Not liking what is available out there on the market as far as 1/4 Shields and the like and not being able to afford the full fairing kits (EVEN THOUGH I LOVE THEM) and probably most importantly, not wanting to remount headlight, mirrors and turn indicators I decided to make my own.

1. The idea is to one have fun with it and let you guys make fun of my mistakes and misfortunes as the project progresses.

2. Get ideas and suggestions from those who know

3. And for those that want to undertake something like this themselves..show them what not to do!

So the general idea is (some may have seen this from my helmet project all ready so humor me) to turn this....



Into something like this..but in two pieces....



I have a couple of things in mind for this project.

1. Be as similar to this "Carenada" as possible, especially the paint scheme... you know I love red, white and black all ready.
2. Use all original parts and don't reposition the head light, mirrors, or turn signals, yes that means it will be 2 distinct pieces, fairing and cowling independently mounted.
3. Keep the materials as cheap as possible while maintaining a quality end result.
4. Yes, this will be 100% fiberglass
5. Improve cooling and comfort while riding
6. Be able to reproduce it on a limited basis (if it turns out nice )
7. There's more but I think you get the point.

So like I said don't laugh, I have a good start on the templates...



I have started the project and have made some progress....



This is the prototype for what I had in mind, I don't like any shield half fairings for the GS500 on the market at all! I had the "Targa" shield before and threw it away. No offense to those that have it and like it but I, personally, think it looks goofier then hell from too many angles. Mine needs lot's of work but this is a work in progress.



Keeping cooling in mind, this is the prototype for the cowling.

And then there was fiberglass....



Having some left over from a repair job I decided to use what I had...Bad Idea! I will explain later.



It didn't turn out too bad but I had way too many imperfections!



Knowing there is a lot of sanding to do and this is just the first layer!

Some are probably wondering how did I get the first layer? Well not knowing any better and not having any other ideas I decided to make a paper mache molding of the inside of my cardboard template...



Why? Because I wanted the first layer to be the same size as the template not the size of the outside. Great idea and cheap, but very time consuming letting it dry before I started. Yes, I used tinfoil between the cardboard and paper mache for easy separation when dry. I tired plastic wrap but it turned out to be a pain in the arse. Got a better idea?



The only mistakes I made during this process was not making it thick enough and not making the outside (the layer for the fiberglass) more smooth.

While I was waiting for the mache to dry I was getting bored so I decided to put all my templates on the bike and take some pictures to motivate myself thinking this is what it will look like when your done. Not doing anything special this is what came out to my surprise!



I thought Wow man I can't wait until this really is finished!



If I can get from cardboard to fiberglass to paint I have a chance to achieve the look I was trying for?

A thought comes to mind, " Well it looked good on paper". I know I know!

great project!!

I know exactly what you are going through!! I am in the process of making my own solo seat cowl from fiberglass! Not as big project as yours but time consuming as well.
I am almost done though  (lil' more sanding is necessary though)

good luck!

Quote from: JB848 on June 16, 2009, 10:52:02 AM
Got a better idea?
...
not making the outside (the layer for the fiberglass) more smooth.

Both clay and plaster make nice molds that are more easily worked smooth.

Looking good man... Nice work so far. I think it will look great when you are done 

Thanks for the words of encouragement I need them at this point

Having the first layer done and repairing all of the air bubbles caused by using fiberglass "cloth" instead of "mat" I start sanding and sanding and sanding...



What do I mean cloth and mat? Cloth is very fine like "cloth" and is great for small or relatively flat surfaces.



Mat is very coarse and molds nicely in any direction and takes very little effort to not bubble and cause weakening air pockets and separation between layers.

\

Next to the shield is a couple of pieces of the "mat" vs the first pictures showing the cloth. As I start "repairing" all of my mistakes from the cloth!

looking good there bro. 

Good stuff, man.

Looking forward to seeing your progress

Different weaves & weights of cloth also drape differently - it's not really a "mat good, cloth bad" simple situation.

