Thats a lot of work there Del, a lot of people would’ve got a tail unit from another bike and made it fit, but I love the way you’ve made the bike completely one off mate, hats off to you, you sure have a lot of patience!
Thanks Jon.. dont think there haven;t been times when i wish i had done just that.. but now im in this elbows deep, then i may as well make it work for me...learning lots and ill always have the pride that i made it totally from scratch all myself.. there is a certain honour in that aye..! thanks buddy..
Here's another professional tip, buy something called peel-ply. It's a cloth that saves so much time after the resin has hardened. It'll retain the shape of your mould better and soak up excess resin. But the best part about it is that you don't have to sand the glass before you put your next layer on.
Couple of things, the way you have stroked that clay - Penny is one lucky lady ... ha ha ... and stumbled on a chap who is clearly very jealous of you on YT this morning - wow to have someone that in awe of what you do, shows you are doing it right - loving this series and the challenges you set yourself - very much like us doing it and learning with you - gotta love the haters ... well done you !
Hi Jono, thanks for your kind comments my friend... there will always be haters in this life, and you're quite right, all trolling, and bullying, is routed in jealousy and self-loathing, which is their problem, not mine... am just getting on with my bike build, enjoying every minute of it, and sharing it with those of our You Tube viewers who wish to join us on the journey...
Late in the day but a couple of tips.. Far too much resin, just wet it out not drown it. Next project save yourself the bother and make a template of the seat, sides and tail hump, 5/6 templates all over lapping by an inch would have given you an extra 1hr per layup. You can buy pva in an areosol for releasing, awesom stuff. 1" & 2" rollers for taking the bubbles out i seen a couple. Throw in a layer of 2 ply glass, would have made it solid as a rock. But a decent effort
Del. Just one comment - highly recommend using gloves and perhaps even a respirator. Sometimes fiberglass and resin are not immediately evident as irritants but you can build up intolerance and therefore suffer an allergic reaction over time. I’ve done boat building using the same materials and it’s always a recommended caution enjoy the channel. I have a BMW project starting later this year. Thanks much.
Thank you my freind, you are of course exactly right.. i am remiss in PPE quite often. i should try harder to always use the right protection.. its important to project the light impression aye.. Thankyou for the nudge, you're very kind.. Good luck with your build, remember to enjoy every moment of it.. even the trials that will inevitably come... take care.. Del.
Jesus Christ Del, that is f kin awesome man. How did you know how many layers to put on? Very satisfying sitting here in my armchair watching you do it, but the patience, for me, would have been exhausted. Think you did brilliant so far as this is the first and only go at it. I think it’s going to turn out brilliantly mate. Can’t wait for the next one👍🏻😆
Thanks Mike, you're very kind mate, yep, first go at this and none too shabby so far, Its time consuming that for sure, i out just two layers on and three in support areas like the seat, now ill leave it for two days and do another two thick layers so its really solid, then break it out of the mould next weekend.... fingers crossed aye...:-)
Great work again Del!!!!In work on a Saturday as per usual sat with a coffee and a Hob Nob watching the Street fighter build, cheers I really do love the vids pal, keep em coming.Can`t wait to see the finished product.What a journey lol.
Thanks Mark, its a great journey so far, almost 600 hours, and ill have a cool bike at the end.. and at that time ill start all over again with something different. as long as we get the support to do it, then we'll have a project under way.. Thanks for your kind words my friend, its much appreciated.. Del.
Blimey thanks Martin, i dont see myself as patient, i just get on with things and make the best result i can... this has been time consuming for sure, but its rewarding and a lot of fun, happy with the outcome so far as well... thanks for your support. .Del.
Hi Del, it’s been quite a bit of time since I’ve checked in on your channel. I was glued to the progress of this bike for some time and got into other things along the way but looking to understand fiberglass faring building came across this video and was shocked that 2 years have passed!! Last I recall you made a tail from a couple of Harley donor tanks... or was that the front? Is this fiberglass bit the first attempt on a tail or was there something before that. I was just appreciating and remembering how much I enjoyed your videos. There is such rich variety and depth in skill-sharing. Thank you and all the best to you. 🙏🏽
This was a while ago now, I'm three projects on from this these days, this was the final incarnation of the tail on this build... enjoy the progress mate!
Really well done and looks promising. If you would like to save some time and take some advise from 20 years experience laminator : instead of using small brush use 4 inch fluffy roller also instead of wetting out fiber glass "on the job" try wetting aside on some piece of cardboard and "quickly" place already wet mat on designed place and then by using brush remove any air bubbles . I hope my english is understandable :)don't forget to wear protective gloves.
