FZS600 Project. A Bike Called Polly

[apage16]

Excellent thread, just bought a 1999 fzs600   and am picking up a lot of ideas, will definately wait till the weather heats up before I attempt any paintwork. Keep up the good work

Thanks Jamie!


Yeah, I tried a little bit of paint, even before the temp dropped below 10 degrees and it still went way south. Despite meticulous prep and a radiator positioned directly under the fairing in the garage!


Our countries weather was the main reason for trying out the vinyl.

[apage16]

Hey y'all.


It's been a little while, lots of Cambridge to London commuting. No time for mods and TOO much time spent cleaning road crap off the bike and worrying that the M11 will leave me with square tyres before I even get to LOOK at the twisties in spring, let alone ride them!


But it finally happened. Even with heated grips (I used to fight it, but now I see that they are the ONLY way!) and HEAVILY chopped down hand guards, I had to admit defeat at the hands of Mother nature and lay up the bike for winter.


Of course, I carried out the usual ritual of a pre-winter bath and polish. I was about to throw over the dust sheet, when I remembered that the tank was near empty. And everybody knows that an empty tank, can turn into a rusty tank! AND the sun was up at this point. So, faster than the thought itself had formed, I donned the leathers and went the long way to my local Shell. SO good for the last ride of the year to be for fun NOT for work! Although it almost all came tumbling down as I found a VERY slippery patch on the second roundabout. Completely lost the front end for a split second. But hats off to the Metz Z6's, as they found grip again pretty sharpish and I even had time to look back and scowl at the offending diesel spill before leaving the panicked volvo driver that was following me in my freshly polished wake!


ANYWAY! Whimsy aside, the very next day the itch returned and I set about creating a summer outfit, so Polly could feel fresh and airy come the warmer weather. In the summer, particularly in town, the full fairing and touring screen left me feeling the heat! So I wanted a naked-ish look and a bit more airflow!


A while back, I purchased a busted fairing from Ebait for around £30.


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[size=1em]It was pretty busted up. Both indicator holes were ruined. and there were massive cracks on both sides near the rear sides. But that was ok, because my plan was to leave just enough to surround the headlights and allow mounting of a cut down standard screen.[/size]

[size=1em]On first inspection of the new fairing, I was happy that I was going to be chopping off ALL of the broken parts. [/size]Now, upon closer scrutiny, I realised that a few of the cracks were, at best, dangerously close to where I wanted to cut. I didn't want the stress of chopping to male the cracks encroach into my 'good space'. Also I found a few new ones (in the corners of the 'scoop' under the headlight.) that I hadn't seen before. SO, I decided that it was time to try out some plastic welding!

[size=1em]I had my tools ready, soldering iron and a dremel. I had the theory in my head. "Get the plastic hot, stick it together". Simple. [/size] :rollin

[size=1em]Of course, there's a little more to it. [/size]

[size=1em]First step is to create a groove into which i was going to melt the fresh plastic seam. Using the dremel, with a ball cutting tool, I cut a groove along the crack, about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the panels thickness. [/size]

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Next, you need some welding material. For me, this was easy because the best material to use, is a piece of the exact same plastic. (though having seen Noggy's infill panels in the 'Show Me Your Fazer' thread, I wish it wasn't!). Knowing that I was about to hack off some pretty hefty parts of the fairing, I knew that I had plenty of material to work with.

So I chopped the tip off of one of the fairing 'wings' and sliced it into little plastic welding rods.

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The next stage has a lot going on at once, and when you try it, it either just works, or it doesn't! (Like plastering, I'm told. But I've never tried it!). You have to put the tip of the soldering iron into the groove that you cut with the dremel. Push it well in so that the iron melts both sides, even protruding right through the panel a little on the other side. (This meant I would need to tidy up both sides after, but at least I was sure of a complete bond).

The iron will create a little localised pool of melted plastic, into which you must push your fresh stick of welding plastic.

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And then you just take the show on the road. Slowly move along the crack, feeding all of the stick of plastic in to fill the groove as it melts. I found that a little bit of a sawing or pumping action helped to fill the groove, kind of like icing a cake.

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It doesn't look pretty, but it's a good solid bond of plastic all melted to itself and so good for sanding back down to a smooth corner.

Heres one of the other cracks, partially sanded. You can see that it's going to leave a pretty smooth finish. And the fix itself, feels pretty damned strong. I gave it a good flex to test, and no cracking or splitting to speak of. (Obviously i did this AFTER it was sanded smooth, as making the join smooth removes any weak points or areas where stress can concentrate, effectively spreading any loading across the whole seam).


