my cb550 project

Yes, resin does have a shelf life. When I bought mine the lady said that it's best to use it within six months. So I'm thinking 10-15 years is probably what the problem was.
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Very good info to know. :P I probably should've done some research before jumping into this, but where's the fun in that? I'm gonna take another run at it, but this time i'll be using some new supplies and i think i'll try some of that fiberglass weave matt, it looks like it'd be easier to handle and apply. Any experience with that stuff?

cheers.
 
drackett_19 said:
i think i'll try some of that fiberglass weave matt, it looks like it'd be easier to handle and apply. Any experience with that stuff?
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No, I haven't tried that type of mat. My experience is pretty limited with fibreglass, would love to experiment a bit more with it actually. Next time I may try the woven material.
 
in terms of drapabilty (how easy you can form it around or into a complex curve) chopped strand mat (fibers all over in random pattern) is easiest, then woven material (look close fibers going over and under each other in a very regular pattern) and finally stitched material (again look close - fibers in regular pattern but not woven - they lay on top of each other and are stitched together). That said a very fine woven material (sometimes called satin or boatcloth) is nice to work with but will require a few nips and pleats. Yes resin has a shelf life. Starts to go clumpy and crystalized.
 
Because of the angle you've put the rearsets on, I don't know if you're going to be able to use them with their current setup. Look at the angle of the pegs. Sit on the bike, and try and use the shifter and see if the peg moves backwards when you put some weight on them. The pegs are meant to move up when you touch the ends of the pegs down when nearing maximum lean. It seems they will go back on a 45* angle rather than straight up. If you can orient the pegs straight up, you're golden, but if not I think you're boned for that particular setup. :(
 
Yeah that had me worried from the time I held them in place by hand. But i've stood on the pegs and sat on the bike and shifted through the gears a couple times since bolting them up and it doesn't swing back. But I see what you're saying about maximum lean, it may be a problem when i get out into some twisty's. If worse comes to worst i'll have to weld the peg joint so that it doesn't fold anymore.

Thanks alot for the head's up man.
 
in terms of drapabilty (how easy you can form it around or into a complex curve) chopped strand mat (fibers all over in random pattern) is easiest, then woven material (look close fibers going over and under each other in a very regular pattern) and finally stitched material (again look close - fibers in regular pattern but not woven - they lay on top of each other and are stitched together). That said a very fine woven material (sometimes called satin or boatcloth) is nice to work with but will require a few nips and pleats. Yes resin has a shelf life. Starts to go clumpy and crystalized.
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hey thanks for the info zixxer, i'll put it to use on my second attempt. I am almost done carving the mold. I went with the green florist foam bricks this time and it is way easier to carve and shape than that "Great Stuff" I used on the last one. I'll post up some pics when its closer to completion.
 
So I have been scratching my head trying to figure out how to link up the brakes on my rearsets. I was originally going to try linking the pedal to the original brake pedal shaft underneath the shifter. But after putting the muffler on, I realized there was no room to run the connector rod. So i'm planning to run the rod above, from the shifter pedal to the brake pedal shaft.

I made up a little aluminum tab today and i'm hoping my buddy can weld it to the pedal tomorrow. He said those cast aluminum pieces can be a real pain to weld, but it could work.

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I'll be drilling a hole in it for the connector rod.
 
This bike is BADASS!
You do some good work!!!
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Hey thanks.

The aluminum tab welded up solid, so I should be able to link up the rear brake. Just need to figure out how to hook up the brake light switch and return spring.

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Regarding the fiberglass that didn't go hard. Your catalyst (hardener) ratio is too low.

4.5 - 5 ml in 500ml of resin is just barely 1%. (5ml=1%)

In a nice controlled environment where you want to get the maximum properties from the resin you should run at 1.5 - 2%. For a bike seat I would go as high as 3%.

I might rethink the use of woven cloth - you do need the strength and mat is much easier to work with.
 
Regarding the fiberglass that didn't go hard. Your catalyst (hardener) ratio is too low.