Hello Sven.. Thank you so much for your kind advice and for sharing your insight and experience.. i have heard one other person say the same about wetting the matting off the job, then laying it on wet... that makes sense... I did try out using a roller briefly in the next video (still got to edit it), and it was a hard roller not fluffy.. and as the resin was hot by then and getting sticky, it started lifting the matting up behind it.. so i gave up and went back to the brush... i can see from the messages of kind support and insite from lots of guys who have done this themselves already, and best of all, Professionals like yourself, that i have a lot to learn still and that there are many good ways to do this and get a great result... its all sound advice and all helps me to learn this for later.. I'm laying up two more layers this midweek, and then that should be enough, the final result came out really well with just the right amount of resin, no excess, and very smooth.. just one air bubble i didn't see until i started editing, and ill repair that later.. Take care and thank you for your kind insight and sharing your knowledge Sven, its very kind pf you... Del.
If this one air bubble will not be exposed to the Sun don't worry .If yes then try to remove it by sandimg down or drill a little hole and inject some resin. Once again awesome project this bike .
Thanks again for the insight Sven, I got a big bubble along the ridge in the next video, and didn't spot it till i started reviewing the footage much later, so no chance to dab it out.. ill be grinding it out and re-matting that area to maybe half depth... its 5 layers deep now, so plenty of material to cut into.. and ill maybe remodel the ridge anyway, so it'll all get revisited.
I thought they add "clay air dry" because the room temperature can be different to others, so it's probably a more refined substance, the mixture works well with different temps.
You should use the aramid, kevlar material I sent you ages ago. Put a layer under the seat with the resin and jobs a good un. That stuff should give you the strength, and also the flexibility. It also wont crack like fibreglass can do. I know as I've used it with resin on the inside of the divi 900 fairing, when a couple of stress cracks appeared. Bikes looking good.
Thanks buddy.. i like the new look too.. but not sure about an underseat pipe.. its a lot of weight to hang up in the tail and a lot of extra tubing.. an kinda i like the GP style can i made already for it.
I like the GP style as well, but I think it’s a bit too standard for this build. Maybe a box pipe like the buell xb’s has would be nice. It’s kind of hard to tell when everything is of the bike. It will probably look great either way in the end!
I know you said you could have made it from steel butci must say as a viewer this has been amazing to watch. New skills and techniques. Its going to look great. Keep up the good work. Another happy viewer here!!!
Hi Dan.. Thanks so much buddy, yeah, i would love to have made this from metal, maybe alloy and roll all the curves fron flat sheet.. but im about 20 years short of the skills for that.. so fiberglass it is.. the main bonus is going to be the weight.. its going to be a real surprise when it comes out of the mould... that will really help keep that weight saving in place... Having lots of fun learning new skills too... take care and keep in touch. Del.
Bloody inspiring Del. It's all coming together nicely, I was wondering how the clay was going to dry. I didn't know fiberglass wouldn't stick to tape, that's one for the memory. You and Penny have a great weekend.
Sure thing buddy, it's not so much just tape, it seems to be polythene in general, it doesn't stick to black bin liners either, I made a seat base years ago by covering the frame in two thicknesses of bin liner plastic, glued down with spray glue and whent the mould was done, it all just ripped off - perfect !
Hi, Great jog Del, Nice to see how you prepared the base with foil and tape ( didn't know it won't stick on tape, good tip ). I did a couple of jobs for me when I had a boat , all the false bottom of it but it was just fibre glass and wood involved and I enjoyed it a lot . If you have to much fibre glass left you can always make a tiny boat and a trailer to tow with the bike....lol . thanks for the video. Gus
Great vid hun and loads of progress, well done. So glad to see the clay bit out the road lol. Its coming along beautifully. Great technique and style. Looking forward to the next one :)x
Thanks Hun, lovely to hear from you, and having loads of fun making a mess and creating new things.. may just paint all this matt black in the end.. how nasty would it look scrimmed and ratted. .muah ha ha..
Yeah, me too Giles, i have always coated up the matting at the end with a layer of wet resin.. but its apparently not the correct way so im told by the pro laminators watching.. you just need enough to soak the matting and no more.. the rule apparently is"no shiny"..!
Good morning D & P. Oh my, this video was pure utopia. The time lapses of you doing the final moulding of the clay and the application of foil and fibreglass were just so satisfying. The final unveiling video of this tail end is going to be such an epic event, can’t wait. I think I’m going to start calling you “Michelangelo” Del. Excellent sculpting skills there mate. Take care peeps
Good morning Dai, thank you os much for that glowing endorsement, what can we say.. its a joint effort, The Penstar makes it all look good with her editing skills.. and im just the monkey with the tools... Don't know about Michelangelo, i never really watch much Ninja turtles..! Lol. Keep safe buddy, and hugs to the family... D&Px
Interesting process and fun to follow along. Styling comment: The rest of the bodywork has great organic curves, but the tail-spiney-bit is rather harsh and linear ... looks like someone hid their Toblerone Bar under the tailpiece.
