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how to tell difference between Perspex and Polycarbonate
take a small piece about 1" x 2" and hold it in a vice. hit it with a hammer or try and bend it with pliers. if it shatters like a CD case........ it Perspex. if it bends but dont snap easily, its polycarbonate...... That's why helmets are made from Polycarbonate rather than perspex! lol
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What about making fuel tanks? Has anyone had a go?
I was talking to a friend today who's a boat builder he said it was easy to do and at NZ $1500 for a big tank from Europe, $200 mates rates seems rather attractive! |
fuel tanks
I can only see a couple of problems Kiwitoby......
1. fuel tanks on boats dont usually get involved in any type of impact such as falling over onto rocks or bashing into tarmac at 50mph! 2. fuel tanks on bikes are made of blow moulded polypropylene ( or injection moulded) and have usually no seams to leak but are a piglet to repair. 3. most manufacturers like Acerbis have had to do extensive and expensive R&D work to make the tanks and have them safety tested and approved for road use.. can your mates offer all this for 200 dollars? dont wanna pee on your Campfire so to speak, but I would let your mates make topboxes, panniers, fairings and the like, and stick to a bought tank or carry a jerry can. just my 10cents worth......... Martyn |
Brukens new bike design!
Bruken, I thought you were gonna do THIS to your tenere...:rofl:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e.../desertrat.jpg Martyn :thumbup1: sorry...... couldnt resist the temptation to make a desert rat......... I love rat-bikes! |
XTZ wind screen
Hello there,
I have made this windscreen for my XTZ 3YF out of a sheet of what I believe to be policarb. http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...screen00-1.jpg I didnt know the difference between policarb, plexiglass etc. if I knew it was going to be so fragile I'd probably have used something different but this sheet has been sitting in my garage for ages so I decided to give it a go anyway. At the end I had to glue two "half-moon" shaped sheets of very thin aluminium on each side to keep it together and put a rubber seal around the edges as a further protection (one of these you put on your car doors to protect the paint on the edge). http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...screen01-1.jpg It is very easy to scratch, to crack and it chips away when you drill holes in it or cut it... to be honest it was the first time I ever tried to work on a piece of plastic and still havent understood how to bend it the way i want but at the end it looks like it's working: no more air into my chest, the air instead goes straight into my face!!! Considering I wear one of these hybrid motocross helmet with the peak you can imagine the fun... Anyway, off topic =======>>> it occoured to me that if I clip my kathmandu torchlight on top of the new screen it will illuminate the map at night... (picture below). http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...screen02-1.jpg |
Apparently according to my friend there are a number of bikes already produced using the same product he recommended for a tank.
My Beemer tank is not poly. And this guy at Johann`s Enduro Manufaktur makes a living producing them - so it must be doable safely. |
kiwitoby......
Had a look at Johann's site, and his product, I must say does look good.
I stand corrected, maybe they do make glassfibre tanks now hardly 200 aus dollars mates rates though! and those tanks at 43 litres esp 50 litre plus the 8 litre water build in is gonna be HEAVY!, heavy to start with in order to be strong, and heavy when full. a gallon (4.5 litres) of water weighs about 10 lbs the 58 litre tank when full, holds fuel and water together 12.83 gallons. that is 126 lbs!!! or 9 stone! plus weight of tank...... now that is going to have to be a mighty strong tank, made to a specification that wont crack like a duck egg when you drop the now top heavy beast, Ie strong and quite thick. just a point, thats all.... i will stick with my 12 litre steel tank and a couple of 5 litre jerrys! cheers Martyn |
If you are too lazy to fab someting up , this is a really cool looking cowling that wouldnt look out of place on a XT or TTR
SIDE - Simpson Detour web site SIDE - Simpson Detour |
It looks like a supprised alien:eek3:
Tom:cool4: |
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But definatley would get attention:funmeteryes: |
I made something up using polycarbonate, it proved to be VERY tough, even surviving being dragged down the road in a big sliding crash into the back of a van. It cost about £15 for the piece (including practice bits).
In the end I took it off as I hadn't got the angle quite right and while it protected my body from the slipstream it kind of pushed the wind into the top of my head. I basically cut it to shape using a jigsaw and the bent a crease in it to give it stiffness (although I'm not sure it needed it) by gentle application of heat using a heat gun. I got a straight line by clamping wood either side of the bend with g-clamps to hold it straight. The poly was 5mm thick, reckon 4mm might have been better. I basically just bolted it to the original plastic headlamp surround which seemd perfectly strong enough, with rubber spacers to increase the angle. I am, however, planning to make another. It will be much steepr, say 10 degress or so off vertical, wider and have a little lip at the top to help kick the slipstream over the head. I'm also planning to fold it round the headlamp a bit in a sort of rally screen stylee. I'll do a mock up first in cardboard. For pix of the original 'in action' click on my scotland - nepal blog below. There are several pix of the bike with it on. In fact there's a link to 'the bike' which, if memory serves, shows the screen. Matt :) |
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