CBR250R Vetter style aero mods

[sendler]

Originally Posted by Grant-53

I use .015" Lexan for slot car bodies and it is quite flexible.

How is the Lexan for cutting and drilling. Does it chip or crack under a screw?

[Grant-53]

No, it's not brittle. Just drill the holes with a little clearance. Use sharp tools to prevent tearing. It can be heated and vacuum molded. We even used .060" sheets in a sheetmetal brake bender without cracking.

[user removed]

Used to race slot cars as well as RC cars. Those lexan bodies could take a brutal beating and survive. Heck you could even use the stock tail lamps on a kammback, maybe even the stock license plate location.

Great idea using lexan, and it molds easily with a little heat. Vacuum mold it over a template.

regards
Mech

[sendler]

I am planning on a flat Kamm back that is wide enough for the license plate. 8 inches. And hope to use the stock plate lamp and can also use the stock rear turn stalks even though they aren't the most aero. I am all about bad weather visibility first. Should be no problem with any of that. My next question will be if I can reuse the beautiful stock brake light lens. It is a work of art on the CBR250R with a 300 degree viewing angle. I would willing to do some extra fabrication to get that thing on there.

[sendler]

Amerimax painted aluminum trim coil looks good for the skin. It is .018 thick with a durable paint coating on both sides and available at Home Depot in 24" x 50' rolls for $.75/ square foot. One roll will do 6-7 tails. Oh well. No need to worry about cutting mistakes. I could also get some with a pvc wrinkle pattern coating which would reduce denting and possibly create a slight golf ball surface effect? This stuff is .021" thick and $80 for a roll. Not that any of it is prone to denting. It seems to be a rugged aluminum blend that I was basically unable to dog ear the corner of with my finger.
.
Amerimax Home Products, Inc.
.
After looking at every piece of plywood in the store, I have also decided to just go ahead and use the 3/4" MDF that I have on hand for the spine and bulkheads and then skeletonize them with cutouts to save weight. It is rugged, takes a screw in the edge or glue with incredible strength, never warps and can be sealed with spray paint better than plywood. It is much heavier than forming with aluminum but will go together much quicker and is cheaper.
.
I also finally came up with a solution to sealing and latching the front door to make sure it is convenient and water tight. Ready? Magnetic gasket. Duh! I racked my brain for weeks with different ideas on how to make the door stay shut and seal. Now I can use a light weight hinged aluminum panel sticking to a galvanized steel sheet track glued over the MDF bulkhead. Fit, flatness, and rigidity of the door will be complete non issues. A simple pad lock keeps it all safe when shopping or out of town.

[sendler]

Can these strip magnets be flipped around so as to stick to themselves? Maybe a piece of these all the way around on both the door and the bulkhead and painted over with Plastidip would make a cheap magnetic gasket.
.
McMaster-Carr
.

[FXSTi]

Sendler,

You might want to find someone who has a rain gutter machine. Maybe you could buy a coil end or scrap from them. The aluminum coil they use to make gutters is usually 15 ga but only 15" wide. I'm just thinking you could buy a lenght you need instead of 50'.

[sendler]

I don't mind paying $75 for all the skin I will ever need considering it is such an ideal product. Maybe someone else in my area will want a tail also. It is a great way to add luggage capacity to any motorcycle which has always been one of the major hang ups to more wide spread adoption. The 24" width will actually be barely wide enough to make it over the top in one piece, requiring a dual radii to make it across the 19" width at the front without squaring off the corners or going with a flat top across the front which is less aero and not as strong.

[sendler]

Actually, I was thinking 100 square feet and then considering it as 100 linear feet which it is not when I said one box would make 6-7 tails. I think one box of aluminum will make 3 tails. I might end up making 3 eventually.

[sendler]

The one sided magnetic strips do stick to each other quite well. Probably more than twice the strength of just sticking them to steel.