TECH INSPECTION
Confessions of a Bodywork Mounting Virgin
Author: Bret Dorman
Hell and Hotbodies
How complicated could it possibly be to mount your new bodywork? Sure, you’ll need to drill a couple of holes and fasten the fiberglass to the frame but how hard could that be? If you can work a hand drill and a screwdriver, installing your own bodywork should be a piece of cake, right?
Wrong! This is no simple task. You will wind up devoting literally HOURS of time trying to get every piece to fit properly and attempting to insure that all the mounting holes are drilled in the correct places. While this might seem like a simple task if you’ve never done it before, keep in mind that you can’t be on both sides of the bike at the same time. In the end, expect to spend several hours jimmying, propping, maneuvering, jiggling, and (finally!) drilling the mounting holes. During the course of this process I made several mistakes, such as drilling several holes in the wrong place.
(Editor’s note: Measure twice, drill once!)
Now that I’ve mounted my first set of race glass, I have by no means become an expert in the field. What I do possess as a result of this traumatic experience is a much clearer knowledge of the techniques (and patience) that are required when you decide to mount a set of new bodywork. I hope that the following will help you avoid some of the many pitfalls I encountered. Go ahead and be amused at my expense.
My personal decent into Hotbodies hell began just three days after Christmas. First, props are in order. Big thanks to the guys at Sportbike Track Gear for helping me to obtain a new set of Hotbodies race bodywork to replace what remained of the thoroughly thrashed glass still clinging to my R6. Sportbike Track gear must have been feeling the spirit of the holiday season, as they set me up with a very nice deal. In less than a week, a big brown box magically appeared on my front porch, bringing with it tidings of good cheer and promises for a very happy new riding season. Then the waiting began.
Winter in Michigan is something to behold. In a period of three days, we experienced three different weather systems. The day I received my bodywork, it was sunny with a light wind but the next day brought nearly biblical thunderstorms. On the third day, the rain changed to sub-zero temperatures and a blizzard. As excited as I was to get my new bodywork mounted, there was simply no way that it was going to happen in an unheated garage. We finally received respite in the last week of February, when temperatures soared into the tropical forties. With the Sportbike Track Time Midwest season-opening weekend at Putnam Park only six weeks away, I figured it was time to get to work.
After stripping the old carcass off of my machine, I had to mount a proper fairing stay. Compared with the bent stocker I pried off, the new piece I received from Sportbike Track Gear was the Bentley of fairing stays. Manufactured by GP Tech, this beautiful aluminum bracket is of high quality and is extremely light. Judging by my past performances it would seem almost inevitable that I’ll be letting you know later how this fairing stay, uh…. FAIRS in a get-off. The guys at Sportbike Track Gear provided me with this essential piece from a well-known manufacturer at a low price that rivaled the cost of many of the knockoff brackets I’d seen on EBay. With my new GP Tech fairing bracket in place, I set about mounting the upper fairing.
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