Hi guys and gals.
The rear tyre on my modified X1 Millennium must have picked up something fairly substantial and chucked in up into my real wheel hugger last summer because I noticed that about 2" of plastic was missing off the rear of it after a ride out. A month or so later I had a minor "off" which broke my rear brake pedal, damaged my silver ceramic coated stainless steel exhaust headers and my aftermarket Force Motor Products "Racewinder" ( Sidewinder with a carbon fibre shell around it ) air cleaner box.
Always mindful that us Buellers are, in a small way, contributing to global warming
I thought I'd best get involved in a bit of "carbon capture and sequestration" 
........... and replace my damaged black plastic rear wheel hugger ( and lower belt guard ) with original Buell carbon fibre parts and repair my carbon fibre air cleaner box - since this part has been unobtainable for over a decade.Having obtained a second hand rear brake pedal, I managed to obtain a second hand carbon fibre rear wheel hugger and lower belt guard in quite good condition from a fellow UKBEG member ( via the Wanted section ) but thought the original Buell parts too thin and so applied another layer of carbon fibre twill and resin to the inside surfaces of both parts ( having given them a thorough cleaning first ) to stiffen them up a bit.
Having originally failed to effect a satisfactory repair of my damaged air cleaner box by filling and then applying a cosmetic layer of carbon fibre twill and resin, my subsequent attempt to make a brand new air cleaner box ( using the inside of the damaged one to make a male mould / former out of fabric reinforced plaster ) proved quite successful ( largely down to lessons learned during my attempt at a repair ).
Wishing my front pulley cover to match my new carbon fibre rear wheel hugger, lower belt guard and air cleaner box, I tried applying a single, cosmetic layer of carbon fibre twill and resin to the original black plastic part at the same time as I tried repairing my air cleaner box but was, again, not happy with the result so I've since made up a brand new part out of 3 layers of carbon fibre twill and resin - using the original part as a former / mould.
This is where I could do with some advice since I know that some of my fellow UKBEG members ( Nigel / battyone being but one example ) have made their own carbon fibre parts in the past and probably to a higher standard than I have managed to achieve.
Curiously, when I originally skinned my black plastic pulley cover with a single layer of carbon fibre twill and resin, it separated quite easily when I later came to remove it. Being fairly confident that the plastic which the pulley cover ( and rear hugger etc ) is made of does not bond well with the epoxy laminating resin that I have been using, I never-the-less applied a couple of coats of PVA release agent to it before laying down three layers of carbon fibre twill ( resin on the PVA coated plastic part, then twill, then resin and more twill, then resin and a final layer of twill and then a couple of coats of resin before a light rub down with very fine wet and dry and then a polish with T-Cut ). My intention was to remove the new carbon fibre part ( very slightly bigger then the original but it's not size critical ) when it had cured but it seems to be stuck fast, despite the PVA release agent, and I've decided not to try to separate it from the original black plastic part unless they vibrate apart in service.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I've been struck but how relatively easy it is ( with reasonable DIY skills and some patience ) to make your own "quite acceptable" carbon fibre parts and more members may wish to try doing the same for their own bikes?
My amateur efforts have not resulted in a truely "professional" result in terms of surface finish and my parts do not conform exactly to the shape of the formers / moulds used in the same way as they would have had I the requisite knowledge, skill and equipment and used vacuum bags.
Can someone please tell me:- 1) How I might use a vacuum bag ( the outside air pressure then squeezes the resin impregnated layers of carbon fibre twill down onto the exact contours of the former / mould and gets rid of any voids ) in future. 2) How it is possible to remove the vacuum bag once the underlying resin has cured. 3) How to avoid any creases in the vacuum bag transferring themselves into the resin and ruining the surface of the part. 4) Whether it is possible, once the resin has cured and the bag removed, to then apply one or more finishing coats of resin - bearing in mind that maximum bonding strength between layers of resin is past once it has cured beyond "no longer tacky but will still retain a firmly applied finger print".
Thanks and regards.
Richard
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Original black plastic pulley guard.jpg [ 73.08 KiB | Viewed 761 times ] |
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Carbon fibre belt guard 006.jpg [ 193.7 KiB | Viewed 761 times ] |
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Carbon fibre belt guard 010.jpg [ 75.33 KiB | Viewed 761 times ] |
