4th gen tail section made into one piece

[SEBSPEED]

Nice work, Seb.

I am working up the mental fortitude to begin fixing my broken plastics and Plastifix will come in handy.

Timmy paint will be used as well :dry:

After reading the description of Plasitfix on their website, I wonder if its delivery is followed by a visit from your friendly DEA agent. :warranty:

This kit includes 30 grams of WHITE powder, 50 ml of liquid, one molding bar, two application needles, two applicator cups, and one transfer pipet.

You could order the black powder if you want to play it safe! :huh:

[SEBSPEED]

Grafted 2 uppers together to replace a damaged section:

And a missing area filled:

The black patch there is where I plastic welded some stainless steel mesh for reinforcement.

Next & last is to use the molding bar on the opposite side upper fairing to make a mold of the mount area, then transfer to above shown bad part and recreate the mounting location. If you're planning to paint anyway, this stuff is cheaper than buying new or used(if you can find good used 4th gen parts!)

Using the flexible molding bar to make an impression of a good mounting hole, and from that mold re-create the mounting hole on a broken part:

The hole in question is the left rear mounting hole, on the side of the upper fairing.

First, you need to heat a cup of water in the microwave till it almost boils. Then soak the bar in the water for 5 min or so. The bar will become soft and malleable, but not for too long.

I squished the soft bar into the mount area on the good part, after cleaning the part.

Let it cool/harden, then pull it out.

Stick it in the broken part, and secure it with tape.

Apply PlastiFix via the dropper method. At one point, I had a bit too much liquid on the part, so I tapped some powder out of the cup onto it to soak it up. Build it up high enough so you can create the flat back surface that mates to the bracket.

Open up the hole w/ the Dremel

And flush up the backside.

Then finish bodyworking the low spots.

[Lee 2002]

As a curiosity, have you done all these repairs with just one kit or did you order multiple kits?

.... just planning for the future.... it'll happen sometime, the way I ride.

[SEBSPEED]

As a curiosity, have you done all these repairs with just one kit or did you order multiple kits?

.... just planning for the future.... it'll happen sometime, the way I ride.

One kit. Still about 1/3 to 1/4 of it left.

[Rice]

Good to go! :laughing6-hehe:

This is EXACTLY what I've been pondering how to accomplish!

Now there is no reason for me not to attempt my repairs.

The fact that a single kit can be used for multiple repairs is good news too.

Thanks Seb!

[mellowyellow]

looks good seb I was thinking of fixing up my daily driven Burgman but the plastics are so cracked up I would have to order cases of that stuff.

living life in the city and being ridden year round this poor scooter has gone down more times than Paris Hilton.

[sruss67]

As always, nice work Seb and would like to do the same to my 4th gen.

Lots of small cracks starting to appear and hopefully I can get Plastifix in OZ.

Cheers

[The Phantom]

As always, nice work Seb and would like to do the same to my 4th gen.

Lots of small cracks starting to appear and hopefully I can get Plastifix in OZ.

Cheers

You can, and here's the guy to go to (courtesy of Scottrates off OzVFR):

Victorian Plastic Welding

Iain Morphett

58 Palmer Ave

Point Cook

Werribbee, Victoria, 3030

Country Code: AU

Phone Number: +61 4 07 00 7975

Fax Number:

email: vicplasticweld@gmail.com

He does all of the Urethane Supply Company products inluding the Mini 6 5600HT plastic welder which he has on discount for $220 - amazingly cheap, and you can repair almost any plastic with this kit (but you will also need Plastifix as the welder can't effectively repair some jobs). He does the Plastifix for $35 (30g kit), the equivalent kit from Plastex is $75!

I have the Mini 6 welder (Seb helped arrange one from the US for me) and it's great. Feel free to PM me with any questions, if you want to drop in at Palmwoods sometime to see how it works you are most welcome :rolleyes:

[VFDoug]

Nice job Seb, and thanks for the info. I've been wondering what to use to fix all my cracked stuff. (I think I have one piece off the whole bike that isn't cracked or broken.)

[vfracer750]

Nice work Seb. I was thinking of doing the same to my 3rd gen tail section. Do you think you could do the same weld job to the tail section on the underside to accomplish the same thing without having to repaint? I'd imagine some of the Plastifix would leak through the panel gaps a little.

Roger

[SEBSPEED]

Nice work Seb. I was thinking of doing the same to my 3rd gen tail section. Do you think you could do the same weld job to the tail section on the underside to accomplish the same thing without having to repaint? I'd imagine some of the Plastifix would leak through the panel gaps a little.

Roger

Hi Roger, it's best if you do both sides. More specifically, do one side, then groove the other side until you hit the repair on the first side. This way, you truly eliminate the seam.

[Guest vfrrider]

K folks, got another use here. This time using the flexible molding bar to make an impression of a good mounting hole, and from that mold re-create the mounting hole on a broken part.

The hole in question is the left rear mounting hole, on the side of the upper fairing.

First, you need to heat a cup of water in the microwave till it almost boils. Then soak the bar in the water for 5 min or so. The bar will become soft and malleable, but not for too long.

I squished the soft bar into the mount area on the good part, after cleaning the part.

Let it cool/harden, then pull it out.

Stick it in the broken part, and secure it with tape.

Apply PlastiFix via the dropper method. At one point, I had a bit too much liquid on the part, so I tapped some powder out of the cup onto it to soak it up. Build it up high enough so you can create the flat back surface that mates to the bracket.

Open up the hole w/ the Dremel

And flush up the backside.