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Next, I set about hacking my purchase to pieces! I used PVC (or insulation or electricians) tape to mark out my cuts as it conforms to the curves of the panel, but also gives a pretty straight edge. Then with a disc tool on the Dremel, I cleaved the fairing in twain! With eye protection and supervision by a responsible adult, of course.

Here's stages 1, 2 and 3 of my trimming.


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I decided that the shape wasn't quite right. A bit too wide, and a bit too pointy (automotive design in the 90's was like the 80's but with more rounded corners after all!) so I carried out a few more cuts, including mimicking the shape of the original fairing at the top. Then I sanded and finished the fairing ready for paint.

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Next step, offer it up to the bike, and think about how much, or little, to remove from the screen...

[noggythenog]

Good job buddy, i love the mini fairing. 8)

[apage16]

Good job buddy, i love the mini fairing. 8)

Thanks mate!


There's more to come.


I was just taking a coffee break! 

[apage16]

I attached the fairing to the bike, and then attached the standard screen to the fairing (Kindly provided by Red98. Thanks Paul!)


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At first, I considered leaving the screen as it is. Though it looked kinda cool. But then decided that the spare mounting holes look odd. And the screen is a little wobbly, having that much sticking up with no support. And finally, the point was to get MORE wind on my chest! So the Dremel is getting another outing!


I decided I wanted to try and sort of copy the shape of the original screen. I'm going for 'There's something odd about that bike..' rather than 'WTF is THAT!!??'


I also decided that I'd take off just enough to remove the spare holes, AND have the screen just above the level of the mirror mounts.


At this point, I should explain that I had originally planned to take off the standard mirrors and mounts and go with bar mounted mirrors, for the true streetfighter look. But not only did the rear of the fairing, either side of the headlights (viewed from ON the bike) look really open and bare without the mounting brackets, but I've also just spent too much money!!! So there is no funding available to buy the THIRD pair of mirrors this season!


Annoyingly, Louis.de have an adapter that allows you to fit bar mount mirrors onto fairing mounting points. They also have some pretty cool bar mount mirrors aswell! All of which I found shortly after buying the FZ1 Mirrors. I always see these things JUST after I've blown my budget on something else!!  :'(

[size=1em]Maybe Santa is listening?...[/size]

[size=1em]Anyway, back to the screen. [/size]

[size=1em]I got creative at this point and used my trusty marking out tool, PVC tape, alongside a laser levelling tape measure on a tripod to mark out where to cut the screen. Levelled between the two unused mounting holes. [/size]

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[size=1em]And then proceeded to chop the top of the screen off. Pretty straight cut too, if I do say so myself![/size]

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[size=1em]Next up, I used the part of the screen I had removed to provide templates for marking out the corners of the new screen shape. [/size]

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[size=1em]And here is the finished shape.[/size]


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[size=1em]I'm really happy with how it looks. Also, the mirrors where they are is already growing on me. Might need to trim back the fairing a little more to clear the mirrors gaiters. Although, they are rubber, so it doesn't matter too much.[/size]

[size=1em]I also know that the standard screen appears to scoop down from the corners to the middle, but I wanted to keep enough screen that the clocks are protected from any rain coming at the directly from above.[/size]

[size=1em]The area behind the headstock, above the radiator/cylinder head, looks very open. So I'm planning to try and fabricate some kind of panel to fill this space and also to offer some elemental protection for the horn and regulator on the other side. [/size]

[size=1em]Mostly happy with how it's going so far though.  [/size] un

[noggythenog]

Ye it's the biz


Personally i reckon it'd look better with handlebar mirrors but its a shame after you going through the effort of sorting out those mirrors then not use them.although this is summer fazer wardrobe.


Just my tuppence worth & it might look totally different once the fairing is Blackened up as the mirrors will then blend in..


The fairing would also look good even smaller but thats the trouble with these light units they're so big & wide to allow any smaller.

[apage16]

You're preaching to the converted here my friend!!


Totally agree on all counts. There's still a lot of fairing there, but those lights are massive!


Maybe there'll be a further modification NEXT, next season?! A more radical trimming, maybe a different screen altogether? All money, time and inspiration dependent!


Maybe my ship will come in and I'll get the Louis.de mirror setup so I can still use one set for both 'modes', and then punt the fz1 mirrors on.


We'll see.


Any development on your left side infill panel? Any issues with the horn/regulator poking out into open space?

[noggythenog]

Oh foc a page you had me in a tizz there about the horn getting in the way :eek


Luckily theres tonnes of clearance as the rad sticks out quite a bit further.


