My boxy tail fibreglass seat build...

TonUpSoldier said:
HE is making a tank for his chopper with the stuff, i'll keep all posted on that project, as it looks to be interesting.
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I've written this a few times. Fiberglass tanks simply scare the crap out of me. I mean ... how many times have you seen a crack in fiberglass? Now consider that it holds gas. On top of that, modern gas is really different from gas 20-30 years ago. I'm just afraid it'll cut through resin over time.

Given those options, I'd stick with steel ... but that's me.
 
I too have strayed away from a glass tank, as i was seriously considering it when i started this project. But I see even Carpy is doing 'glass tanks now, and with the performance of products like Kreem and Por-15 i think the pump gas issue has been overcome. MY fear is wrecking. That thing is gonna crack like an egg, and pour gas all over my probably still running motor, and depending on the situation, possibly with me on or under it. No thanks to that. I'll stick with beating my steel ones, thanks.
 
Is it possible to throw another coat of resin on this after it has set up? Or would that be bad? I am thinking that i wouldnt mind not having to sand on the fibre itself.
 
TonUpSoldier said:
Is it possible to throw another coat of resin on this after it has set up? Or would that be bad? I am thinking that i wouldnt mind not having to sand on the fibre itself.
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It is possible, but you're going to have to rough up to surface in order for it to adhere. Think of it this way: When you put glue on a plate it peels off easily. You pour glue on a brick and it's hell trying to remove it. The more porus the surface, the better (i.e the rougher the surface, the better).

That;s how they fix broken fiberglass ;)
 
Well, i figured i'd have to rough it up at least. I was just worried about how it would react with the already cured resin, but had i thought more about it, that makes sense..duh..lol
 
it's ok. When you rough it up, you'll loosen a bunch of the fiber you just did, which is actually good if you anre going to put more resin on. You're in good shape dude.
 
Thanks man :) It certainly is quite a bit more gratifying having done it myself than buying it. I think it will be moreso when its finally on the bike.
 
Yanno, i would have liked to have moved the battery and wiring, but there's not enough frame there to support a pan for that. One bonus of keeping the foam IN there however, is i could cut out a glovebox type compartment hidden under the seat iself. That would be kinda handy.
 
TonUpSoldier said:
Thanks man :) It certainly is quite a bit more gratifying having done it myself than buying it. I think it will be moreso when its finally on the bike.
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That's why we're all here. If we just went out and bought a pre-done cafe racer, none of us would be on the boards. This way, you OWN the bike. It means a hell of a lot more to you then ... let's say ... a new school Ducati repro :)
 
Looking good TonUp, you sure you never done this before? :D

As far as putting on another layer, depends on what kind of resin you used. There are two types: one with a wax (finishing resin) and one without (laminating resin). Resin doesn't fully cure in the presence of oxygen so some resins have a wax in them that rises to the surface when curing to "seal" it so that there is no oxygen and it can fully cure. The other type doesn't have this and so remains a bit tacky and is used for when you want to put another layer on later. Either way you can scuff it up and you should be fine. The adhesion is different though, in that it is now going to be mechanical adhesion as opposed to physical like when you put all the layers on at the same time. Shouldn't matter though as it's not a high strength part.

Keep posting pics, I'm loving this thread.

BTW, how much square feet of mat do you think you used? My tail won't be as big but just wanted to get a rough estimate.
 
Never done it in my life...The pics there lend a little help, as there are some spots that will need filled. Lots of little imperfections, but id say not bad for my first time. I used two 8sq foot sheets of the fibermat stuff, and one of the woven sheets. It goes pretty far, since as you lay it and it gets covered in the resin and you beat the air out of it, it stretches a bit. Im thinking my resin, which was the polyester type, has the wax in it, as when i checked it out this morning, not only is it hard as a rock, but has a waxy look to it.
 
Can't wait to see the finished product...... How are you putting the light in & do you need holes for the signal stalks?
How much am I going to paint? Just the tank and seat; or will you have side covers & a fender?
 
