TOPIC:

Hell, all that swingarm needs now is some prime and paint!

ok so decided to go with the trellis swing-arm, made a finalized mockup that i hope to be getting some help fabing up soon. here are some pics.

Motorcycle headlights have always seemed to create the character of any bike to me. I think of it like the way Vietnamese fisherman paint eyes on their ship, so it can see where its going. I wanted to upgrade to a HID light, and go to a smaller diameter lens. I searched long and heard to find a clear lens 5.75" reflector to fit my bi-xenon setup.


I found a 74 harley sporter XLH headlight that I really liked the rings on, however the HID bulb stuck out much farther than the back of the bucket, and i wanted it to be side mounted. So i had to modify...


first i cut the bucket down to the mounting ring.


then i taped up the bottom rings, centered it on my potters wheel, and packed a bunch of clay into the inside


then the profile was refined


then i sculpted some raised parts on either side to have it mount to.


This part was crucial, i cut some registration points into the plug, down to the top of the metal ring.


prepped to pour the mold.


I used hydrocal, mostly as an experiment to see how it would work with fiberglass, I also have a TON of this stuff on hand and its extremely cheap, I maybe used $0.15 worth for this small mold. Its similar to plaster, but much stronger and not as porus.

then I de-molded, and sanded with some 600grit to refine the surface further. here is the steel ring sitting in the mold. Those crucial registration points hold the ring in place.


I used mold soap on this, however in retrospect it didnt do crap, It is just what i normally do on a hyrdocal mold to seal it.


OK skip ahead a bit, I sprayed two coats of PVA into the mold, laid in 3 layers of 1.5oz fiberglass mat, using vinyl ester resin. I focused on getting a good overlap on the ring, which i also had sandblasted to give it some tooth. I then vacuum bagged it, which maybe wasn't necessary, but i wanted to make sure it got a real good bond to the ring.


OK so lesson learned: Hydrocal will absorb PVA even when sealed with mold soap. Normally the PVA will stick to the piece, in this case it stuck to the mold which made it very difficult to remove. I think if i did a better job of sealing the hydrocal it would have been easier to de-mold. I had to break the mold to remove the bucket. Here are some rough shots.


And here is it with the crap trimmed off and the light in. I think it came out pretty good. Its gonna need a little bondo-lovin to get it perfect, but it is a nice symmetrical base to start with. And its better looking than the original stubby harley one, IMO.

pretty freakin cool !


leon

This happened today, more to follow next week.

Very cool work. Trellis swingarm is nice. Nice skills on the headlamp.

I agree, very nice work on your one off headlight bucket. That Hydrocal stuff you talked about; where can I get some? I wonder if the PVA would have worked better if you used a handful of coats of mould wax under it to seal the hydrocal?

porchev914 wrote: That Hydrocal stuff you talked about; where can I get some?

I buy mine locally from Seattle pottery supply, I usually order it by the ton or half ton, so its pretty cheap. Most ceramic supply places will have some, usually in 50 or 100lb bags.

If I was going to do it again I would use the wax. it had been so long since i made my tailpiece i forgot that step of the process. I think i would also try sealing it with some primer/sealer and sanding that down first too.


These came today, the faces I designed are looking sweet! i cant believe how lightweight they are compared to the stock ones. sorry for the crappy cell pic. camera was dead.

I hope you don't mind that I saved your road trip pictures to my hard drive for a little inspiration. You are living my dream, good sir.

Wishing you all the best luck working on this bike, I'll be watching your progress with great interest...

Also, I like your taste in boots (and arachnids).

I just love the excellent work u r doing here.
Way to go.

that underbrace will make a big difference in your handling.esp,mid corner bumps when you are on the throttle.

leon