Author |
Message |
Daveinm
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:17 am: |
|
There was a post a few months ago about the carbon fiber that's been on ebay for really low prices. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/92309.html Does anybody have any new opinions on this, or has had any experiences with it? It's very tempting, but I'm a little skeptical. |
Blake
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 02:55 am: |
|
You get what you pay for, especially so with CF parts. |
Olinxb12r
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 11:37 am: |
|
I'm going to bid on some of that stuff just because it is so cheap, but I'm sure that I won't get any of the stuff for the prices that I'm willing to pay. I figure if I do get some of it and it turns colors I'll just have it painted. I don't really care if everyone else knows I have CF. All I care about is taking weight off of my bike, and if I can do it for 1/2 price it is worth it to me. Thanks for the heads up, and I'll let you know how it works out if I do win any of the auctions. |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 11:54 am: |
|
If your talking about the stuff out of Vegas from ebargainllc I talked to someone at a local shop who just received some. He said its pretty thick and is pretty certain its just for looks and not race weight. He bought one of the 'Zuki front fenders. He admitted he hasn't actually weighed the pieces because he hasn't put the CF piece on yet, so he couldn't say how the fit was. I am looking at it for the simple price savings, some of the pieces are ending up going for less then stock. Olin, let me know which pieces by auction number you are bidding on, that way we are not bidding against each other, or let me know your bidder name so I can look out for it. I think you will recognise mine when you see it |
Daveinm
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 11:55 am: |
|
I bid on the 9s windscreen...so don't jack up the price We'll see how things turn out. Maybe they'll be decent quality. It's worth a shot. |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:03 pm: |
|
put the auction number since they have multiples of some of the parts. Or your Ebay name if its different then your Badweb name. Especially since they keep the bidders name private. |
Daveinm
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:06 pm: |
|
This is the only thing that worries me... "Each part is manufactured with the best materials: 3K Carbon, twill or plain Fibers, Fiber glass, polyester or epoxy resins." So they're pretty much saying it can be made of any combination of the materials above??? 4542431275 is the auction I'm bidding on. |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:15 pm: |
|
To keep the prices down, the visible layers me be CF with the others as filler, which would make it right inline with the comment of the guy at the shop about it not being a race weight CF piece. They certainly don't claim it to be lightweight. |
Scitz
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:29 pm: |
|
I've seen all the postings too. I’m just waiting till I can find a part really, really cheap because there is no reserve. I would wait a little while and then check the feedback and email the buyers and ask them about the quality. I saw some frame protectors out of Germany a few months ago and emailed a previous buyer about the quality. He said they where ok but didn't have any other carbon parts to judge it against. He also didn't like the fact that the frame protectors didn't cover the frame welds like some you see do. |
Slaughter
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 12:53 pm: |
|
From what I've seen, that carbon stuff is really just a gimmick. Wet laid-up and pretty thick and heavy. You could probably get a fiberglass cloth part that would weigh the same - though not have the cool look of carbon. I've made a seat and fairing for my bike (in my profile pic) using wet laid-up carbon and personally, it's just not worth it. The stuff Al sells is no-compromise pressure-molded material (pre-impregnated, bagged, autoclave molded) - can't get it any lighter/better. Anything else is just as good as "chrome" for a sportbike as far as performance goes. Also, if you decide to go carbon, you really should use a good UV-blocking clear coat on any carbon part if you want to keep it looking good. Few to NONE of the commercially available structural resins have UV absorbing additives. You might ask Al about that, I know he'd been looking into it. High quality automotive clear coats have UV absorbing additives (NOT rattle-can clear though) |
Scitz
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 01:01 pm: |
|
I've ordered gloves with "carbon fiber" on eBay for a cheap price and the carbon looked like one sheet of fiber and had some air bubbles and debris in the resin. |
Pcmodeler
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 01:34 pm: |
|
Hmm, I've been watching that guys auctions as well. Wonder if he (or any of the vendors here) would be interested in a group buy? I know there is a car site I visit where we've occassionally worked out dealers with vendors for a discounted price on a particular item if we purchase 10 or more items. Of course, we are already getting a discount from some of the folks here (Daves). |
