748 Top fairing cracked, advice sought
 

My first post so guess I should be getting them in at the bar despite it only being 9.30, still it is friday!

The nosecone/top fairing on my 748 has cracked between the headlights through the narrowest part of the fairing and the pait has come off between the lights. Is this common?

I see three routes to solve it;

Glue it and put a numberboard on, but which type is best?

Have it plastic welded and repainted, possibly expensive!

Fleabay?

Any thoughts, suggestions or advice gratefully received. Many Thanks

I have the same problem, but luckily mine is a very small hairline crack that you can hardly see while fitted.

I will get it done eventually, and will have it plastic welded and repainted. I had my single seat unit done by Chris at TecMoto after a crash, and it came back looking better than new - no more holes! Cost £175 in the end but still cheaper than a new seat unit.

When it gets a bit more stone chipped and battered I'll get it done, until then I'll live with it.

You could always try a bit of fibreglass on the inside (out of sight) to hold the crack then cover it up with a number board as suggested, but I suspect that this would only be a temporary fix. I doubt the number board would stick very well if the paint was coming off?

Superglue and a number board will be your cheapest option.
Some repair shops may do a more secure plastic weld which can also be covered with a number board,its only when you get it repainted it gets pricey
I think you can get these quite cheap on ebay too,hold out for a decent one though.

Kneed,

Check out the price of a a new top fairing at a dealer to help decide, they come painted. You might be Surprised.............. either way!!

A stick on number board is gonna be a good few pounds?? £40 to £60??

Can't understand why it would split/crack in the first place though?? Is somehting else out of alignment with the bracketry? Does it show eveidence of an earlier repair??

Know the costs before you leap onto e-bay, very easy to end up paying too much.

BTW, welcome aboard.

Ray

Me neither, it has been on there for 8 years, never previously repaired and and I cannot recall doing anything to it to damage it. Plastic is very thin there and there is a hole right in the middle so it is the weakest point.

Kneed,

Old age then...........gets everything in the end.............

Good luck in getting it sorted.

Ray.

Think a new nosecone is something like £260??

I'd guess to get it plastic welded and painted your'e looking at at least £150 but it would look like new, but you still have the possibility of stone chips...

I'd go fleebay first for a minter if possible

Depends on how big the crack is and how much paint has come off.

Plastic welding isn't hard, you can do it yourself with a soldering iron. All you do is take the fairing off and apply the soldering iron to the back of the fairing. As the plastic melts you sort of zig zig the soldering iron to stich the two sides of the crack together, or if you've got a spar bit of plastic you can use that as a sort of welding rod. If you're resonably careful you can make quite a neat job of it, but that doesn't matter anyway because it'll be on the inside of the fairing and nobody will ever see it.

That should hold the crack rigid again so it doesn't flex. Then, go around the outside of the fairing again and just the merest scrape of filler and a light sanding should make everything smooth and lovely again.

If there's only a tiny bit of paint missing you should be able to touch it in quite easily. You can get Ducati colours from paint factors and if it's only a small bit like the bit between the lights you'll probably be able to do it yourself and make a reasonable job of it.

Of course if your a perfectionist, you'll need to go down the professional repair or buying new route, in my experience buying mint panels from eBay is nigh on impossible, they all need some work on them (why would people be selling otherwise)