of work on your bike. We service and repair all makes and models of street, dirt, atv’s, and mopeds.  Motorcycle dealers in our area charge as much as $95.00 an hour or more for labor, which is truly outrageous.
At those prices, we can save you some cash to spend on better things. In over 20 years of riding motorcycles, which include street, track, dirt, and atv’s, our experience is mostly in maintaining, repairing and tuning the different styles of motorcycles.  Going for a simple ride on a cruiser is completely different than riding our sport bikes.  All in all it boils down to the joy of riding and the freedom one experiences on a ride.  We are dedicated riders who often go to the track during our spare time. Our passion for this sport has brought us to help our clients save money by offering what is more than fair prices so that you can spend the extra cash on other things.  We will help you keep your motorcycle on the road where it belongs. Contact Us For Your First Service. In summer 2011 I convinced a couple friends to buy motorcycles with me. Shortly afterwards, *some* of us became a little overzealous on a ride in the north Georgia mountains, and had to perform some cosmetic repairs to our bikes (no injuries).
The quotes I got from local body shop folks were $400+, so I decided to learn how to do it myself. This page shows images from two projects. First was my bike, which fell on the right side and rashed up the lower right fairing. Later I helped my friend with his, which went over forwards and cracked up the front fairing. In no particular order, here's what I learned: Two-wheeled vehicles are only dynamically stable! Motorcycle fairings are made out of ABS plastic. This is easy to fix and mold using two products. For minor work, ABS cement is probably sufficient. For more serious repairs, I had good luck with PlastiFix. This stuff may seem intimidating to use if you're not used to plastic and fiberglass work (it involves using a syringe), but gives fantastic results! Matching motorcycle paint is a huge pain. My bike is a "candy" color (code YC2), which is a tri-tone paint, and impossible to get at a Sherman-Williams type paint supplier. , which wanted like 70 bucks for a single can, and a trying to get custom matched paint at a local body shop.
I chose the latter route since I was in a DIY mood, and actually bought a gigantic air compressor, before I realized it wasn't gigantic enough (you needed 15+ CFM to get a decent job). Ended up taking the paint I bought to another shop to have it put in cans, and did the rattle job you can see below. Not great, but better than where I started. I now have a much more respect for prep and paint work! There's nothing like having the right tool for the job. I bought a Dremel for my project, and it proved invaluable for grinding away the back face of Mano's fairing for the fiberglass patch we put on. All in all, motorcycle riding can be dangerous. Even if you go into it with a safe and mature attitude, things can go easily wrong when you're learning. We're lucky the lesson we learned came at such a low price, and I still love the feeling you get when you lean into a turn and twist the throttle :) This is a video of my rattle-can job on the fairing I busted up on a little wipeout, in between when I got my bike and when i learned self control.