| Author | Message | ||
     Mountainstorm |
No promises, but I am thinking about laying up a fiberglas chin foil. I've worked on yachts for about 20 years so the actual work is not the problem, it's more about getting the right design the very first time...for economic reasons  What does the ideal chinfoil look like in your opinion. Specifically what sins can I avoid and what are the "must have" features? Not a full on Race-Use Belly pan...just a cosmetic piece of bodywork similar to the XB and X-1 foils. I'll start. For me it's got to look like something the Buell Factory woulda shoulda coulda put on the bike as OEM bodywork. For me that means a convex shape on the front, a tight wrap around the header, and ending approximately at the end of the engine casings. How about you? Thanks in advance for the input. | ||
| Trojan |
I've been selling/designing composite bodywork for years and I can tell you that the worst question you can ever ask is 'What does the ideal xxxxxxxxx look like in your opinion'. You will get 1001+ different opinions and the end result of your labours will be loved by some, loathed by some and ignored by others. Best bet is to make what YOU think looks good and are happy with. If other people like it and want to buy one then that is always a bonus  | ||
| Froggy |
Must not look like crap like all the other chin spoilers floating around on here. | ||
| Lastonetherebuys |
Agree with froggy I think I have only seen 1 or 2 ones that weren't but ugly | ||
| Mountainstorm |
I seriously doubt I'll make more than one of these...so no worries about selling them. But I am curious about what people think. One thing I'd like to do is have it mate seamlessly with the side fairings. That makes for a wider than tall front profile (opposite of most foils I've seen). The bike doesn't really have an angular look to the plastics, so to follow suit I guess the chin foil would have to be all complex curves. I'm going to sculpt it and lay up over that and do a buttload of fairing and paint it. Sort of backwards, but good enough for a prototype. | ||
| Bueller4ever |
This is the best I've seen. Probably Erik Buell Racing belly pan though.  | ||
| Bigevildoer |
One thing I'd like to do is have it mate seamlessly with the side fairings. That makes for a wider than tall front profile (opposite of most foils I've seen). Well, sounds like you're talking about the style of fairing that ZAS makes - the upper goes overtop of the normal pods. The pod covers wrap over the pod's inside by a good 3 inches, and extends past the bottom of the pod by about 4 inches - the lower bolts up to the uppers. | ||
| Thurstonbuell |
I never made anything for a bike , car or yacht , but i did make my own chin fairing , make sure you post up anything you guys make , I'd love to see other peoples take on it !!! | ||
| Dwseidler |
What do you think of this?  | ||
| Mountainstorm |
If I can make one that looks that good I'll be quite pleased with myself. I studied the bike for a while yesterday thinking about how to go about mating it to the side fairings. What I need to do is hang the bike from the shop rafters by straps at a decent height to work on it | ||
| Freight_dog |
Mountain, check out Thurstonbuells chin fairing. It is the best looking one I've seen yet. | ||
| Dwseidler |
I found the red one on a blog. http://rasmoto.blogspot.com/ | ||
| Dannybuell |
Dwseidler - cool site. | ||
| Nattyx1 |
My two cents: When looking at the side of the bike, try to match the front curve of the chin fairing with curve of the main fairing. In the pic above of the red bike, the chin fairing is way sharper than the 1125r face. It'd look more integrated and planned if they have the same geometry. Also don't make the front of it point too low - you don't want it getting caught on something (I'll roll down off a curb sometimes, etc). | ||
| Xb9er |
The picture of the red bike to me it looks like its broken. I would have drilled the rear bracket mounting holes lower so the chin spoiler angle matched the pipe. It looks now like a bracket broke in the center and it sags (i know it isnt/doesnt). | ||
| Jules |
That'd look a little beter if the pipe was horizontal to the ground, like the Barker is... but even so it's not particularly attractive, as has been said the angles just look wrong... | ||
| Hardcorps |
The red bike is mine. Ry who made it is a great guy and is more than willing to work with you to move mounting points and what not. He also makes a longer version for people interested in racing. The angles on mine only look that way due to the Drummer's angles, its a work in progress. | ||
| Hardcorps |
Ok after reading everyone's post about how my chin fairing appears to sag, I went outside and made 2mins of adjustments.  This is the way it sat before  | ||
| Freight_dog |
Hey Hardcorps. I don't think that your chin fairing necessarily sags. It's hard to tell, but I think it is just the visual effect of the Drummer angled up right behind it. Personally, I think it looks pretty sweet. It definitely improves the look of the Drummer. I am not a fan of the angle of the Drummer collector pipe. I like pretty much every other one available better. That chin fairing hides it nicely. That said, it does look a little better after your adjustments. Any belly fairing I will put on my bike will have to be functional. I will add an oil catch pan for track duty, but not just for looks. (Message edited by Freight_dog on August 31, 2010) | ||
| Mountainstorm |
That 2 minutes could save you 15% or more on your bike aesthetics. Looks great. Like I said if I can make one that looks half as good I'll be beaming. I checked out some of the other projects the Foil-Man has going on and he definitely likes to make stuff for oddball motorcycles. Glad he picked ours. | ||
| Ponti1 |
Hardcorps, looks great, especially now that you made that small adjustment! Looks like you raised the back and lowered the front, maybe a 1/4" each way? What sort of mounts does it use, and do they allow for that small bit of adjustment without modification? | ||
| Hardcorps |
Ry made all the mounts as well as the chin fairing. I saw him tonight at the local bike night and told him about the feed back from Badweb. He told me that he would make me some new mounts so there is no sag at all. Freight_Dog, Ry will make race length ones as well. Ry really will tweak each order so that it fits with your pipe and what not. Ry also made my fender eliminator! My whole purpose of having one made here is to get an American made product at half the cost as the German made one. | ||
| Father_of_an_era |
Hardcorps, I actually like the chin a lot but I think it is the exhaust that makes the chin look crooked because the exhaust appears to tilt upwards towards the rear of the seat. Chin looks really nice with the adjustments you made though. | ||
| Xb9er |
hardcorps, its looks better but have him make brackets so the angle of the chin spoiler matches the upward angle of the drummer. If you do that you will have perfection. The back brackets are going to have to be shorter and the front brackets are going to have to be longer. | ||
| Mountainstorm |
And have him put a wheel on the bottom...  Man I want to start making one of these...but I just don't have the space in the shop until I finish a few other projects. |
