I need to repair a tail fairing with epoxy and a small piece of thin flatish ABS plastic. A screw fell out and apparently that caused too much stress on the one that stayed in. it's a small crack and is covered by the seat so I don;t see a reason to replace the fairing.

Anyone know of any everyday product that comes in a hard plastic container or has some piece of ABS that is about an inch and a half long? I could bend it to fit with a heat gun. Hate to go out and buy a model airplane just for a small piece of ABS.

Already checked and found it is important to use the right glue with the right kind of plastic. Epoxy does not adhere well to recyclable plastic most products are packaged in.

I've got a couple old fairing pieces with broken tabs, I'd be glad to send you one if you want to chop it up.

Thanks, Mike. If I lived nearby, I'd take you up on it but for the price of shipping, I could just go get a small model at the hobby store. That's a great idea though.

WAIT---that worthless Yanna SHitty windscreen I got for the busa!! Eureka! I know what I'm gonna do with that piece of junk.

Thanks.

I just had to fix a crack in the nose of my bike by the windscreen and epoxy worked well, but you do have watch which one you buy. The allen screws holding the windshield in kept coming up missing so I got one too tight and it cracked the plastic. Now I use blue locktight on them. Got the fix done on the underside so you can not see it. If its not in a visible spot I would just epoxy it up and be done.

I could just put some epoxy over the crack and try to work it in a little before the glue dries. I'd rather reinforce it with a thin piece of plastic as well to increase the contact area.

You might have a time getting the windscreen off. The wellnuts might turn before the locktite breaks. If so, the windscreen nuts are easy to reach with a pliers. I'd say blue Locktite is a must on every NON-wellnut fairing fastener but the wellnuts usually keep the screws snug.

When my 85 Ninja 600 sank into the tar on the center stand many years ago, yes the center stand, and cracked the mid fairings in multiple places I went to a local motorcycle shop and asked what they would use to repair it. They recommended Evercoat 994 SMC Super Vette Panel Adhesive.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=corvette+body+panel+adhesive&tbm=shop&spd=5089554468456743485]

Not only did it hold the fairings together for the many years after that I owned it, it was still holding up when a buddy of mine owned it later on too. I have since recommended it to others for fixing their cracked and broken faring's with great success. If it is just a crack you can build up a bead of this on the non-cosmetic side and it will hold the pieces together with this stuff.

* Last updated by: danfzx14 on 5/1/2015 @ 8:12 AM *

How about Kydex? Easy to heat and form without melting it.

Apparently available at O'Reilly Auto Parts, by the quart only.

Kinda pricey, too. But, hey, if it works, why not.

"How about Kydex? Easy to heat and form without melting it."

Evercoat 994 SMC Super Vette Panel Adhesive.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/1/2015 @ 7:11 PM *

Hi Rook have a look around your local car breakers, they must have loads of broken ABS car parts, fenders etc.
Why use an adhesive? I have had good success with using a small soldering iron. Gently melt the ABS over the crack and then bond (melt) the edges of your patch to cover it. Providing it is out of sight.

i might consider melting to join plastic elsewhere but this is just barely covererd by the edge of the seat. I'm afraid I might deform the plastic on the area tha is visible and then I would feel like I need to buy a new fairing. I have seen plastic welders. Those might work pretty good but since this is n isolated job I don't expect to be doing often, I think I'll stick with glue.

Yes. I'm sure if I head up to the junkyard, I could pick up something for a few bucks---maybe free.

Since I have a c-f hugger/chainguard combo, the old chainguard was my source of ABS plastic for welding fairing cracks using a soldering iron. I cut a strip and used it just like a welding rod. Made the repairs and repainted last year. thousands of miles later no reappearance of cracks.

Thanks, Danno. I thought ABS was always the hard variety of plastic. The OEM chainguard is the soft flexible kind. It might work fine to weld two kinds of plastic.

It is a bit softer, but that may have to do with a finishing and/or moulding process to make the body parts more paint-friendly. As with metal welding, both the part and the filler have to be melted together to get a good bond.

I just epoxied a headband for my daughter using a piece of polymer as a patch on the headband which appears to be ABS. It let go the first time she put it on. Maybe I will try welding.