1984 KZ550 LTD mods (was a rear tail..)

Hi,

I've been working on a rear tail piece for a bit now, and I think I've finally gotten something I'm happy with.

I originally thought I'd like to go all tall and pointy ala R1 or CBR600RR, but then moved away from that towards the MV Brutale look..low, flat and round.

I think I've gotten to something that works for me, isn't too boring, but also isn't out of place on the bike.







I plan on making a bracket to hold my license plate, a pair of LED rear lights and possibly my turn signals. The bracket will have the components floating above the very back of the wheel behind the cowl, level with the frame bars.

Opinions? Comments? Ideas? Its just a towel on the foam, to show the seat.

Thanks!

Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/01/14 17:46

Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/02/18 22:44

pyxen wrote:

Opinions? Comments? Ideas? Its just a towel on the foam, to show the seat.

:lol: Till I read that line, I thought you mocked that up out of snow.:laugh:

Ok Pyxen, I got a tip for you. I don't know if you are trying to get that image like in my avatar but I think you are going in the right direction so far. But what I would do if I was you and depending on if you are using plaster paris are whatever, after molding that into shape, I would wax it with some turtle wax on it and get some kind of liquid fiberglass are whatever comes clost to it and apply it to the mold and use that fiber glass as my actual tail and just use the plasterparis as my mold. I am just saying..

hey,

Yeah my next step was to use Mod Podge and news paper to cover it and get a nice solid shell around the foam, smooth it out and cover up any gaps in the shape where the foam broke off, like around the bottom at the back right.

Plaster of paris was definitely something I had considered using as well, but the Mod Podge (like white glue, but more of a sealer) will let me soak the newspaper and get a good shell. Plus I can still sand mod podge, which is cool.

From there I'm either going to make a negative mold, using fleece and epoxy, or just lay fleece over the foam and epoxy it - use it as a positive mold - and then put some more fiberglass inside for strength.. Which means that the piece would be bigger than what I have there though.

I'm not quite sure how to proceed from here though, since I've never done any fiberglass work before.

Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/01/15 09:03

pyxen wrote:

hey,

Yeah my next step was to use Mod Podge and news paper to cover it and get a nice solid shell around the foam, smooth it out and cover up any gaps in the shape where the foam broke off, like around the bottom at the back right.

Plaster of paris was definitely something I had considered using as well, but the Mod Podge (like white glue, but more of a sealer) will let me soak the newspaper and get a good shell. Plus I can still sand mod podge, which is cool.

From there I'm either going to make a negative mold, using fleece and epoxy, or just lay fleece over the foam and epoxy it - use it as a positive mold - and then put some more fiberglass inside for strength.. Which means that the piece would be bigger than what I have there though.

I'm not quite sure how to proceed from here though, since I've never done any fiberglass work before.<br><br>Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/01/15 09:03

If you attempt this mate, make sure you go picture crazy with a digi cam. If it turns out well, i'll be having a go at it too

Nevco48 wrote:

pyxen wrote:

Opinions? Comments? Ideas? Its just a towel on the foam, to show the seat.

:lol: Till I read that line, I thought you mocked that up out of snow.:laugh:

That woulda been a lot easier, and possible considering the temperature of my garage!

I'll definitely take a lot of pics.

Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/01/15 09:21

By the way I like your pics in the gallery. I posted some comments on there.

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words

Aight..so here's the pics of the tailpiece with the first layer of mod podge on it. It turns it into a nice and hard piece, and is much more solid piece than just the foam.

Now I need to figure out how to proceed.. I'm actually starting to consider just bondoing it to get a nice smooth finish, then glassing over it and leaving the foam inside. It's so light it doesn't really matter..I figure anyways.

Then I've gotta make a nice seatpan that works with it, and go from there.. opinions/advice on the next steps?

Enjoy!





Thanks.

I get a big kick out of fella's (oh...sorry....meant to say people) that can/will take a chance and go for it with custom pieces they fabricate. Best of luck and keep the pics coming....

Lookin' good Pyxen.
As far as how to procede, other than bondoing over it as you described, you could now cover the thing with a good parting agent, lay up some more Mod Podge and paper over the whole thing, let it cure, then cut the whole thing in half. Then you'll have made yourself a female mold that you can lay up some glass and resin inside it, then split apart and remove the piece for final shaping.
That way you could make a hollow tail piece that you can flush mount a tail light into it.
Just a thought, good luck with it.

Hey River..thanks man - that's very true.

If I do go that direction, I'll probably use something more durable than paper..maybe a couple layers of sweater or something. I'd want to make sure that the mold is good and solid if I'd use it for glassing.

Hrm..well for now I'll add a second layer of mod podge and phone book, sand it smooth to get rid of the edges, and bondo it to make it 1) even on both sides and 2) smooth.

After that, it's anyone's game I guess...