Cracked Fairings

[SwedeXT600Z]

Hi All,

This is my first post (of many) here, so in case my question is a "given" to anyone who owns a Ténéré, my apologies...hell, I could always use the excuse of being blonde! Anyways, here it goes, I have recently bought my childhood dream bike...the Ténéré XTZ600 1988 (3AJ) and it needs a bit of TLC! There are some minor cracks in the front fairings and I have been looking for ways to fix it myself. Here are some solutions I have found on Google:

a)Plastic welding (using an ABS strand)
b)Fiberglass putty
c)Fiberglass mat + polyester resin
d)Plastic glue

I am sure I missed some, but I can't seem to find any concrete answer on the internet that says which is the best way. What experiences to you all have from any of these? Any preferences?

Many Thanks

Pat

[Mezo]

Welcome

I used fibreglass matt + resin, worked for me & was cheap plus easy to use.

Mezo.

[SwedeXT600Z]

Thanks for the info Mezo-I will give it a go today!

//P

[SwedeXT600Z]

Just a quick update from the world of cracked fairings (for some this is already known, but for newbies like myself, it's like water in the Ténéré -a saver!)...for larger cracks, fibreglass matt + resin (as Mezo kindly advised me ) work great and for smaller cracks, fibreglass putty does the trick. When using the putty, make sure to sand off the surface of the crack completely (no old paint should be on the area you are applying the putty to).

//P

[LpoolXTZ660]

I know it's late in the day on this post but just to add. For small cracks I use (plastic welding) a soldering iron, with it on full heat. Press the iron firmly at the start of the crack but be careful not to go right through! You need to melt the plastic so the crack is filled then move on but this time push the melted plastic towards the first and keep repeating until the crack is done. Do this on the other side as well. When both sides are done I either use a little bit of filler and/or just sand back smooth.