Hi buddy, thanks for your kind comments, I do have plans to modify the spine, softening it towards the rear... all planned in time, just making the shape first!... and Toblerone?? can you still buy those things lol !
Wish you'd mentioned the tape earlier, could've got you a box of TNT resealing tape sent up, very strong and very sticky! Looking good so far, can't wait for the next few!
It most is satisfying mate... im not sure iw ould have done this if id known how much work was involved and how much mess and cost came with it.. bit im happy to get this far and its all my own work..
Great work Del... labour of love indeed... awesome to see people teaching themselves new skills...good on ya...very inspiring, keep it up mate, cheers Rob
Good call, i like that.. i do have a plan for the indicators, and they wont be in the tail at all.. but i love how there are so many cool ways to do things aye. Thanks buddy.. Del.
Hey del was reading some negative stuff online bout this project today thought y so negative it's a project in process keep it up great work think once finished it ll look great been watching from day 1 never lose faith
Hey Simon, good to hear from you mate... I don't read the negative crap mate, why would anyone watch something they don't like, I haven't got the time, or the energy, to criticise other people, too busy leading my own life, because I have a life, just building my bike and lovin' every minute of it - remember Si, most criticism is based in jealousy and self-loathing... bitterness stops you from flying my friend, thanks for your support, all the best, Del
Holy moly Dell, that's some mammoth task. I can't believe the number of hours you and Penny have put into this project, a true labour of love. The cost has surprised me for the glass kit's. Keep on a troshun boy it'll soon be Christmas. 😋
Cheers Andy.. yeah the cost of the materials shocked me a bit, probably wouldn't have gone this way had i known.. but im into it now and its a one- off item, thats has to be work the time.. fast romping up on 600 hours now.. who knows where it will end.. lol
That worked out well, for a moment I was wondering whether the clay was going to be more work that it was worth. You mentioned the air bubbles and the excess resin, but I've never seen you use a roller which the pro's seem to recommend to maximise strength - what are your thoughts on that? Skal
Moto Mirius using a roller doesn't maximise strength, its just more efficient applying the resin, its probably a good thing he used a brush because of the clay underneath, too much pressure from a roller would just distort the clay.
GrimmXD I’m not talking about applying resin with a roller. A hard roller is used to distribute already laid down resin into the fibres and also to remove excess resin and micro air bubbles to produce a stronger product. I do agree that excess pressure could distort the clay but we aren’t talking about that much pressure and Del demonstrated that with the tape on, the clay was quite resilient.
Hi to both.. i did try a small roller during the process (mainly because ive seen it done when laying up boat hulls and when they are using gallons of resin.), but all it seemed to do was push the matting about and once it got sticky as it began to cure, the roller actually lifted the matting up...so it didn't work for me.. probably due to my own inexperience.. but it seemed to work well gently dabbing the resin into the weave to make it all soak through.... im laying up two more thick layers midweek, and the result is a lot better than this, really solid and really smooth... letting this first lot harden right out made it possible to be more forceful pushing down on the resin to get it soaked through without the worry of moving the clay.... Learning as i go along here.. thanks guys... Del.
Thanks buddy.. i have two more layers to lay up midweek.. i want it 5 layers thick to give me a full 1/4 inch thickness... Thanks for your support..Del.
Outstanding work my friend as people have mentioned you could have gone the easy route and just got a end piece etc but fair play to you del . Im working up the courage to chance my fender eliminator to tail tidy lol. channel of the year as i mentioned before in an earlier video.
Thank you so much Steven.. you are too kind once again.. yeah, i have even thought myself that maybe a ready made tail from MGM Bikes and made a frame to hang it from.. i know i didn't want a recognisable tail from another bike. its too 'Frankenstein for my taste. they are instantly pointed at and stand out. i want the tail to blend in with the bike as one design... not a collection of parts... maybe given the money it will cost me in materials, and time it will now take i'll regret it.. but once its done ill be proud of it.... Thanks for your support buddy.. much appreciated.. Del.
Did you apply a release coat layer between the final layers of parcel tape and the initial layer of glass fibre? Hope so for when you try & remove the mould otherwise it could get messy (though hidden).
