| Author | Message | ||
     Bgbrd |
A few years ago I replaced the fiberglass fairing on my S3 with a new one.Cracked during impact with large vulture! Now this one is cracked and I need to do a repair. The new fairing is not fiberglass and seems to be ABS plastic. Am I correct on this? If so has anyone repaired an ABS fairing with a plastic welder?? | ||
| Yo_barry |
I've repaired my front fender and saddlebags with ABS cement. 2001 S3T Open the crack so you can get some cement into it. Apply cement. Also paint the cement on the inside of fairing about 2" on each side of crack. Lay some fibre glass cloth into this cement, then paint over the fibre glass cloth with another layer of cement. Barry | ||
| Yo_barry |
btw, I got both the ABS cement (black stuff) and the fibre glass cloth at local Ace Hardware. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
Bgbrd-hope you don't mind me jumping in, but Barry's suggestion got me thinking...I have a crack along the horizontal groove on the back of my S3 saddlebag. Barry, how do you think the ABS cement & fiberglass cloth process would work on cracks on the backside of S3 bags. Seems like it should work quite well. Thx. | ||
| Yo_barry |
Hey BJ, The first repair I did with ABS cement and fibre glass cloth was the back of the saddle bags. That was about 40k miles ago. No problem since then. On the saddle bag backs, I reinforced the repair with fibre glass cloth on both the inside and outside. I wasn't worried about what it looked like. Barry | ||
| Buelljunkie |
Barry, I appreciate the info and I'll take your advice and use your method on the repair. Thanks very much! | ||
| Bgbrd |
As far as saddlebags go there is an excellent post somewhere on this site by Al at American sport bike on how to repair S3 bags with fiberglass cloth and resin.I'm considering getting a plastic welding gun to repair my fairing. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
I'll take a look around for Al's post, though it would prob be much faster to just give him a call. He's always very helpful. I definitely need to make a repair, tho...I'm afraid to put much in that saddlebag! | ||
| Buelljunkie |
}As far as saddlebags go there is an excellent post somewhere on this site by Al at American sport bike on how to repair S3 bags with fiberglass cloth and resin.I'm considering getting a plastic welding gun to repair my fairing. Bgbrd-found Al's post, so thank you. Talked to him on the phone for a little bit, too. Man, wouldn't we be better off if there were more guys like him around. We definitely need to continue supporting his shop...BUY FROM AL! I know I will! Truth be told there are many board members just like him...many thanks to all of you here at BadWeb. Hopefully I can return the favor someday.. | ||
| Bgbrd |
Buelljunkie, Glad you found Al's article. That fix has solved all my saddlebag problems. Finally got the plastic welder from harbor freight. Did a little practice on a plastic bucket and made the repair to my fairing. Not bad for first time plastic repair.It sanded and filled nicely and is ready to paint. Will be looking for more things to repair in the future. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
I was just at Harbor Freight yesterday, didn't know they had a plastic welder. Hmm, prob wouldn't hurt to do the plastic weld and then do the fiberglass repair. I'm not sure whether to use epoxy resin or fiberglass resin - Al said he was worried about melting too far into his plastic with the polyester? | ||
| Bgbrd |
The polyester resin worked fine for me. No melting problems. I did the nylon rope reinforcment also. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
Thanks Bgbrd. Now the trick will be to find time to do it! Too much work, not enough play. Must not become a dull boy... Of course, without work we wouldn't have all these toys, would we?. Thanks again for the info. |
