Any Ideas On How To Fix Or Modify My Rear Seat Cowl?

[Higgin]

Last year while riding, I noticed my rear seat cowl seemed to be kind of flopping around a bit, so I stopped, pulled off the seat and found that the tab on the rear of the cowl had broken off. I have no idea what caused it. I was able to find the piece as it got wedged inbetween the seat, so I kept it thinking I could at some point find a good way to glue it on or something. But since last year, I've moved 3 times, and of course I've lost the little broken tab somewhere along the line. So the other day I pulled the cowl out and was trying to think of what I could do to secure the back end to the seat. I thought I'd post up here since I'm sure its happened to others too. I'm not against drilling it or whatever I need to do, as its no getting used now anyway, so give me some ideas, aside from buying a new one. I don'tmind not using it, butI rarely have a passenger, and I just digg the look of it when its on.

[Guest]

And for those of us who are too stupid to figure it out (ie. me), How do you get the dang thing off?

[JTG]

Last year while riding, I noticed my rear seat cowl seemed to be kind of flopping around a bit, so I stopped, pulled off the seat and found that the tab on the rear of the cowl had broken off. I have no idea what caused it. I was able to find the piece as it got wedged inbetween the seat, so I kept it thinking I could at some point find a good way to glue it on or something. But since last year, I've moved 3 times, and of course I've lost the little broken tab somewhere along the line. So the other day I pulled the cowl out and was trying to think of what I could do to secure the back end to the seat. I thought I'd post up here since I'm sure its happened to others too. I'm not against drilling it or whatever I need to do, as its no getting used now anyway, so give me some ideas, aside from buying a new one. I don'tmind not using it, butI rarely have a passenger, and I just digg the look of it when its on.

Same thing happened to me a few weeks ago, but I haven't come up with a brilliant solution yet... I'll be watching this thread and I will post up if I think of something

[JTG]

And for those of us who are too stupid to figure it out (ie. me), How do you get the dang thing off?

On the 6th Gen you have to take off the seat and there's a few little tabs that clip onto the seat pan, I'm not sure if it's the same for a 5th gen...

[Guest]

I ride a 6th gen and have seen the cowl moded to have a diffuser put on it :huh:

Obviously a car enthusiast who thought it would look great on a VFR harharhar!

Anyhoo,

The tab at the rear of my seatcowl cracked.... pissed off.

I see that it isn't load bearing and simply has a locating slot for the pin under the seat.

My fix? I cut some aluminium plate (2mm) in the exact shape of the plastic tab. Where it meets the cowl I cut two long 'fingers' so when you look at it it looks like an awkward 'T'.

SUPER Glue did the rest (amazing stuff really) and now the tab is stronger than any factory made version.

You could also remove the old tab like your case where it is gone and put the ali in its place.

The 'fingers' are there to ensure secure fittingalong the cowls lower rear rim.

Thats that! No worries.

I'm even tinkering with the idea of having one pressed from aluminium and covering it in VFR decals with vinyl. (to indulge the cafe racer in me :blush: )

Hope it helps.

Hex

PS: wonder if they could put a South African Flag on the emotes for me to use..... Its hot out here and the roads just keep calling...

I'm off to the mountains.........yeeehaaaa! :wheel:

[mtnxbiker]

You want to get some Plastex. Trust me on this one, I repaired half of the fairings on my bike with this stuff, some of which were cracked in half, and almost every piece had a single crack. It's super easy to use and the repairs seem strong as new!

I used a dremel with a woodcarving bit to channel out the cracks, then you fill it with the powdered abs plastic and drip the activator liquid in. I repaired at least 3 tabs using the stuff and it works like a charm.

I couldn't be happier with the results. The basic kit they sell was more than enough to do all the repairs and there's still plenty left. I think the website is www.plastex.ca

Cheers!

[coopduc]

Seems like a common problem. When mine cracked, I cut it off and sanded the surrounding area, bent a kind of open "U" shape out of a thin piece of steel and epoxied it to the cowl in the original location. When cured, I wrapped the interfacing tab with duct tape to prodect he mating surface. It's worked perfectly for about 3 years now.