Fiberglass Solo Seat Project

[PrivateAxis]

I've done several refined, detail-oriented fiberglass motorcycle projects in the past, but this time I wanted to do something on the Quick & Cheap.

Following a really horrific wreck at the hands of a cellphone-distracted cager making an unsafe left turn in front of me, I decided that I don't do passengers anymore. So, this project was to turn my two-seater into a solo-seater. If people are interested, I can post pics of the project's progression, showing how I did it all for about fifty bucks; otherwise, here's a composite shot of the final piece. I've decided to leave it in the matte black primer to hide the surface flaws that went along with doing it as fast and as dirty as I did. I obviously didn't get too creative with the shape of the thing; I wanted it to pretty much look like a shorter version of the stock tail, but with a more pronounced hump that you might see on old-school racers. Opinions?

 

[Klurejr]

I don't particularly like the shorted rear end with the full fairing up front. But I bet it would look really good on a Naked Bike.

Did you have a passenger when you crashed? Was anyone hurt?

 

[PrivateAxis]

I do like the look, but I agree that it would look much better (more balanced) on an un-faired bike--which is my preference in motorcycles anyway. But stripping away the front plastics and lights and replacing them with new brackets, headlight, turn signals, and some custom-made gauge mount is another expense I just don't want to incur right now. Besides, I commute on a freeway now, so the fairing is a welcomed part of the bike right now.

No, I didn't have any passengers, but if I did, they would likely have been at least as seriously injured as I was: five broken bones, internal bleeding, multiple life-threatening bloodclots, and technically dead on the operating table for a couple of minutes. I have been a daily rider in the LA area for 27 years (32 total), so I know how to navigate the mean streets of an urban city, but the last two wrecks I've had were caused by someone else doing something I could not escape, so I just don't want to be responsible for anyone else on the bike that I am operating.

 

[jared p]

i woulda done a little something on the tail, use a pointed light or something, i dunno.

i ride down to my buddies in north hollywood a few times a year, i love riding in the LA area and california

 

[Oldschool]

I like it! It is different than the usual look and is reminiscent of the Hayabusa rear end, but not over done. :Rockon:

 

[PrivateAxis]

JARED: Okay, but the whole idea here was to pretty much make it look like stock... only squat stalk, but definitely wanted to use the FZ1 taillight (Clear Alternatives integrated). But,yeah, the possibilities with modeling clay and fiberglass are literally limitless. If I was to do it over, I would have made the hump smaller and more followed the rounded, flat angles of the tank. I did this on the fly and on the cheap, but now I have the rest of my ownership of the thing to second-guess myself. Oh well...

OLDSCHOOL: Thanks... and, considering your comment, you've picked the perfect username.