Anyone ever made a fairing

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Okay, So I'm looking into a fairing for my XS. I know I can buy one (Little pricey) and I could fab some Newer bike plastics to fit up but that would kind of defeat the purpose and be pricey as well. I'm looking into making my own because, well, I like to build my own crap and not just buy it somewhere. So my thoughts were, Ask the XS650 guys, and pick a couple options. My ideas were aluminum 1/32 sheet metal or fiberglass. I've worked a decent amount with aluminum but none at all with fiberglass. I love metal work but I'm questioning the weight of it vs. fiberglass. Any input from you guys would be great.

 

[Tomterrific]

What design of fairing are you considering? A period correct sport design would be the best look for my eyes. Going back in time, perhaps an aviation type look made from bent wood or tubing covered in fabric.

Aluminum would be a much classier material than fiberglass. Rivit instead of weld would be super cool, celebrating the aviation look.

Tom

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Something like these:http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/yamaz/RD3501973-79.htm

 

[Tomterrific]

Whew! A full fairing is gonna be a big project. I've actually seen road going Brit bikes with raw aluminum fairing, tank and seat that scream CLASS. If you can pull this off and use quality parts on the rest of your XS, you will have one of the top XS650's. I see most of the really great XS650's in Europe where people seem to charish top quality in a build.

You might want to see some of the SR500 cafe customs as a few of these are dressed in hand made aluminum. They are Yam's after all.

Tom

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Whew! A full fairing is gonna be a big project. I've actually seen road going Brit bikes with raw aluminum fairing, tank and seat that scream CLASS. If you can pull this off and use quality parts on the rest of your XS, you will have one of the top XS650's. I see most of the really great XS650's in Europe where people seem to charish top quality in a build.

You might want to see some of the SR500 cafe customs as a few of these are dressed in hand made aluminum. They are Yam's after all.

Tom

This is my Yamaha currently:

I was thinking a custom alminum fairing with a Kenny Roberts theme.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Just did a slight calculation and there is no way that an all aluminum fairing would weigh anymore than 5-7 lbs.

 

[TwoJugs]

Very ambitious project. You will need some good metal working skills and a great Tig welder. The metal alone will cost a nice chunk and not all aluminum alloys like that kind of forming. I think that the airtech stuff is the way to go. I have a road racer project in the works and plan on the airtech to do the wraps for me. It does cost but in the long run it should be worth it.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

Very ambitious project. You will need some good metal working skills and a great Tig welder. The metal alone will cost a nice chunk and not all aluminum alloys like that kind of forming. I think that the airtech stuff is the way to go. I have a road racer project in the works and plan on the airtech to do the wraps for me. It does cost but in the long run it should be worth it.

I just like building. 22 years old and I want to hone my skills to be well rounded with everything I can. The aluminum would be $31 I justr talked with my sheetmetal supplier who told me what to use for it and the price. I'm starting to lean more towards fiberglass though.

 

[TwoJugs]

To get curves like that you would probably need to build dies first, maybe anneal the metal too. I did lots of aircraft metal work wth good results but we had an english wheel, strecthers, shrinkers, ovens, brakes and lots of old timers to direct us. A canvas bean bag makes a great tool for working metal on. Be aware of what gage and alloy metal you choose for the project. I saw someone doing aluminum tanks online. Awesome skills and a shop to support them.

 

[Sonnylynnvick75]

To get curves like that you would probably need to build dies first, maybe anneal the metal too. I did lots of aircraft metal work wth good results but we had an english wheel, strecthers, shrinkers, ovens, brakes and lots of old timers to direct us. A canvas bean bag makes a great tool for working metal on. Be aware of what gage and alloy metal you choose for the project. I saw someone doing aluminum tanks online. Awesome skills and a shop to support them.

See my idea is a little different than what everyone is thinking. I plan on 4 pieces- 2 side panels an upper fairing and a chin spoiler. All the sides will be completely flat and the only curvature would be the front part which I would then cut the sides to have welded up. It would be alot more easy to show than describe.

 

[Kinsygrl]

If you do it f- glass it's really not that hard but will take some time. What you need to do is pick up a few sheets of blue foam insulation, I think you can get in 2" thick sheets. Glue them together into one big block. Use a grinder to sculpt out rough shape, refine with sand paper till desired shape.

After that paint it with exterior latex paint3-5 layers. Once this is done you can start laying your fiber glass over it, two layers should be good. When it is set you can either dig out the blue foe am or pour acetone on it and it will eat it away. You will be left with the fiberglass shell.

 

[neanderthal]

lots of body work for a first timer. it can be done, but you may find it on the ground under your foot at some point. make sure to make a thread if you do it. id love to see it. i love those fairings. good luck!

 

[Kinsygrl]

This is very crude but I'm at work so I just scribbled it out....

 

[Kinsygrl]

Rough out with saw or grinder...

 

[Kinsygrl]

At this point you will refine withe sand paper same as you wold with anything... Start with coarse work to fine... Then coat with latex ( this prevents the chemicals in the fiberglass resin from eating the foam). After the paint is dry you can start layering the glass cloth. When it's cured any kind of paint thinner can be poured into the foam to dissolve it leaving just the fiberglass shell.

 

[Kinsygrl]

If you plan out your mounting spots cagily and get your dimensions right this can be a very simple process and if carefully with the application of the glass this can produce a very solid product .

 

[osteoderm]

I've worked with 'glass, carbon-composite, etc. for years, have all the right tools, and have no problem tackling such a project. However, when I went full-fairing on my XS, I started with a CR7501 from Airtech and modified to suit. From practical experience I knew I'd get a better outcome for far less time/money investment going that route.

Great drawings from Kinsygrl! The only thing I'd add is that such a style of "male mold" construction leaves you with a ton of fairing/filling/sanding/smoothing to do on the outside of the piece in order to a get a really nice surface. The really trick idea is to go ahead with all the above-shown steps, then use the shell as a "female mold" to make the fairing itself. In that case, you want the foam plug to me as smooth and clean as humanly-possible before layup.

I think a metal fairing would be cool, and totally doable with patience and tools. Aluminium wouldn't weigh much at all. However, you'd have to be careful with mounts (I've broken several alloy mounts on my 'glass fairing from vibration/work-hardening), and beware those flat panels! Flat panels are weaker than curved ones, and require more support.

 

[Square Circle]

Fiberglass can be heavy. My cafe seat cowl turned out pretty thick plus adding bondo. Its heavier than I really wanted. I do some home remodeling, and have noticed tubs and shower surrounds made of fiberglass are heavy as well. Chris Chappell has a cool abs forming machine, maybe you could make your own fairing mold and send it to him to wrap it with abs plastic.

 

[jamesgs4]

I am going to make one soon, prob out of sheet aluminum since I have a TIG welder now. mocked it up in foil and wire just to get an idea of the look. I plan to build one side first, then reverse the patterns to do the other side.