The Honda Owners Club

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 3:09 pm

Being a Classic Bike owner spare parts can often be difficult to source for certain bikes and for my CB750Kz this is often the case. Side Panels for example are rare and when found often are not in very good condition and have broken lugs which are often missing. I have now 2 right hand panels and 3 left hand panels for my bike 4 of which needed repairing. The 5th I was extremely lucky to find was a NOS panel.

I will show in the next couple of posts how I repair/replace broken lugs well in this case relace as often when it is possible to obtain a side panel the lugs are often missing.

The first step I take it to get some metal meshing (not too fine) and cut it to shape and fix it in place where the boken lugs are. I use liquid polyester for this as it does slightly eat into the plastic of the panel and therefore bonds reasonably well. It is important at this point to get the angles and lengths of these as acurate as possible as they form the skeleton of the replacement lugs.
In the case of the panel i am repairing here the remains of the old lugs are used to help fix the mesh in place as shown in the following photos.

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 3:15 pm

The next step is to cover the meshing with polyester filler and for this stage I use a course filler that has a fibreglass content. The filler should be worked into the holes which will increase the stability. and then left to set.

On the Lug shown I have added some more meshing during this process to add even more stability

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 3:26 pm

Using a mini drill (dremel or similar) with cutting discs burs and sanding bits the lugs are then roughly shaped. I always cut the rough shapes undersize which will be explained why shortly. When this is done the panals should be test fitted to see that the lugs line up correctly with the mountings on the bike and any ajustments can no be made by cutting or filling bits off.

At this stage the lug tips should fit without any resistance.

The reason for the lugs being cut undersize is so that the metal meshing does not contact the rubber bushes into which they fit and therefore don't damage them.

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 3:32 pm

The rough cut lugs are now coverd completely with a fine Polyester Filler and roughly shaped (I use my fingers to do this but wear thin latex gloves) just as the filler is going off ..... if the filler stets too slowly it can be speeded up a little by gentlly heating with a hairdryer.

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 3:41 pm

Once the filler has set the lugs can be carefully shaped and it it is advisable to do test fittings at regular intervals. For this I again use a mini drill with various bits. Finally using a fine sandpaper sand the lugs smooth.
Should you sand or cut too much away and the lugs don't have the snap fit they should have then this proccess can be repeated untill a satisfactory result is achieved.
The lugs can then be painted if required but this is not so imtortant and this is only cosmetic as the lugs are not seen once fitted to the bike

I have used this method several times and it is tried and tested the panels on my 750kz were done this way around a year ago and are still holding fine.

Cheers witch

by **Red V Four** on Sat May 16, 2009 4:02 pm

That's nicely presented and informative, Witch. A picure's worth a thousand words, as they say.
What's that panel off? It's not off your CB750KZ, though, is it? It looks vaguely Italian to me, but I'm probably wrong.

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 4:07 pm

Thanks Red :o))

It is a spare panel from my CB750KZ ;o)

I had a pair of panels thrown in when I bought my spare Tank last week .... both in need of repair.

Cheers Witch

by **Red V Four** on Sat May 16, 2009 4:22 pm

Ah yes, so it is. I didn't recognise the louvres, and looking back at the pics of your 750 (in the street) I can see them now. The bulbous shape of the 750's side panels draws your eye away from them at the bottom. Never noticed them before!

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 4:31 pm

You should see the state of the lefthand panel I got along with this one ... a large-ish piece is missing from the back....and I am going to rebuild it ;o)

by **Witchmaster** on Sat May 16, 2009 8:57 pm

Continuing with the repair of my side panels this one not only has all the lugs missing but a substantial section at the rear of the panel has been broken off and is missing. The first picture shows the difference between an intact panel and the damaged one.

The same technique is used as for replacing the lugs but is more work intesive.

The missing piece is built up first by cutting and shaping pieces of metal meshing and gluing them into the back of the panel using lquid polyester as before.

The meshing is then filled over with Polyester filler.

To be Continued .......

by **Witchmaster** on Sun May 17, 2009 5:21 pm

The next steps was to replace the lugs to a rough stage as described earlier and build up the broken area of the side panel using Polyester filler.
This stage is also rough and now needs sanding and shaping to get as close as possible to the final shape of the panel.

by **Witchmaster** on Mon May 18, 2009 8:32 pm

Ater the initial filling then the first step of shaping can take place and then it will be possible to see how much more filling needs doing.

by **Witchmaster** on Mon May 18, 2009 8:40 pm

More filler is now added that hopefully will complete the main task of rebuilding the side panel after this stage it will of course have to be filled and sanded to shape.

by **Dibble** on Tue May 19, 2009 9:52 am

Liquid Polyester?

How easily available is that its not seen on the shelf in most places.

by **Witchmaster** on Tue May 19, 2009 10:19 am

Having done a quick google search I found the "Kit" I have been using here http://www.vinnybyrnestore.com/index.php?cat=Presto_Ancillaries listed as 600412 FIBREGLASS REPAIR KIT. A small amount of fibreglass matting is also included. Also further down the same page is the resin on its own listed in 2 different sizes.
Alternatively any boatbuilder suppliers will have some, I have a slight advantage here living on the coast there are several boatbuilders around here so I can get as much as I need at prices under the normal shop prices.
I did get a different make once from a Windsurfing/Surfing supplier as I have also done surfboard repairs customising and fin making in the past.

Cheers Witch

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