Olinxb12r
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 02:32 pm: |
|
Here are the items that I'm bidding on. My username is Olin343. There is still over three days left on every auction, so I'm sure I will be outbid. I'll have to see what they are all going for at the end of the auction, and decide how much I want to pay based on that. Good luck to anyone else. 4542880229 4542888158 4542894752 4542894757 4542894781 4542896008 4542062883 |
Scitz
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 02:43 pm: |
|
I don't like that on his feed back most of the items are marked private. |
Ortegakid
| Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 05:14 pm: |
|
I,m watching also, won't bid you up,if'n you get 'em let me know how they are! |
Gearheart
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 01:39 pm: |
|
Damn and I was looking to get in on some of those very items Olin. May bid on my fiance's account will try to go for the later ones then perhaps. |
Buelliedan
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 02:16 pm: |
|
The CF those guys are selling on e-bay is pretty much junk. Its basically a thin layer of fiberglass with a really thin layer of CF on top. As already said it is not light and the quality is very poor. The fit is a real problem as you will have to do a lot of trimming and dtrilling to get most parts to fit right. Many pinholes, runs in the clearcoat, waves, etc.. If you are looking for good CF go to American Sport Bike. If you just want some really cheap CF parts that you aren't real concerned wth how they look then this stuff might be right for you. |
Pcmodeler
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 03:28 pm: |
|
Buelliedan, which parts did you buy? |
Buelliedan
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 05:44 pm: |
|
I bought an S1 front fender which fit okay but has many imperfections. It went on the track bike so no big deal. I have an S2 rear fender which looked good but required a ton of trimming and drilling to make work and it still rubs a bit and I also bought an S3 rear fender but I haven't tried to install it. The finish is marginal. |
Pcmodeler
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 06:44 pm: |
|
Guess that would scare me off of the XB tank. I had emailed him asking which bike the undertail they have listed fits (R or S). He said it fit both. Now, I don't have an S, but it would seem to me the the S undertail is shorter than the R. Am I wrong or is he? |
Pcmodeler
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 04:07 pm: |
|
Olinxb12r, did you win any of those pieces? |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 04:47 pm: |
|
The undertail they have showing most DEFINATELY will not work with a "S" model without modification. The tailight is not part of the undertray on the "S". |
Olinxb12r
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 04:54 pm: |
|
The auctions are over tomorrow night, but there are other people that are bidding now. I've kept myself the highest bidder on some of the stuff so far, but I don't want to pay much more than I'm already in for. I figure if I can get this stuff for about 1/2 of what it would cost to get the American Sportbike stuff I'll give it a try. If it is more than that I'm not that interested. I think the consensus is that this stuff is fine if you get one hell of a deal, but the stuff from American Sportbike is the real deal. |
Buelliedan
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 05:03 pm: |
|
If you have to pay half of what you could get the stuff from American Sport Bike for you have paid about 25% too much. Its really that low of quality guys. |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 05:15 pm: |
|
I am using the prices for the stock parts as a basis. If I can get it from them shipped for 1/2-3/4 the price of a stock piece then its worth while. |
Scitz
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 05:20 pm: |
|
I was looking to get the belt guards for cheap so if I decide to do a belt upgrade on my 03' XB9R. The prices are shooting up pretty good towards the end. |
Daveinm
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 05:29 pm: |
|
Any updates??? |
Eexb
| Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 08:24 am: |
|
I sent them an e-mail asking if it was necessary to charge $14.95 shipping on a pair of heel guards and got no reply. I know their CF is selling at lower prices but $15 is too much to pay for shipping on less than a pound. After reading all the above about quality it sounds like this stuff at any price is not worth the effort. EE |
Pcmodeler
| Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 08:41 am: |
|
I thought the shipping was a bit out of line as well. So, who else here as won some of this stuff? |
Wyckedflesh
| Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 09:24 am: |
|
I beive in thier minds and on a few, but I can't remember if its all of the auctions, in the descrption it states "a flat rate shipping and handling charge for shipping anywhere in the US, Canada, HI and AK will pay additional European orders will pay actual shipping plus a handling fee." So they can pretty much set their own price for that. But hey, its up front and you know that before you bid. |