Hi John.. the brown tape acts as the mould release.. ive done that much before and know it works.. ive shot the footage for that part, its out of the mould now, and it came out just fine with no residue left behind, just like pulling tape off.. lots of footage to edit., that video should be up next weekend if i can get it ready in time.. lol
Looking sweet, Del... what nice work and it’s all coming together really well. Btw, I think air dried means not kiln baked maybe? In any event, have a great weekend and hope you both get out riding. Am home now myself. Yippee!
Hi Gary, glad you got home safe, but what an experience you've had... weather not too good here, but managing to get out a bit... supposed to be a week's rain in a day tomorrow though - roll on summer lol ! Keep safe, D&Px
(P) Looking good! I'd imagine I'd be willing to try something like this one day! Between your videos and Mackie's, you guys have me itching for a project (and a project space)!
Thanks Doug, like I said, never done this kinda thing before, but it's great fun and really enjoying it... and you're right, it's nice to have a project on the go, specially in the winter, just to escape and tinker for a while aye?! What you thinking of?? Have a great Sunday, D&Px
Moonfleet41 The first thing I've been looking for a good bit, is a really cheap 03-up SV650 to turn into a track bike, since I've really taken an interest in the track. Second thing, would be a 70s-80s bike, something to have fun with, sorta as how Mackie has done with his Yamaha!
I work for Ovington Boats and watching you put that resin on without gloves on is painful haha. I've had resin on my face before and I looked like the elephant man within a day. Its really not nice stuff.
Thanks buddy.. i know im a monkey when it comes to PPE sometimes, and in the next video i did use the supplied black rubber gloves to lay up two more thick coats.. its a lot easier than two hours pealing a second skin off your hands aye..lol.. Thanks again for your input too, its much appreciated.. Del.
Hi buddy.. Thank you for your very kind words, its a labour of love and im really enjoying the process... I'm not sure about the cost of carbon fiber, but from what i can determine its about 3 times the price for materials, and the process is a lot more precise and less forgiving. Im hoping this will weigh a fraction of the metal version , ill be breaking it out of the mould next weekend once the second layers are added, then i can weight it and see exactly how heavy it is..!
Fantastic Del, great vid as always mate and I'm really loving this build. What are your thoughts on the finished colour and do you already have that in mind or are you just going to finish it and then decide? Have a great weekend and hi to Pen,
Hi James, yeah i have a few ideas lined up.. something classic and timeless.. i have a cool Aria helmet thats black white and gold.. so i may do something like that, and maybe use gold or copper leaf for the accents.. who knows.. i may just paint it all mat black yet..lol!
nicely done lololol lota work huh , yeaa i did some fiberglass as well on my rv rear tire guard cover thingy n my 2004 avalache front fenders - both side . only issue i had was you kindna had to huslte abit before the resado go harden lol
I did the exact thing like you modding the CBF1000F front nose cone. It looked awesome.. Problem was following your methoid ahead by 3 years than yourself. The one thing i did not do, was use a roller to Squeeze out added epoxie resin and had 1 tiny tiny airbubble. I used nothing but what you shown in your video and that was a paint brush... I really wished you used a roller as your final finish to ensure all Bubles were gone and out. If you did then I retrace my statement. However, from this video i did not see a roller finish....... Yes an airbubble will destroy your paint job. Why it heats up under the paint a bubble will burst and paint inflates tremondously.... Becomes a major blister.... Hope you did get all bubbles out. be sad to see a bubble appear under the new paint job.
Hi Jason, I got two more coats of fibre glass going on this mid week, shot the footage, just gotta edit it... I didn't roller it, as I had a few problems with that being the shape it is, once the resin gets hot and starts to cure, and gets sticky, then the roller lifts up the matting and makes a right mess...! So I've had to rely on the brush method.... probably got two small bubbles at best, and there's one big one in the final layer of matting - I'll be dealing with them directly as I didn't spot them at the time, only after it was cured when I was looking at the footage - am gonna grind them out, so they're just a crater, then re-fill with solid resin and some matting... another little trick one helpful viewer said - if there is a bubble you can't get to, drill a tiny 2mm hole right through the middle of it right to the inside, and leave it un-painted and open on the inside, that way any pressure vents inwards and away from the paint to the underside of the panel.... can't believe the amount of helpful advice I've had through this build... thanks so much for your input mate, but that is vital advice about the blister, as that's the last thing I'd want - thanks buddy, really appreciate it, Del
Hi buddy, welcome back to the land of the living, what an adventure! It's the same tank, but I stripped the sculpture stuff off the top of it as I didn't like the look of it ... just re-designing the look as I kinda lost direction over the 2yrs it's been in the build, am gonna follow a more 'german style' fighter look... cheers
