Spare time on my hands to I thought I'd experiment, carbon fiber

[graler]

There are some good videos on Youtube to show how to wrap curved surfaces such as rear view mirrors etc. One suggestion that might be good in the case of the side cases is to pre-stretch the wrap material and then when you add heat again it should shrink to conform to the surface.

I am thankful for the people that take the time to video a process and post it up on the web for free. Losts of FJR stuff and everything else under the sun. Just recently I had to replace a lock mechanism in the truck. A 2001 dodge dakota. There was a video posted of the process - not just a lock replacement but a replacement on that exact year and model. Love those interwebs.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Thanks SCOTTIE!

 

[RaYzerman19]

FYI, Tankslapper will wrap your nose piece and tank piece if you send it to them...........

Do a vehicle search for the FJR.

https://thetankslapper.biz/oc/index.php?route=common/home

 

[odot]

You guys doing all this fancy schmancy stuff with carbon fibre......make sure you wear personal protection i.e. gloves and what not. Some of that stuff is pretty nasty and you can get some pretty good rashes that won't go away without a steroid shot. I developed a sensitivity to some of that stuff at a previous work place. Every time I get into contact with it I break out.....face gets all puffy, open sores on my arms.....pretty nasty. Then again...I was working with it eight hours a day. Jes sayin.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Pshhh, that's not real carbon fiber. Sure does look good though.

 

[kolonial72]

"...I thought I'd experiment."

I really thought this was going to be a different kind of thread.

 

[odot]

Kolonial.................you want that kind of stuff?...........go to Thailand. Gixxer will tell you where to go.....for a good time.

 

[Proteus1952]

This is one of the best posts I've seen in the two years I've been on the forum. Super kudos to all.

 

[gixxerjasen]

You guys convinced me. Went and picked up the el cheapo heat gun at Harbor Freight (worked awesome) and ordered some of this stuff up.

Learned a bunch doing my first part. Firstly, you can manhandle it a lot more than you think. Second, you can stretch it more than you think.

The third thing I learned, it's addictive. If I'd ordered more, there'd be stuff in the house wrapped and my wife wouldn't be happy. "Honey, what do you mean you don't like your fake carbon fiber hair dryer?"

There's a couple of small issues, but overall I'm quite pleased with it.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Nice job Jason! Are you doing fake carbon fiber work for all your good friends here also? Looks even better than government work.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Ha! I don't think so.

Man, I've always hated that piece. The silver on it is off from the piece below it and doesn't match anything else on the bike. It was a hard piece to start with but I'm so happy with how it looks now. So much better.

It is a pain in the butt, however it wasn't as hard as I thought once I got going. But it was easy enough that I'm about to toss my HVLP gun in the garbage because I'm never painting a bike again. I've done two bikes and after this I know I'd rather wrap than paint. Besides, it's not really painting, it's more sanding than anything else.

Now for stage 2.

 

[Fred W]

I hear you. Being new to the "tank wrap" piece (first Gens didn't have 'em) I think I'm not a big fan of them at all. And the silver seems to get scuffed up by pretty much anything in the neighborhood, including zippers on my jacket or pants.

I'm not sure I am a fan of the Fake Carpet Fiber (FCF) look yet, though Jasen's picture looks very good. I mean, it's a bit disingenuous to pretend to have high zoot carbon fiber when you really just have a patterned plastic wrapped piece of plastic.

But maybe some matte black plastic wrap down there would look better than the out of place silver? That and the silver side panels of the '14 could stand some matte blacking out. The red (pink?) is shiny enough already.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Yea, I'm not a fan of the fake CF at all. It kind of goes against my rules of no fake carbon fiber on my vehicles. But the CF stuff is cheap and easy to get a hold of and was good for testing and learning.

Oh, and I'm hooked.

Seriously, I might have a problem. I'm pretty much out of control here.

I probably shouldn't say that I was standing over a remaining scrap with the GPS and a light switch cover in my hands with only enough scrap left to do one or the other.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Sweet! If I see someone with carbon fiber boots, I'll assume it's you.

 

[mobilemike]

I have actually ordered the matte black to do the tank trim and the silver side panels of the '14. I am not a big carbon fiber fan either. We will see how the flat black works.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I'll be interested to see that when it's done. I'm more interested in some glossy stuff. I wonder how the heating and stretching of the material affects the glossy finish though.

 

[Fred W]

Same here, interested in the solid color wrap.

FWIW - the FCF seems to have retained its glossiness fine. I'd bet a gloss black (or other color) would stretch out fine.

Another question... what's the reversibility of these wraps? How much does it mess up the paint of the piece under the wrap?

 

[El Toro Joe]

I like the looks of the carbon fiber wrap, and might have to order some for the new bike

 

[gixxerjasen]

It's fake but dang am I happy with how it turned out. I keep looking at it when I get on and off the bike.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Just ordered some color samples. We'll see how this works out.