Good to go! :biggrin:

Now that was creative and a definite saver.

Larry

VFRrider

[SEBSPEED]

The unfortunate side of this is you have to paint it afterwards....Seb may be capable of that, but many are not. I was wondering the same "why" question, but it makes sense now.

Ahem...

[Guest]

This looks awesome. I want to do this as well... I've had my tail section fall apart after 40K miles... once a single fastener gets loose on the back it rattles apart rather quickly :(. Right now I held it together using silicon sealant, which works okay but is non-permanent.

Some questions:

1) How easy is it to insert/remove the tail light/turn signals when it's fused a single piece? I figure it can take an amount of bending but not too much. (I may want to buff/tint he turn signal ambers.)

2) Should i try expoxying it together while assembled on the bike? I have a feeling if I'm off a bit putting it together it's going to cause problems mounting it on the bike.

3) Is it recommended to attempt this using ordinary ABS cement or plastic soldering?

[Beck]

For guys with 4th gens that do not have cracks on thier tail farings (yet?).....could there be a preventatvie solution before having to deal with it this way? What about spraying the back of the tail piece with some sort of compound that will hold the different peices together like they were glued together...like maybe a couple of coats of spray-on pickup bed liner stuff?? It will avoid having to refinish the paint on the tails too, plus maybe help abrorb shock and vibration that causes the cracking.

Just an idea.....

Beck

95 VFR

[mrmatt]

For guys with 4th gens that do not have cracks on thier tail farings (yet?).....could there be a preventatvie solution before having to deal with it this way? What about spraying the back of the tail piece with some sort of compound that will hold the different peices together like they were glued together...like maybe a couple of coats of spray-on pickup bed liner stuff?? It will avoid having to refinish the paint on the tails too, plus maybe help abrorb shock and vibration that causes the cracking.

Just an idea.....

Beck

95 VFR

Hmm, maybe Rhino Line the inside? I think I've also seen (on the interwebs) some guy put a type of clear plastic sheet stuff over his fairings, I think it was some guy working on his Ducati but can't remember what it was...

[SEBSPEED]

This looks awesome. I want to do this as well... I've had my tail section fall apart after 40K miles... once a single fastener gets loose on the back it rattles apart rather quickly :(. Right now I held it together using silicon sealant, which works okay but is non-permanent.

Some questions:

1) How easy is it to insert/remove the tail light/turn signals when it's fused a single piece? I figure it can take an amount of bending but not too much. (I may want to buff/tint he turn signal ambers.)

You should be able to do that without too much difficulty.

2) Should i try expoxying it together while assembled on the bike? I have a feeling if I'm off a bit putting it together it's going to cause problems mounting it on the bike.

If you want to do it right, and make it permanent, you need to remove the panels so you can do the proper prep work on the parts. You need to scuff the seams to provide a rough surface for the new material to bond to.

3) Is it recommended to attempt this using ordinary ABS cement or plastic soldering?

You can try it. I've used at least a half dozen different methods for joining/welding/repairing plastic, and this has left me with the best impression of strength and durability thus far.

For guys with 4th gens that do not have cracks on thier tail farings (yet?).....could there be a preventatvie solution before having to deal with it this way? What about spraying the back of the tail piece with some sort of compound that will hold the different peices together like they were glued together...like maybe a couple of coats of spray-on pickup bed liner stuff?? It will avoid having to refinish the paint on the tails too, plus maybe help abrorb shock and vibration that causes the cracking.

Just an idea.....

Beck

95 VFR

Beck, you want this product - Norton's SpeedGrip Seam Sealer:

http://www.nortonautomotive.com/uploadedFiles/SGnortonautomotive/Documents/SpeedGrip-Auto-7663.pdf

You'll still need to remove your rear bodywork, and scuff the seams on the underside. Re-assemble the parts off the bike with the oem hardware and use masking tape to hold the parts in place if needed. Find ways to prop up the part so that you're not "sealing in stress" when you seal the seams.

You'll start with a bead of the seam sealer over a joint, and an area about 1.5-2" around it. On top of that, you will squeeze in a piece of nylon sheetrock mesh tape(looks just like the tape in Norton's pdf above, but much cheaper!). Then once the tape is pressed in, finish it off with another layer of sealer. After it cures, you will have a nicely reinforced joint. It should last a long time too if done properly, I chose to use the PlastiFix to completely eliminate the seam.

Hmm, maybe Rhino Line the inside? I think I've also seen (on the interwebs) some guy put a type of clear plastic sheet stuff over his fairings, I think it was some guy working on his Ducati but can't remember what it was...

I haven't worked with bed liner material much, but it seems to me it would be too thin to be a good enough fix. Besides, you have to do the same prep work that I laid out above, so why not spend a few more bucks and use a product designed for the job? :biggrin:

[SEBSPEED]

Finished...

[Guest]

^ Wow it looks really nice and clean! :fing02: I just might do it!

[sruss67]

Finished...

That kooks awesome Seb and how I envy your skills and workshop setup :-) FANTASTIC

[nitrousva]

Seb, great tutorial, that stuff sounds like what I need to do some repairs on my bike.

If I send you all my parts would you do a tutorial for Gen 3 bikes? :blush:

[PorradaVFR]

Why not go ahead and add the Ducati downforce wings from the GP bike? :blush:

[SEBSPEED]

Edited the full thread to fix picture links.

[coupedupsubie]

Thank you SEBSPEED for this. I can't do final bodywork but I did most of the work.

[SEBSPEED]

Good work bud!