Topic: Fiberglass Body Parts. Any good?

[gdhitch]

     I'm having a set of side covers for my '73 cb500 made from fiberglass resin.  Does anybody have any experience with this?  Are they durable, how well do they hold up?
   

[mystic_1]

I don't have any experience with this, but I'd guess that durability would depend on thickness of hte fiberglass and how well it was laid down.

Do let us know how this turns out, I've had daydreams of molding my own fiberglass side panels.


mystic_1

[trav72]

Fiberglass will be plenty strong for side panels.  Especially since they are not load bearing piece.  They should be really easy to make.  I've made a seat pan that carried my weight and it was fine. 

[gdhitch]

     My main concern is how well they will hold up with being removed off and on all the time. ( I'm always tinkering on something.)  I broke the originals(already cracked) taking them off on a very cold morning.

[mystic_1]

Question, will the mounting pins be molded out of fiberglass also, or will you be using a different mounting scheme?  Some aftermarket side panels screw in from the back rather than having the stock press-in pins.  If you go with the screw-in method, no worries about stress during removal.  Just a thought.


mystic_1

[gdhitch]

     They'll be the same as the originals.  Good point though.

[trav72]

I would actually glass in some bolts to mount them.  Make you mrold with resin and a couple of layers.  Then take a flat head bolt, place it against the backside and continue to add layers.  It will be stronger than the original and you'll never have to worry about it breaking or flying off while riding.

[troppo]

as for the mounting, why not glass in a hinge at the front edge that you could rivet to the frame with a catch at the rear edge, easy access, just undo the catch and swing open and if you need to you could easily drill out the rivets, you could even weld a couple of small bolts to the frame and bolt the hinges in position with the hinge
just a thought, easy open and close without breaking the mounting pins, they are repro`s anyway, they can look original from the outside and be "improved" on the inside
cheers
troppo

[andy750]

Why not just buy some repro ones from DSS or LPM - these repro sidecovers look identical to the original but are made from glavanized rubber so are not going to crack. I got a left-hand side one for my CB750 and its very good quality.

cheers
Andy