Havent really done much today, i did tighten up a heavy duty jubilee clip around the frame tube at the point where the bracket has snapped off, fed it through & ive got about 1.5 inches of feed through to the outside which is good as it is enough so that i can drill through it & then use as my upper mounting point for the fairing.


This panel has battle damage from the crash though so i dont reckon its gonna be an exact match but good enough considering im just recycling old bits n bobs.

[Captain Haddock]

On the blue led subject, did you have appropriate resistors inline with them?

[apage16]

On the blue led subject, did you have appropriate resistors inline with them?

No, I made the assumption that the current protection would be internal to the bulbs, as they were advertised as plug and play. The seller just refunded my money though, so no great shakes.

The newly fitted white SMD led bulbs seem to be holding up much better. I can read the lcd display in the dark now too!

[Fuzzy]

I've got white smds and they have been 100% reliable for a year now

[Fuzzy]

Mine were from red chariot too funny enough

[apage16]

Mine were from red chariot too funny enough

Mine were from some random seller. But they're still going strong. Despite the moisture evident inside the clocks. ALways misting up, more than my visor!


Why is it that you can never find a couple of those annoying little silica gel sachets when you want them!?

[apage16]

Hey Foccers!!


In this episode of my general tinkering, I decided to tackle my concrete seat.


The plan was to lift off the cover and put on an extra inch of memory foam to try and make the seat a little more long trip friendly.




First task was to take off the cover (obviously, unless you fancy some really tight keyhole surgery!)


So with the trusty team of flathead screwdriver and needlenose pliers, I set about pulling out the staples.


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After which I peeled back the vinyl to reveal the foam.


Next up, I employed a little trick gleaned from Del Boy's Garage again. Apparently, when they mould the foam for the seat the moulding process leaves a smooth 'skin' on the foam. If you remove this, the foam becomes slightly more pliant and appears to be softer under the old derriere.


So I used a sanding disc to abrade the surface of the foam. It definitely appeared to make the foam softer.


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Next up I cut the memory foam to shape using a bread knife and then smoothed and shaped it using the sanding disc again.


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It looks a little too big, but the plan was for it to fold under at the front to create a raised front. I'm tired of sliding forwards into the tank under breaking!


Next I got busy with the staple gun. It was another one of those jobs where an extra hand, or maybe at least an extra thumb would have helped! Lots of the staples didn't drive all the way into the plastic seat body, so they had to be hammered all the way afterwards.


The vinyl, being 12 years old, has seen better days so I spent the whole time expecting a rip or a hole as I stretched it over the extra foam. There were a few very weak areas, and a split at the front, but mostly no trouble. The vinyl has also become quite hard and inflexible at the front. I think I'll be re-covering it some time soon though.

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And then as if by magic, the job was finished!!


I think you'll agree that it looks pretty good!! 


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[apage16]

OK OK OK! You got me! Thats not the seat I was messing with.


It's a custom reupholstered seat that I just picked up from Deefer666 (Thanks Mark!)


As such, I have no real idea how much it originally cost, or what was done during the re-sculpting. So you'll have to direct any questions his way.


But what I can say is that it's BLOODY comfy! And the basket weave vinyl is super grippy and eliminates the sliding up the seat issue.


My modified seat was a slight improvement. A little softer, a little higher (good for my long legs) and a little less genital/tank interaction.


But the lesson here is that sometimes it's just better to leave some jobs to the pro's!

[Paul]

I bought my Fazer in 2001 and had the same problem of sliding into the tank when braking, although I'm not that tall (just over 6ft).

First I tried handle bar risers, with only limited success, then I decided it was a seat issue so I modified it in 2003.

It rises up where it meets the tank, and it works.
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[MarkWales]

Fantastic looking bike - great read

[apage16]

Sadly this topic will be no more as the bike is now up for sale

If you're interested, check out the post in the FOR SALE section.

http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,14511.0.html

[JoeRock]

I bought my Fazer in 2001 and had the same problem of sliding into the tank when braking, although I'm not that tall (just over 6ft).

First I tried handle bar risers, with only limited success, then I decided it was a seat issue so I modified it in 2003.

It rises up where it meets the tank, and it works.
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Do you not hold onto the tank with your knees when you brake or something?

[MC680x0]

fantastic all round job mate,
can you advise me please...
I have another bike, stood in garage for 3 years; an old cruiser bob custom; unfaired. The frame and engine needs painting; I noted your mask-up job and use of brush and  results with spray cans ;please can you go into more detail on how you  approached this, tools used, method, procedure etc. PM if not appropriate to post here. thanks in advance.