Im Makeing a Wide Body Bag!!

[MrSandman818]

Let me know what you guys think. Its still a work in progress. I just cant stand how bulky the saddle bags are for the street bikes. Those things belong on the crusiers in my opinion. So I took matters into my own hands and made molds and started fiberglassing my own saddle bags. And this is what i have so far. More pics to come!!!

[garrisonls]

I admire your creativity. It's hard to get an idea of your concept from the photos but I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I'd also like to read up on how you do something like that. Let us know what you do and how you do it.

[WallacE]

I want to fiberglass my own rear fairing too, but am lacking in the knowledge of fiberglass...so def let me know what and how you are doing yours.

[MrSandman818]

The Process

Well it started with at drawing during my lunch break at Carls Jr. Then I just looked for something easy to mold. I ended up makeing a 2 piece mold. The outter piece, I actually took green flower foam that women use to put their flowers in and it holds then flowers and water. I glues 4 of those blocks side by side and then i taped it to the stock rear fairing to get a general idea on how far I wanted it to stick out and the shapes that I needed it to make. Then i took a foam cutter(or turkey cutter) and made the crude lines that mimic'd the fairings lines. Then I went in with a knife and sand paper to try and finish the lines to get them where I wanted. After that I put down wax paper so the fiberglass could break away from the mold after it dried.

For the inner mold I actually just taped a black trashbag over the stock fairing and glassed that. Then I cut away any parts of the mold that i didnt like and re-glassed till I had the body lines that I liked and glassed the 2 pieces together. From there it was just cut away anything that stuck out or didnt contour the way I wanted. Once that was all done I cut and bent 2 pieces of round stock metal(whatever you want to use really, as long as it fits in the rubber grommets) and I made the front bracket and siliconed them in place while the fairing was still on the bike to insure that they lined up after i glassed them. Waited till the silicone dried then I went ahead and fiberglassed them into the saddlebag.

After all that I did more sanding and fiberglassing to fix anything I felt was out of place.

Then I bought a gel coat for the final layer. I laid down white gel coat and after it dried I sprayed a light mist of any color spray paint i wanted over the entire outside of the saddlebag so that when I went in for final sanding I could identify the hi and low spots easier and fill in the low spots accordingly. Im going to do that step about 7 times or until its as smooth as a babys bottom

Now for the acess door, im still working those details out. I decided to continue to go with the streamlined look and mount the hinges inside the saddlebag and the bolts would be receeded into the fiberglass then i would cover it with gel coat to hide the bolts. But what I came up with was a triangular hinge for small doors. Then i bent it to a "U" shape so that when I open the door out it doesnt bind up. Im fighting with alighnment issues because im useing 2 hinges on a slightly bent surface.

For the inside, I have to make a type of weatherstripping to keep the water out. So far im going to take a thin piece of aluminum and glass or bolt it into the fairing(not sure which yet) then im going to take the foam roll thats sticky on one side thats used for weather stripping so that when the door closes it presses against the weather stripping and seals all your personal belongings from the elements.
I installed a small white led light strip thats maybe 4-5 inches in length that is used for license plate lights(can get it in the ricer section at like kreagan). i just siliconed it up and ran the wires through the middle tab bracket that I will be running to a switch later for light in the saddle bag at night time to find my junk at night time easier.
Once all this stuff is said and done then im going to put a marine grade carpet inside to keep my belongings seperated from all the fiberglass. It also adds to the fancy schmancy factor.

If anyone has any questions at all about the build up then feel free to ask.
Thanks,
Chris

I admire your creativity. It's hard to get an idea of your concept from the photos but I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I'd also like to read up on how you do something like that. Let us know what you do and how you do it.

Heres some side by side pics of my saddle bag and the stock rear fairing for reference... (I just randomly painted it for the hell of it. The pics of the saddle bag being white are the most current because the gel coat is white)



And heres a pic of the led light on...

[StevieB]

Maybe I lack imagination this morning, but I can't get any idea of where you are going with that from the pics. guess I will have to wait and see.

Oh, can't you come up with a different name for it than "Body Bag???"

[ismatts]

looks like your passenger pegs are no longer usable.

[600toStart]

+1 for explaining how to do fiberglass.
+1 for creativity.
Can't wait to see some finished pics!

[scottynoface]

I don't get it.

[600toStart]

I get it.

[Kreylyn]

Maybe I lack imagination this morning, but I can't get any idea of where you are going with that from the pics. guess I will have to wait and see.

Oh, can't you come up with a different name for it than "Body Bag???"

I don't get it.

He's making new rear side fairings in the same style as the stock fairings. His will be larger/further away from the side creating storage spaces the same way saddle bags would, but be much more streamlined since they will mirror the stock shape.

I think it's a great creative solution, and will be interested in seeing how it works out.

Krey

[teddy]

I appreciate the concept, but I would have gone the route of maybe an RF900 tail instead. They are very wide like the fairings you are making. The glasswork looks good though.

[HemiKat]

If you can make it not look like a fat girl from behind then I like the idea. You've got alot of sanding ahead of you.

When you wash your hands, use cold water. Trust me....

[MrSandman818]

I appreciate the concept, but I would have gone the route of maybe an RF900 tail instead. They are very wide like the fairings you are making. The glasswork looks good though.

Ya know teddy, I wanted to go for something like that with the cowl glassed into the saddle bags but i dont think my wife would appreciate, especially after she spent like $800 on gear. And id never let her get a bike because shes always tunnel visioned out.

Maybe I lack imagination this morning, but I can't get any idea of where you are going with that from the pics. guess I will have to wait and see.

Oh, can't you come up with a different name for it than "Body Bag???"

looks like your passenger pegs are no longer usable.

-Once the saddle bags are all said and done then im going to make wider rear pegs for the busta.

-I was just trying to think of a name thats catchy and creative. Not trying to hint at anything.

[BigFish]

Ya know teddy, I wanted to go for something like that with the cowl glassed into the saddle bags but i dont think my wife would appreciate, especially after she spent like $800 on gear. And id never let her get a bike because shes always tunnel visioned out.

Careful with the misses. I had one "tunnel vision" girl get hypnotized by the road and she fell asleep. I thought she was just being friendly and pushing her body up against mine .

[600toStart]

Careful with the misses. I had one "tunnel vision" girl get hypnotized by the road and she fell asleep. I thought she was just being friendly and pushing her body up against mine .

Fell asleep on the back of the bike??!!