my diy solo seat cowl completed

[Madbones]

So ive seen others one here make them and thought ........why not.......I used the usual cardboard and tape to fab it up on the bike. Once i had it right i taped it over all the joins till i had a nice shell. Layed some fiberglass cloth over it and covered that with resin and let it sit over night. Next day did the same again. It was firm but i could still flex it. Next to the under side. On here i used fiberglass matt and layered it on in pieces and resined each as i went over lapping each piece and building up a nice thick layer paying attention to the joins. once dry ( another day ) sanded it smooth although it was pretty good and sprayed on some primer.....sanded ....more primer and more sanding until it was smooth all over. Next sprayed three colour coats followed by three clear. Let it air dry for a few days and gave it a polish. Fitted the rubber trims and fitted it to the seat so it comes away with the seat as one when removed ( i dont take passengers )
Oh and its a one off.........enjoy

[NF11624]

Very nice 

I especially like the rubber accents... but overall I think this is the best seat cowl constructed (so far) in terms of looks.

[gs500f2007]

best one i have seen so far
better than the one available on ebay

[Madbones]

Thanks guys... .....here is another from another angle. I stuck on a strip to tie it into the seat..purely cosmetic.

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

Wow! that's the best i've seen yet. Good job.

[JB848]

Madbones I'd have to 100% agree with the others. Though I am not a fan of over the seat cowls, that is a quality design and professional finish. I like the added hump it looks factory like it is supposed to be there.

There was a company on here trying to design and sell them here and yours is far superior IMHO.

Great Job!

[gs500Ant]

mate, that really does suit your bike perfectly,well done have you highered the tail with shorter dogbones or different shock aswell?

[O.C.D.]

Hell yes that looks good!!!!  Phenomenal job you did there.  Looks factory if it were designed in a factory, lol.

[Skeets]

Madbones I'd have to 100% agree with the others. Though I am not a fan of over the seat cowls, that is a quality design and professional finish. I like the added hump it looks factory like it is supposed to be there.

There was a company on here trying to design and sell them here and yours is far superior IMHO.

Great Job!

They were scammers.

[tt_four]

Yeah that thing looks awesome. The black on top especially makes it look good.

The one thing I'm always curious about when people talk about making a cowl out of cardboard, then putting the fiberglass over it..... Once you then pull the cardboard out and just have the cowl, isn't it a little larger than it should be because of the thickness from the cardboard, or do you just use very thin cardboard and it doesn't affect much? I guess I was picturing thick corrugated like a box from the post office, but that's probably too thick to be productive anyway.

[JB848]

Yeah that thing looks awesome. The black on top especially makes it look good.

The one thing I'm always curious about when people talk about making a cowl out of cardboard, then putting the fiberglass over it..... Once you then pull the cardboard out and just have the cowl, isn't it a little larger than it should be because of the thickness from the cardboard, or do you just use very thin cardboard and it doesn't affect much? I guess I was picturing thick corrugated like a box from the post office, but that's probably too thick to be productive anyway.

Good question and I have the answer for you. As long as you don't get carried away with the first layer? After sanding and painting it you are so close to the original size it doesn't matter. I've found that if you make the first layer over the mold and then most of the follow up layers from the inside, the size difference is negligible.

[Ed500]

wow that looks awesome. great quality work to say the least.

[kml.krk]

that's the best you've seen cause I did not put a paint on mine yet 
hehe

but it surely looks nice !! good job 

[GSnoober]

When you get the time, how about providing some more detailed shots, so we can see it off the bike, and see how it fits onto the seat? If I understood you correctly, you said that the seat and the cowl are removed together, so how about showing us those details? Yes, I said it, DETAILS, we want to see the DETAILS!

Absolutely a first-rate piece of work; never seen one better than yours. That black strip of vinyl might seem purely cosmetic, but there's a good chance it will also help to keep the front panel of your cowl from getting scratched all to hell anytime soon, so I think adding it was a wise decision.

Since I'm not familiar with the graphic scheme on your (non-US market) GS, is that paintwork totally stock from Suzuki, or have you made some changes to it? Where are the obnoxious "SUZUKI" decals I expected to see on the fairings? Did you alter anything, or is that actually a stock paint scheme on your GS? Did you ADD any graphic work, like the red stripe on the tank and fairing? What year is that GS?

Last request for now; your sig indicates that you own TWO GS500Fs, so how about posting photos of BOTH of them, along with a few photos of your "1966 Aussie Chrysler VC Safari Wagon, Slant 6", so we can see what that looks like as well.

Thanks man; your seat cowl seems really well integrated into the lines of your GS; you can probably expect some people to ask you to make one for them as time goes by... which is a testament to the look you've achieved with yours.

[scottpA_GS]

Very nice.. I agree, one of the best I have seen yet 

[Madbones]

Thanks 

The bikes a K8 stock standard shock and bones. I removed the original decals to try to personalize the bike. Guess we all try to add our own touch somewhere. I bought some signwriters vinyl and cut and fitted the new decals myself. If i get sick of the design i can peel and remove and re do it later on. Ive used chrome vinyl on my car dash restos before and that got me thinking. The cardboard isnt that thick. Its the kind of stuff schools use for projects and its thickness doesnt have any effect on the cowl fitting later.
Ive still got a template that i used for the sides so i could scale it and post it up if anyone wants to try it out ( inches right?. i work in mm ) The top is basically flat so i should be able to do that aswell. The top half cone type section i just made in seconds as i thought it would look good. All fitted up on the bike in cardboard to get the fit right and taped with masking tape. I took plenty of pics. Ive been restoring cars for some time so have the spraying and finishing skills but its not that hard. The other bike is also a K8 thats black but has silver on the fairings. Its heading towards a total black spray job in the future.

[TurkeyChicken]

I agree that looks really nice.