TRACK TESTED
SharkSkinz Fiberglass Bodywork
Author: Lance Lau
Bodywork as tough as its name
 Ask, “Who makes the best bodywork?” around the paddock or on the various trackday and racing forums and usually one name gets mentioned above all others: SharkSkinz. Satisfied users will say or type things like, “Get SharkSkinz, your painter will love you.” “With SharkSkinz, the fit and finish is always near perfect and the stuff crashes well.” “There isn't any better quality bodywork as far as I know than SharkSkinz” “As far as crashing goes I think SharkSkinz hold up the best and are the easiest to repair.” Even threads discussing the quality of other manufacturer’s products will elicit the inevitable, “Dude, just get SharkSkinz and be done with it.” Having ended the 2008 track season by turning his ZX-6R into a muddy ball, East Coast Editor and serial crasher Lance Lau was in need of some new bodywork. Since it’s been said that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet, (unless it’s written in TrackdayMag.com, of course) we ordered up a set of SharkSkinz so we could see for ourselves what all the hype was about.
 Manufactured in Sebastian, Florida, halfway up the Sunshine State’s Atlantic coast, SharkSkinz is top shelf race bodywork that comes at a premium price. At $900-plus retail for a standard upper/lower/fender/tail set, you could find race glass for half as much. So what attributes make SharkSkinz worth the asking price? Quality materials, meticulous craftsmanship, superior design, outstanding fit, a superior surface finish and a guarantee is the answer to that question. To quote from their website, “Combining special epoxy resins, primers and woven cloth SHARKSKINZ thoroughly outperforms the competition. Every piece of SHARKSKINZ bodywork is backed by our ‘No Spider Web Cracking’ guarantee.” Since they don’t use any gel coats, (a thick brittle surface coat common in less expensive fiberglass parts) these panels won't get stress cracks in the finish like other bodywork.
|