How to make your own Carbon Fiber/Kevlar Bash plate....

Soooooo.... After one month of usage....... I`m glad to state that it`s holding up just like it was expected. I have put on a few hundred miles......and have had no heat issues at all. Only dirt sections, are a 300 foot stretch getting to my house..... ( they are taring up the street for re-paving. My neighbors must thing I`m an idiot...... " Look mom.... there goes that wicket dude on that orange bike again......You think he`s gonna crash this time......"..
Amazing what the dirt does to this bike............ Anyway.... Had to do a little machining...... ( read filing)..... I put on these.......


And When I build the case...... I thought I`d left plenty of room..... But that was not the case. So out went the tools...... For comparison.... I would say it takes about the same to file/saw this as it does 1/4 inch steel....yes steel...... I work metal often....So I`m quite familiar with it..... As what a pain...... Sort of good.... But it illustrates the great anti abrasive/impact resistant propperties this stuff has.... Yay. Next dirt ride is oct 8....with Sandia BMW of algurquuukki....Albiqqquu.. Albicoocoo.... North of Las Cruces,NM...... I will report how it does......

Erling

One more thing..... Nice that when you go through the trouble of making something like this..... It can evolve with new farkles. The pictures above illustrate the first step.... Gain clearance..... The I was able to fab up two brackets that secured the bash guard to the two lower forward sw motec mounts.......











Erling

Sooooo...... This past week-end fellow riders and myself finished the southwest rally, put on by the fine people of Sandia BMW in NM. And although there were two wipe outs.......One on a versys, the other on a X-challenge..... The 8gs was the only one there..... All the others were on 12 gs. The bash plate saw many opportunity`s to get tested......but to no avail.....All was several rocks at high speed on dirt. Two of those were about 4-5 inch rocks whipped up at 55 mph. They made a bang that would scare the @$#%&&$ out of a CF noob. No sound you know sounds as terrifying as this.....and I did have to stop to see....... A few scratches...no breaks..... I ended up going straight to san antonio,tx...day after the ride, and wont be able to upload any pictures until after the 23`rd oct. Bike need washing first.... I have half of the fine desert dirt on it......


Erling

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I have worked with pre-preg carbon fiber and fiberglass with resin in a shop. The carbon we used required a vacuum bag and autoclave. To see what you can do in your garage is inspiring. Thank you!

Yeppers....... I do sometime miss the prepregnated stuff...... But as you nailed it.... In today`s materials....and what you can do with little effort and equipment.... Is simply amazing...... So what will be your first piece.....

Erling

Hey, no one saw a KLE wreck, who knows,...maybe it never even happened....

(BTW....seein' that skid plate in person was awesome...)

....... Jake.... One great thing that came from this trip...... When My wife saw the video I shot.....riding up and down Bear Trap Canyon....one hand on the wheel..... She immediately authorized a ContourHD camera...... Should be here next week.......I`m lethal now...... So a Versys is also a KLE???? Shows what I know of bikes.....


Erling

This is a GOOD thing, you take great video, which in HD mode, turns out to be thousands of still pics, AND Fritz and Ben will quit exclaiming, "You know that FFer is filming up hills, down hills, IN THE CORNERS?!?!?!?

Bah... bad experience with the Contour HD, my friend couldn't get it to work right on our last trip and we ended up with zero video. Of course I suspect it could be user error.

That was a fun trip....ehhhh........... We have to do that again..... I`l make sure to email you next time....just in case you don`t get an invite....


Erling

he-he..... I have some experience with a 720p model....mountain biking....was nice...... Perhaps you had a gremlin..... Me hopes......


Erling

Erling this is Ben. Do you have contact info on NM Jake that you can pm me? I have his axle spacer and I wanted to let him know its here. Also send me your info too. Hey Jake need your info as well so we can keep you posted as to when we will do this again. I know im askin a lot just figured get it done.

Ben.... Great hearing from you..... Some very impressive SM riding there....... PM sendt.....

Erling

This looked like it was a fun and interesting project. I would never have thought of using these composites as a bash plate.

Other than not having one at home I'm wondering why you didn't vacuum bag and/or autoclaved this project instead of just using the sun for curing and impregnating the epoxy into the composite. Was it the type of epoxy and or CF/Kevlar weave being used?

What are you using for UV protection, if anything?


Thanks - Jon

I would love to have a shop with all the goodies, but I have been through that..... And rather than " Before you get started...you need the following" I want to promote projects one can achieve with very limited financial impact. Modern composites and resins have made huge strides in the last .....even 5 years..... And a lot of projects are now within reach of us mortals, with just a little nudging......

Erling

Earling thank you for the write up and the responses.

I've done too many repairs on sailboats & their bits & pieces with all the tools around at boat yards to think a little "out of the box".

- Jon

That`s awesome Jon. You have a great benefit with your knowledge.... Just imagine what you can make for the gs...or other bike for that matter..... And if you don`t like the look of CF....It can be painted. I enjoy the fixing part as much as the "making from scratch part" as well. Amazing how people can destroy their hulls ehhhh......Makes you wonder sometimes....

Erling

Finally got home yesterday...... Washed half of the desert southwest of the bike.....I knew I had two hits from about 50 mph....about 4 inch rock whipped up by the front wheel........


And the big one....actually went through the first outer layer.....well it cut it`s way through....what do you expect at that speed....... But then it was stopped......





No hits on the bottom..... I know some of you are disappointed.........


There were a few spills however...... Jake grapped his KLE by the horns and tackled some gnarly off camber "up and overs".......at only a speed a fellow Texan would understand........No pic`s.... But rider in front of Ben and me....Jake behind me....wiped hard on his X-challenge.... Had to do some surgery........And Fritz`s neurons was`nt firing right for a while.....












Here is Fritz on the trail marker that ate his bike.......


Then Jake`s on the move......




Finally up top Mt. Baldy.....




Erling

Nice work. Would rocks constantly hitting this thing cause you to sand it all back and add another layer or simply sand and just cover it with a fresh layer of epoxy? I hear rocks hitting my ali bashplate all the time.

What you see on it now....is after about 3000 miles..... Just superficial scars....That`s all..... I would estimate with that pattern...It would take another 40-50000 miles before, and even then.... I`m not sure it would need a fresh layer of CF.....

Erling