There are tricks to getting cloth to cover curves with minimum fuss (or cutting). I don't claim to be all that great at doing so, mind you, having only started playing with it last year. Certainly whatever you are using for cloth looks stiff as heck compared to the stuff I've used recently (mostly on boring rotting truck repairs); and softer equates to better able to take compound curves.

exactly. you can work the cloth to make it contore much nicer, all you do is pull the loose strings of cloth because they are not woven tightly like your shirt but anyways, lay the cloth down cut close to the shape your covering lay some resin on top then work the fibers, Ie pullin strings to make it contore better also another trick that I use when making contoured speaker enclosures is fleece, kinda like sweat shirt material, you can buy it by the yard at walmart or fabric stores. pull the fleece tightly over the piece secure it in place then soak it down with resin. once hardened in the shape of your desire add chop mat to the back side of it for strength. Also if you want to make multiple pieces make your first piece, sand prep and paint it to be perfect. the wax the hell out of it, I'm talking 10 15 coats of a good wax buffing out each time you put a new coat then cover the thing in chop mat and resin build up till about 1/4 inch to 3/8ths inch thick, add in some pieces of strategically placed wood for bracing and let cure. Once hardened, pry them apart GENTLY then sand, prep and paint the inside of the thick piece, then you guessed it start waxing. once done this is your mold now you can throw down some carbon fiber mat or regular fiberglass coat with resin slip it in a vacuum bag then suck the air out and let cure if your impatient you can put it in an air dryer to cure, now your pieces are damn near perfect and ultra thin while maintaining strength. I know I left out a few steps but this is just a quick run down of the process.

Also I forgot there is some special tools to work the fiberglass that can be had pretty cheap, one is a small metal roller that is used to push out air bubbles from under the layers. This one is a must it will keep you from having to go back and use alot of body filler to smooth out where you broke through other layers.

looking good so far, cant wait to see some more progress!

Thanks a bunch for all of the tips. I am way ahead of the posting as far as the project goes and am learning tricks quite fast. One thing I learned last night as I was repairing yet another fricking hole! I placed the mat material in the hole and had a lot of resin left over so I had a wild idea of using what was left with a flexible plastic trowl for bondo and spread the resin out like I was using bondo. This morning the results were really good. It filled all of the minor little holes and added material to some annoying minor low spots. May save lots of sanding.

So any way back to the project. Having repaired 95% of the mistakes I moved forward and carefully cut out the final shape of the 1/4 fairing.



Once again the use of cloth caused some problems. as you can see on the right side of the headlight enclosure it was so thin from sanding it chipped away. I have since fixed so no harm no foul. While it was drying I took my cardboard template and started work on the mounts. Having limited tools, no welder, small bench grinder, dull hack saw I started fabricating some brackets and looked for the most unobtrusive slightly hidden ways to mount the 1/4 fairing. You might notice I increases the size of the window from the original plan also.



I decided to use the bolts that mount the speedometer tree for the upper mounts and the headlight bolt for the lower mount.




I was kind of worried about the strength of the top but after mounting I feel confident that this mounting will be solid enough. I test mounted the fiberglass just to see how strong it will be.



And after mounting it and tightening everything down I was really surprised how strong it is now. I have plans on reinforcing the upper area that will hold the Plexiglas further but it's pretty solid. Also it was dark but I had to take it for a test ride as is (probably a good idea in the dark until it's finished LOL) and it was as solid as I could have hoped for. It also brought up another issue...black or chrome screws? I'm going with black cause the sheild will be red with white stripe.

Oh yeah I almost forgot..I did get this last night too!



Thanks to Pandy I now have a brat tat! It's not in it's final location but I had to post it like I told her I would  Thank you PANDY!

just a little note dont use to much resin otherwise your part will become brittle.  if you need to fill low spots or pin holes use bondo.  you dont want your parts brittle since there is a chance of taking a stone at speed it could just shatter instead of deflecting it.

Roger that I don't want the damn thing to shatter! I've only done it once and it was a very thin layer in a couple of places so hopefully I didn't break that rule.

So far its looking pretty good 

After reinforcing the upper portion, more sanding and a little glazing here and there I decided to put a coat of paint on it and see how it looked.



There are lot's of little imperfections that popped out the weren't visible before.



Which was good because they were easier to find and fix.



I think it's time for some new newspaper  Back to sanding and I can't wait to mount the thing!