carbon fiber

gbones

gbones

New Member
#1
#1
i was wondering if anyone on this forum has used carbon fiber on there mini bikes. i have some CF and was looking for some ideas. i was thinking about making some CF fenders and possibly a chain gaurd.
 
steven Durham

steven Durham

#6
#6
Carbon Fiber may be the chain guard of the future when they want $250.00 for a NOS Bonanza one.
And no one offers the fenders with the proper mounting brackets spot welded on prior to chroming.
Steve :scooter:
 
kbs8ball

kbs8ball

Active Member
#7
#7
Carbon Fiber looks bad ass...too bad its on the bottom of my seat...I think it helped in making the fiberglass base alot stronger...I used it with regular glass resin...I guess there is a better resin to use that is 100% clear. I must say though, CF is not alot of fun to work with.
 
gbones

gbones

New Member
#8
#8
CF is a pain to work with. at work we use mostly pre-preg CF, but every once in awhile we do wet lay ups. when doing a wet lay up, wet out the CF on 3M painters plastic and let the CF sit for about 1/2 to 1 hour to tack up. its so much easier to work with that way, then just peel off the plastic. ive made a few things at the house this way. ill put up some pics in a bit.
 
steven Durham

steven Durham

#10
#10
Nice looking work : Question can you bond the Carbon Fiber to metal parts ? Say you build a form or buck to lay the CF over can the mounting brackets be made out of steel and add re-enforcement to the CF material ?
Steve :scooter:
 
gbones

gbones

New Member
#11
#11
steven Durham said:
Nice looking work : Question can you bond the Carbon Fiber to metal parts ? Say you build a form or buck to lay the CF over can the mounting brackets be made out of steel and add re-enforcement to the CF material ?
Steve :scooter:
Click to expand...
. at work weve bonded CF to steel and aluminum using a 2 part epoxy called PRO SET. theres slow, fast, and super tuff which we always used when bonding CF to structural peices. but it all depends on the application. we build custom race boats that go around the world, so strength is always a concern. i dont know if that helped, but why not just make the whole part out of CF instead of bonding steel to the CF.
 
steven Durham

steven Durham

#12
#12
As with Fiberglass if you have a cover that you take on and off on a maintenance and cleaning schedule the bolt holes often enlarges and the material brakes down.
I know the weight reduction would be an advantage in giving the parts longevity and the CF should handle the vibration that a mini bike always has.
A new subject for most of us but can we ever afford this type of product ?
I was at a production fiberglass shop and they were making a CF hood for a Pantera and the weight was down to 11 pounds but that was for a very high dollar show car. No doubt that the more we use a product the better the price and availability becomes , Question are we there yet LOL . Same goes for Powder Coating parts and Jet Coating for exhaust products 15 years ago it was prohibitive for so many applications the custom market was where it stayed through it's development stage.
Steve :scooter:
 
gbones

gbones

New Member
#13
#13
i just started to make a mold to make CF fenders. im taking pics as i go. ill post some pics after i down load them on the computer.
 
steven Durham

steven Durham

#14
#14
Compared to say normal steel fenders just how durable is Carbon Fiber ? I know it is amazing stuff and weight is often a big factor in it's usage but will it take impact like rocks?
Still learning not discouraging at all. Steve :scooter:
 
gbones

gbones

New Member
#19
#19
some progress on the fenders. i have more pics im my fenders album. ill finish sand tomorrow and trim it to fit the bird. and if im happy with the finished product ill start making the 2nd fender. what a pain in the butt.
 
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