4.5 - 5 ml in 500ml of resin is just barely 1%. (5ml=1%)

In a nice controlled environment where you want to get the maximum properties from the resin you should run at 1.5 - 2%. For a bike seat I would go as high as 3%.
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Thanks alot for the info. I'm sure the stuff I used said to go about 5ml for 500ml of resin ???. I'll definitely up the amount of hardener I use, I wanna be sure its gonna harden up like a rock this time.


I might rethink the use of woven cloth - you do need the strength and mat is much easier to work with.
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I must've been doing something wrong then, because near the mid-point my brush was just a huge clump of fiberglass fibers and the stuff was sticking to everything.

Any tips on laying the matting down?
 
That sounds about right. Typically matt is a bunch of chopped strands stuck together with a "binder". This binder makes the mat stiff. But once you add resin the resin breaks down the binder and makes it much easier to work with. And yes if you muck about with it long enough you'll end up with a gooey mess.

The best advice is "Don't fight with it" you'll never win.

Next time try this approach. Lay out some cardboard. brush or pour out some resin and brush it around roughly to the size of the piece of glas your using. Then lay you r glass into it and work the resin in some. Pour alittle on top if needed. When its all amber you have good wet out. Then carefully pick up this wetout glass and lay into place. Work it into shape with the brush.

Practice this on something first - there is a bit of a knack to it.
 
The best advice is "Don't fight with it" you'll never win.

Next time try this approach. Lay out some cardboard. brush or pour out some resin and brush it around roughly to the size of the piece of glas your using. Then lay you r glass into it and work the resin in some. Pour alittle on top if needed. When its all amber you have good wet out. Then carefully pick up this wetout glass and lay into place. Work it into shape with the brush.

Practice this on something first - there is a bit of a knack to it.
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Cool man, thanks for the tips. I ended up taking another go at it yesterday before I saw this, so I didn't have a chance to try the dip method, but it went better anyways. I went to an autobody supply shop for my supplies this time and the difference was HUGE. The 3M matting they sold was way easier to work with than the canuck tire stuff and I used a foam roller this time that worked like a charm.

I went with slightly over 1% mixture ratio and it hardened up like a rock after a few hours. Hey do you think 5 layers is enough for the pan? There is going to be a 3/4 inch piece of plywood that the seat will be screwed to, so I figure the wood will be supporting the weight. I went 5 on the pan and about 3/4 on the bubble.
 
Yes I forgot to mention that there is some difference in the quality of matt. Like everything else the chinese are making that stuff too. Originally alot of chinese matt had a binder that the resin couldn't break down well. (amking it hard to work into tight curves)That was the complaint from folks using it on the shop floor. Likely the crap tire mat was poor quality chinese stuff.

We use felt rollers at work but a paint brush is really good for working the resin into the glass. All of your glass should be the same amber color - where it's cloudy white you have dry material and need to work in more resin. depending on the thickness of the matt 5 layers is likely enough for a seat - especially when supported with plywood.
 
Well I got my hands on some more linkage ends and hooked up the rear brake today. I used oldog's idea of hooking up the pedal to the old brake lever. It looks sorta ghetto with the hacked up brake pedal, but as long as it works its fine with me. ;D

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I used the spring from the original brake light switch and snared it under the bolt head on the old pedal.

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Here's a couple shots of my second attempt at a seat too.

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After some trimming and body filler, it should clean up nice.
 
Hey guys, i've been sorta side tracked but figure its about time I update this project thread. Since my last post I've gotten alot closer to completion.

This is a shot of the seat before I hit it with some bondo.

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Getting the seat rounded without any grooves or low spots turned out to be quite the task, I added alot of body filler and did a ton of sanding. But couldn't get it perfect, so I eventually pulled the white flag and got my buddy to finish it off and add some paint for me.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, heres some shots of it on the bike.

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I wasn't sure about the strength of the fiberglass so I added a couple metal brackets for support, its rock solid now.

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I also added a Dyna S ignition and some shorty shocks that I snagged on kijiji for a great price.

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Its nice to finally be able to put my feet flat on the ground at stop lights now. ;D
 
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