DAMMIT!!!! I don't know how I missed this thread, but I did!!!! This was all right up my alley since I just went through this! Didn't really post anything as I was gonna wait til everything was done and then do a nice little story for all y'all to read. Anyways, looks good! I have a feeling I'll be making a boxy seat in the future for my H2R clone project that's only in my imagination at this point in time (I have a pretty good imagination). I'll likely try the 2 part plaster mold method that Scarcat explained. That was the plan for the first one, but papier mache was just so damn tempting!! Turned out alright too. A great low-cost alternative to the already dirt cheap plaster route. Cost is glue and tape for about $7, newspapers come right to your house for free. Watch for the thread soon as the seat cover was sewn up tonight. Should be ready to mount in a few weeks.
 
dardoonk said:
Can't wait to see the finished product...... How are you putting the light in & do you need holes for the signal stalks?
How much am I going to paint? Just the tank and seat; or will you have side covers & a fender?
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Side covers i may have depending on whether or not i can get the battery under cowl thing to work. The more i look at it, the more i think it may not happen. There's just not enough there to hold it up from my perspective. I may be wrong, time will tell. I will have to drill holes for my signal stalks, and for my tail-light (which i got today, the one you pointed out to me, its gonna be fricken PERFECT. I love the style, falls right in with that seat design) So you'll have Tank, (maybe two, ask me about that..i will definately be compensating you for this also) Seat and Headlight bucket and ring for sure, possibly side covers. I was going to have you do my fork lowers too, but i went ahead and did them myself, seeing as no matter who paints them, they're likely to need done again every season, as they'll take alot of debris hits. No fender, i ditched that and have a Tarozzi fork brace instead. Speaking of, did you win yours on fleabay? I just snaked another tank off there, and another set of 77 forks. These are pretty, and unlike my current forks that have the fender mounts ground off, if i decide to go with a fender and pedestrian slicer plate, i can use them.
 
TonUpSoldier said:
Side covers i may have depending on whether or not i can get the battery under cowl thing to work. The more i look at it, the more i think it may not happen. There's just not enough there to hold it up from my perspective. I may be wrong, time will tell. I will have to drill holes for my signal stalks, and for my tail-light (which i got today, the one you pointed out to me, its gonna be fricken PERFECT. I love the style, falls right in with that seat design) So you'll have Tank, (maybe two, ask me about that..i will definately be compensating you for this also) Seat and Headlight bucket and ring for sure, possibly side covers. I was going to have you do my fork lowers too, but i went ahead and did them myself, seeing as no matter who paints them, they're likely to need done again every season, as they'll take alot of debris hits. No fender, i ditched that and have a Tarozzi fork brace instead. Speaking of, did you win yours on fleabay? I just snaked another tank off there, and another set of 77 forks. These are pretty, and unlike my current forks that have the fender mounts ground off, if i decide to go with a fender and pedestrian slicer plate, i can use them.
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Great job on this seat build, its going to be awesome.
You're not going to mount the turn signals to the tailsection are you?
It will look so much cleaner if you don't.
Please mount them to the frame rails, just behind the shock, as tucked in and as short as possible. You know you want to.
 
Have you seen my frame? How do you propose i do this? Drill a hole in an already weakened section of the frame? I dont think thats such a good idea myself.
 
It would actually be pretty easy. Make a U-bracket that fits over your upper shock mount. Weld an L-shaped piece of steel with a hole in it onto the back of the U bracket and attach your turn signals to that.
 
Actually Tobiism... You gave me a hell of an idea, lil less complex than that, but more or less the same thing. There's needless to say, a good deal of lateral pressure on that upper shock mount. I thought of this, coming off your idea. Simple as PAH...just take a stick of alu, maybe 1/4 inch thick, inch and a half wide, 3 inches maybe less long. drill a hole in each end. One big enough for the shock mount, one big enough for my signal stem. Flip it sideways, put the one end thru the shock mount, when i put the shock on, maybe i have to lose a washer, maybe two, but that alone should hold that lil bracket for my tiny lightweight lil signals. Thanks for the assist on the revelation!
 
TonUpSoldier, how's the seat coming along? Finished smoothing it out?

I have a question for you. I'm just about to start laying the fibreglass on mine and I'm wondering how many layers you did on the seat pan area (i.e. the place where you sit)? You said earlier on that you put three layers on but I wasn't sure if you meant the box area or the whole thing. I'm not too worried about the hump so I'll probably just put three or four layers on that but I'm a bit concerned about the seat area, don't want that cracking. :eek:
 
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