Interest in a new how to?


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Muddog7998

New Member
My R1 has some pretty bad cracks in the nose and tail so I'm doing some self repairs to it. Since I'm in Italy, it is a pain in the butt to get a whole new fairing kit shipped here; expensive too. So for now I am going to essentially be melting the fairings together, sand them down and repaint them all.

Would anyone be interested in having a how-to for this? I've already fixed a couple of the cracks and have begun the sanding (yes I took pictures just in case). It is a really simple fix and is free if you have the tools, $15 if you don't.

I attached a couple pictures of what I've done so far. All the pictures are from the nose. The first one is right next to the mirror. The plastic was flapping like crazy last time I rode it. The second one is where the side fairings hook onto the nose and is just to show it was completely broken. Third one is where I melted them together. And the fourth is right after the first pass with 100 grit sandpaper.

The person I bought the bike from dropped it a couple times, hence the cracks. It looks like he tried using an entire bottle of super glue per crack to fix them. Now I'm stuck trying to get all of that crap off too. My repairs are gonna look a little bad because of that. Once it is sanded and painted you won't be able to see it though! :steve:

If there is any interest in a how to for this then I'll start writing one up, otherwise I'll just finish it up and move on :cool:
 

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manel

New Member
please make the how to. It's always good to know how to repair plastics, every thing seems to be made of it nowadays :s
 
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Anthony

Fastest Member
Elite Member
+ rep for how to
 
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Muddog7998

New Member
I have a couple of other cracks I have to fix so I'll make the how to with those. However, its gonna have to wait until tomorrow.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
 
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Muddog7998

New Member
Well I have the write up done. Just gotta go fix one of these cracks for some pictures! How many pictures is too many?
 
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Superzoom

New Member
Nice DIY tutorial!

I would also suggest that people search info on krazy glue (cyanoacrylate) and baking soda. They chemically combine to make an extremely strong "weld" for plastic repair. I've done a bunch and they are many, many times stronger than krazy glue alone (I find krazy glue alone only works under perfect conditions). Krazy glue and baking soda are really good on cracks in plastic.

Also look into epoxy putty. You mix two putties together and they chemically react and harden into a material that is almost as strong as steel. It's great for all kinds of repairs and can be shaped into anything. I've used it to repair plastic, build replacement parts and even repair a broken guitar neck.
 
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Muddog7998

New Member
Thank you! I was going to look into something like epoxy but I wanted something that would make the crack go away with no trace. I saw my soldering iron and figured I might as well try it out. I had a couple of random plastic car parts laying around and experimented with them. Then I took a chance with the fairings and it came out perfectly.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
 
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Superzoom

New Member
Epoxy putty can be made into any shape you want and then filed and sanded smooth, but it's so hard (harder than the plastic you're repairing for sure) that sanding the epoxy flush would require some finesse and skill. But it can't be beat for strength.
 
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Muddog7998

New Member
I went to our bx today and there isn't any type of epoxy... We have gorilla glue, Super glue, gasket sealant, and wood glue. That's it. Kinda sucks. Wouldn't mind trying the epoxy.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
 

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