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The weather has been nasty here lately, so I've been rolling ideas around of a project. I know the GL650 left side covers are rare as hen's teeth, and was wondering if anyone has tried to make a duplicate. I've perused the internet for the last couple of days and don't think that making one would be too difficult. There are several methods to do this, but fiberglass would seem to be the easiest and quickest.
The basic principle is to make a female mold out of fiberglass and then lay up the new one inside this form. I have done enough fiberglassing to realize that what seems easy isn't always that simple. But with some experimenting, I don't think it would be that hard to at least make serviceable ones. A good mold can produce 20-30 copies before it deteriorates, but that would probably be about the world wide demand for these anyhow. I don't even have a grasp on material cost, but I would think the materials for each one, once the mold is made would be less than $20. A good bit of the materials, (release wax, PVA film, gel coat, resin, and mat) need to be acquired in reasonable quantities. A can of release wax for instance, would probably do several hundred pieces, but you will have a lower cost per piece if you buy a decent sized can.
A couple of things are holding me back. One is the demand for these. I at least want to be able to recoup my cost. I know of several guys currently looking for one of these, but making 3 wouldn't be cost effective. Another problem is that the GL650 cover I currently have on my bike isn't perfect. I had to remake the slot area in the back and had to glue the SilverWing emblem on. I don't want to destroy mine just for fun. In theory, the piece shouldn't be affected, but you never know. The emblem would need to be removed before molding began too. My mounting lugs are good, so I could use those for placement of lugs in the new ones.
What I am getting around to is does anyone have a cover that maybe has the lugs broken that they would part with? It could even be cracked, but I would want to at least have all the parts. Scratched, dented, or chipped really doesn't matter. I can fix those before I do the mold. If anyone is interested in helping out, let me know. I would even pay the shipping and if things did work out, send your cover and a new one back to you.
This isn't going to be a next day project, I will have to wait for the weather to improve to work this stuff outside, but at least I can start getting my ducks in a row. Let me know what you guys and gals think.
The basic principle is to make a female mold out of fiberglass and then lay up the new one inside this form. I have done enough fiberglassing to realize that what seems easy isn't always that simple. But with some experimenting, I don't think it would be that hard to at least make serviceable ones. A good mold can produce 20-30 copies before it deteriorates, but that would probably be about the world wide demand for these anyhow. I don't even have a grasp on material cost, but I would think the materials for each one, once the mold is made would be less than $20. A good bit of the materials, (release wax, PVA film, gel coat, resin, and mat) need to be acquired in reasonable quantities. A can of release wax for instance, would probably do several hundred pieces, but you will have a lower cost per piece if you buy a decent sized can.
A couple of things are holding me back. One is the demand for these. I at least want to be able to recoup my cost. I know of several guys currently looking for one of these, but making 3 wouldn't be cost effective. Another problem is that the GL650 cover I currently have on my bike isn't perfect. I had to remake the slot area in the back and had to glue the SilverWing emblem on. I don't want to destroy mine just for fun. In theory, the piece shouldn't be affected, but you never know. The emblem would need to be removed before molding began too. My mounting lugs are good, so I could use those for placement of lugs in the new ones.
What I am getting around to is does anyone have a cover that maybe has the lugs broken that they would part with? It could even be cracked, but I would want to at least have all the parts. Scratched, dented, or chipped really doesn't matter. I can fix those before I do the mold. If anyone is interested in helping out, let me know. I would even pay the shipping and if things did work out, send your cover and a new one back to you.
This isn't going to be a next day project, I will have to wait for the weather to improve to work this stuff outside, but at least I can start getting my ducks in a row. Let me know what you guys and gals think.
