cx500c rear cowl mock up

More angle... but it seems like the rear seat section would be at a weird angle unless I brought the seat cushion higher.

I decided I liked the design with the straight seat and cowl. Here is what it could look like with the cowl removed. Not sure yet what would be best for the attachment mechanism. I would prefer something that doesn't need screws. Some kind of clips or straps would be ideal.

Another mock up of the design using a different photo. This shows the angle from the side. I would need to raise the tail a bit to make sure I clear the rear wheel and make the tank, seat, and cowl level with the ground. Also would need to make a hole for the rear shock connection to the frame. Please excuse the poor editing quality, I did not use photoshop, just MS word... But you can see the idea.

Steve F said:

Is the hump for aesthetics or do you plan to use it to stop you sliding on the seat, just a thought as the attachment method might be pretty important if you plan to push up against it. My seat has a hump and I'm thinking of making a totally different seat for two up riding rather than having one that tries to do it all as 99% of the time it'll just be me.

Cheers
Steve

Click to expand...

Not just for looks - I would like to put weight against it. The neodymium magnets are very strong but to your point it may need some better fastening system...

This was my initial idea. The blue dots are the magnets, and the bottom image is a top view. The tabs would slide into slots on the main seat section and the magnets would hold in place. Weight would be pushed toward the direction of the slots and I would think would hold but maybe something more permanent is in order.

I saw someone create a similar design but the cowl overlapped the main seat portion and had finger screws that stayed in the cowl when removed and there were nuts mounted to the main seat section. See image below. Orange dots are screws. I feel like this design is less aesthetically pleasing but would be more secure.

What are your thoughts on the over-all shape with the custom tank?

Btw - awesome bike, I read through your build and the custom fairing is fantastic.

Submitted my materials order. Still playing around with how it might attach. Starting to lean toward spring clips, or quick release nuts with the bolt and nut imbedded in the fiber glass.

Another mock up...

Still waiting on parts but tear down has started. Drained tank and poured oxalic acid and water in tank to de-oxidize over night. Got a gel battery for mounting sideways. It's nice to have the fiance help out.

Cut off the rear seat mount and put up some fiberglass for the cowl section. This will be used as the base to create the final fiberglass seat with cowl as one form. Sorry some of the pics are not very good... taken with my phone camera.

The cowl will be about here but a little further forward. The tank is just resting on the frame; that's why the angle looks a little steepter than normal. I drew on how the cowl will seperate to allow a second rider. The front area will be cut off to make it a little shorter.

After taking some measurments of the original seat I decided to extend the rear a bit further back than I originally wanted to. It changes the look slightly but I want to make sure a second rider has enough room...

Finished prepping for glass. Taped and cut some fiber mat and cloth. Maybe I'll get to lay it down tomorrow. It's amazing how fast a few hours goes.

Got the glass up finally. Not perfect but I can smooth out some of the lines with filler. I'll be out of town for a week so the next steps will have to wait.

Got a deluxe/standard tank thanks to GoBears0305. He started to strip and I worked at it this weekend. Tried paint stripper with some mild success. I might have not added enough. It worked okay on some areas. After some time I switched to a paint stripping brush attached to a drill. This works really well and removes surface rust too. Should be done stripping in a day or so. Also created a mount for the tank. I found a solid plastic roller brush at home depot that someone else mentioned would fit. You have to drill out the hole to make it a bit bigger and then shave it down to proper length. I used shorter screws with countersunk heads and drilled out a recess for them to fit in so they wouldn't hit the tank. Still need to modify the back where it bolts to the frame.

I think I'm going to redo my fiberglass seat. Since it was my first time there were some imperfections in some sections that will be hard to fix with bondo.

Almost done stripping... The surface looks distorted from the stripping brush but I promise it is an illusion. There is a small dent but it is mostly in perfect shape.

Finished sanding old paint and getting rid of all rust. Put some filler where there were some dents. Prepped with #400 sand paper and mineral spirits. Did some rattle can painting. Etching primer, then regular primer, then gloss. Got some splatter and runs from the gloss so I'm going to wait a few days before wet sanding and putting another coat. Did not take any photos of the gloss coat because it looks pretty bad.

After I fix the gloss coat I'll put down some clear and then buff.