Fairing Adventure
And so my FibreGlassing skills picked up a bit over time, and soon it was time
to try out a fairing. We were running the Dragbike without a fairing, and because
of two reasons: 1. We were not sure of the aerodynamic advantages at speeds below
100mph, and 2. We couldn't yet finalize on a proper design.
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One of these days i happened to pick up an old motoring magazine, and browsed my way through the report of an old MotoGP race - where Rossi, on his M1, won, and also (surprisingly) on the podium was Oliver Jacques on his Kawasaki. There was a nice pic
of both celebrating, and the Kawasaki fairing caught my eye. It was damn neat to look
at, and very well
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designed. Of course, being a MotoGP fairing, it's probably top-noch stuff with tons of
research and WindTunnel work behind it.
So, to cut a long one short, i started with making a cardboard replica of the Kawasaki
fairing. Well, the word "replica" is a bit too much, because, predictably, i ended up
with something that Kawasaki Racing wouldn't wish on their worst enemies :)
Anyway here goes:
Initial stage - A first layer of Resin, and
a thin layer of Mat on top.
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The second stage, with another layer of Resin and Mat to
add strength.
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The third stage, with final layers of Resin & Mat, and a
rough paint coat.
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The fourth stage, after a round of SandPaper work.
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Fifth stage, after more SandPapering.
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The Sixth stage - with all cardboard removed.
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Time to compare with the "Original" :) Of course
nowhere near close. But then more work needs to be done. More sandpaper
and symmetry corrections. And a fresh black paint coat.
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The mouth at the tip of the original is probably a Ram Air duct or something -
definitely something we dont need and im yet to decide whether to cut it or not.
Meanwhile, it's going to be long tiring slog of sandpapering before i can get
the finish anywhere near to a factory quality one.
Trackback URL: http://blogs.sun.com/motor/entry/fairing_adventure
That is tight. I want to turn my 04 z6r in the or m1. That's craftsmanship.
Posted by Ule Karter on prill 07, 2009 at 01:50 MD PDT #