Guest Gary Cheek Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 The main concern in my case regarding carbon fiber on a motorcycle is Ultraviolet light, Since I ride to work nearly every day my buke is exposed to sunlight a pretty high percentage of the time. All CF is not created equal and some seems to hold up better than others.There is only so much that UV stabilizers can do . My Mistral ovals are showing signs of UV exposure. When and if they get bad enough I will either lay up new CF skins or roll a pair of titanium replacements. I do like the Mistral ovals very much, aside from that one aspect all CF products are subject. A pair of covers may help extend the useful life in the high exposure cases? BTW. Welding Titanium is really not all that difficult. There are a few extra steps and precautions but most major manufacturing areas should have a source for competent welding of Titanium. A suitable DC TIG power supply, water cooled torch, good rod and the right technique should render a very good weld if the base material is of good quality and CLEAN. Years ago we welded Titanium in a booth filled with sheilding gas. Now it is common to apply shielding gas to both sides and maintain the gas until the weld area assumes temperature below 800 degrees. Failure to do so will usually result in a brittle weld prone to corrosion.
Greg Field Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 Gary is dead-on here. UV ravages carbon fiber in short order. I, too park my bike outside at work all day, so I got a $20 cheapy cover and cover it while at work. (I do not have carbon mufflers but have carbon fneder an a few other bits that came with the bike
Guest Athens-GR Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 After my first 1000km service, my new Breva850 looses drops of oil from the oil filter.In fact, oil filter is always wet.I went to my dealer, who said:"Now is OK i tightened it".After 2 weeks, the same .I went again...He also told me that he fixed it.Now with 2700km, in my odometer, the (little) problem remains.Does anybody knows what to do? Have i, learn to live with it & overpass it or shall i do something (except to brake the head of my dealer )
Alex-Corsa Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 After my first 1000km service, my new Breva850 looses drops of oil from the oil filter.In fact, oil filter is always wet.I went to my dealer, who said:"Now is OK i tightened it".After 2 weeks, the same .I went again...He also told me that he fixed it.Now with 2700km, in my odometer, the (little) problem remains.Does anybody knows what to do? Have i, learn to live with it & overpass it or shall i do something (except to brake the head of my dealer ) Check your PM.Se poion to piges gia service?
Guest Athens-GR Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 Check your PM.Se poion to piges gia service? Efxaristo Alex-Corsa.Sou apantisa sto pm, afta pou me rotas.
Alex-Corsa Posted October 21, 2006 Posted October 21, 2006 Efxaristo Alex-Corsa.Sou apantisa sto pm, afta pou me rotas. OK to eida kai soy esteila.
Guest golden goose Posted October 24, 2006 Posted October 24, 2006 Carbon fiber? Heat? UV? I may have bought a pair of Mistral's, but I am a far cry from stupid. Cosmetics? Breast enhancement? These are for those that favor form over function. I have no use for carbon fiber. I have no one I am interested in impressing with my use of it, and I do not need my motorcycles to lose weight to go on the track. Is there some other use for it aside from sexual attraction and ronny-racer-diet? The Mistral's may have had razor thin Titanium, but they still fractured. Later this week, I will take possession of some thicker skinned Staintunes. Unfortunately Greg, the trash-picker-up-ers took both Mistral cans, and the new skin, with them today. I would have placed them in the recycle bin, but I truly considered them to be trash, so I put them in that bin.
Greg Field Posted October 24, 2006 Posted October 24, 2006 Goose: No worries. All the Ti mufflers I have seen are thin and very easy to dent. The CF ones aren't for lightness; rather, for preventing damage to the Ti that's usually underneath. The CF one can take a licking and keep on looking good; it's the UV that eats them up.
Guest Gary Cheek Posted October 24, 2006 Posted October 24, 2006 Good points Greg. My stupid reasons are: Losing weight equates to making more power. Losing weight aft can improve handling. I chose the Mistral CF because they are light,perform as well as any others and they are a lot cooler on the surface. In addition they sound great and they are less likely to burn the shapely legs of my very pretty, breast augmented passenger on my very pretty street bike The CF impress ME and that is very important. Throwing away mufflers that have good resale ? Priceless. Greg, Have you seen the classifieds here? It seems someone had 1 muffler for sale.
Guest golden goose Posted October 27, 2006 Posted October 27, 2006 Carbon fiber. Hmm.... By itself, it has no strength. It needs boocoo resin to give it strength, otherwise it's just cloth. Flexible, woven, cloth. Strength is imparted by perception, sorta like bolt-on tits. You gotta love 'em. But wear your ear plugs when ridin' 'em, cuz they give off plastic crinkle vibrations in audible freqs. But they DO look gud, fur a while. Till the UV gets to 'em, or you take your ear plugs out and give ear to the crinkle. (Ever squeeeeeze a pair of bolt-ons?) No, like bolt-on tits, and cosmetics out the yin-yang, carbon fiber is for those who can only look skin deep. Ultra-thin titanium? Now proven to be not all that much different. If all you want to do is impress, then bolt-on carbon-fiber (supported by plastic, no this is different than fake tits, really.....) is your gig. It will take you over the very top (of the padded bra). But not a whole lot further. Go ahead. Expose it (to the sun, no less). No. I buy and ride bikes that offer more than tabloid depths. Plastic? So very squidly. Like carbon, it requires something more substantial. And these days, you need to be wary of things surficial, or suffer the cuntsequences. We now find this includes ethereal titanium.
mark.gilmore Posted October 28, 2006 Posted October 28, 2006 Carbon,it's all about the look,I it,and my bikes got heaps of it.
Guest golden goose Posted October 30, 2006 Posted October 30, 2006 Well. OK then. When you KNOW you're dealin' with fal sies.......
ShiftyAl Posted October 30, 2006 Posted October 30, 2006 Maybe I missed something here, but where I can get a set of Leo Vince's in the states? I'm also interested in the FBF's or the Mistrals, but MGcycle are the only guys I trust. Anyone know how long it might take if I order the FBF's off of their website? I simply couldn't find a site to order the Leo Vince's.
DeBenGuzzi Posted October 31, 2006 Posted October 31, 2006 Maybe I missed something here, but where I can get a set of Leo Vince's in the states? I'm also interested in the FBF's or the Mistrals, but MGcycle are the only guys I trust. Anyone know how long it might take if I order the FBF's off of their website? I simply couldn't find a site to order the Leo Vince's. FBF shouldn't take more than a week max, My local dealer ordered them for me as they are a sorta dealer of their crap. Now anyone know a way to help protect the carbon resin from UV damage? maybe some sunblock?
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