Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Enjoy XS650.com?Consider making a donation to help support the site. XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
I am toying with the idea of making some for sale if my first set work out ok. The master was very time consuming to make and the resin blank didn't come out all that smooth so will need a lot of detail work (if you knew I many hours I've put into this thing you'd think I was nuts. The badges are molded to my spare 77D tank (same tank 74-78 standards) but the silicone mold is flexible and can be made to adapt to just about any tank. The original Triumph badge has quite a different curve, so that is why I had to make a mold of it. The blank that I have made so far could probably be shaped to an 80 Special if it was heated up carefully.
I plan to use "bare-metal" foil to shiny it up, the cost of chroming plastic is sky high. I will post more pics as I move along and if there is a lot of demand I will pump out more blanks. I have a painter lined up for my spare tank and want to have him do some Triumph scallops on it, in Triumph colours.
Thanks for the encouragement. It started off as a retirement project, but they persuaded me to come back for 6 months, so progress is slow. I am going to try a different resin as the one I am using now needs a lot of hand work to get it smooth. Early on I had visions of doing the whole thing in pot metal, but I will be happy if I can make a smooth plastic version. Hope to be making the right side mold this week. If I can find an old Special tank, I will take a shot at molding them (basically I duct tape the silicone mold to the tank, then pour in resin).
