* Clear Plastic Home Made Hand Wind Deflectors On Suzuki C800 / C50 *

Today was the day to start making my prototype of the hand wind deflectors. I am not finished by any stretch of the imagination yet but I thought I would post up to where I am at the moment.
When her indoors popped out earlier today I grabbed the top off of her slow cooker as it gave the desired curvature that I was looking for. I wanted the deflectors to curve in all directions, both up & down & side to side. The reason for this was that it will help the air to flow off of the deflectors smoothly in all directions, which in turn should help keep the air fast flowing & stay away from the hands. Now I know it won't make a massive difference but everything helps, I think



I took a ruff measurement and decided that 6"x10" should give me the initial required size that could be trimmed after being melted in to shape within the glass lid.
The first one that I did had to be thrown away, I had the lid upside down so that the plastic would melt/reshape into it! Although it pretty much gave me the desired shape, as it started to take shape it held air under it that couldn't escape very well which left bevelling in the plastic that actually looked like big air bubbles.
What I did was to flip the lid over in the oven and allow the plastic to fall/melt over it rather than into it and this actually did work this time without the nasty big air bubble shapes on it.



This is what I ended up with, as you can see the plastic has a nice fluent shape to it now which may allow the air to flow from it a little smoother.



Next I trimmed the plastic to the desired shape which is nearly ready for the holes to be drilled to accommodate the bracket that will hold it. With the bracket I will heat up a length of metal and attempt to bend it so that it flows down from the mirror mount and then down and around to the guard as I don't want any right angles in the bracket & it will then be sprayed but I will get to that tomorrow hopefully and post that up as soon as I have.



The next two pictures help show the angles/curvature achieved.




Here is roughly what it will look like when it is attached, the picure is actually giving a slightly false representation of size due to camera positioning but I am sure you get the idea.



One tip on giving a more professional finish on the edges after they have been cut and shaped is to run a blow torch all around the edge. What this will do is re shine the edge giving a finished look rather than a milky look to the edge.
I will try to post up the rest of the mod and the final item in position over the next couple of days.

love them but i do hope your missus dont read any of this or you may not get to finnish

looks really good mate just a thought have you considerd useing some of that stuff that they tint car windows with as it goes from a light tint to pritty much black what youv done looks great and the blow torch to get the shine back was a good idear but if your going to be spraying it wont you have to give it some sort of key so that the paint gets a good hold

hector 19 wrote:

love them but i do hope your missus dont read any of this or you may not get to finnish

If she new I had used her lid my bollox would be the next thing in the pot. I did sweat a bit when I did the first one as I thought the plastic had melted to the lid and as it was cooling I could hear quite a loud cracking which had me thinking I was up shite creak without a paddle. However I think the cracking noise was just the plastic and the glass separating as they were cooling down at different speeds.

I have just been out in the workshop though and been trying miserably to heat up and put several bends into some metal to get the required shape from the mirror mount to the guards. Fek me that is a darn site harder than you might imagine to get two brackets doing exactly the same thing but in a mirror image of each other. I seriously may have to reconsider thisand revert to a much simpler direct route.

fat intruder wrote:

looks really good mate just a thought have you considerd useing some of that stuff that they tint car windows with as it goes from a light tint to pritty much black what youv done looks great and the blow torch to get the shine back was a good idear but if your going to be spraying it wont you have to give it some sort of key so that the paint gets a good hold

Sorry maybe I should have written it clearer? I won't be spraying the guards mate, the metal brackets are what will be sprayed!

I'm well impressed with how you cut that perspex to shape without it crazing & cracking. Really neat job! Look forward to seeing the finished job.

Great job ! Looking forward to seeing the finished items , Could have done with some of those today, My hands were freezing.

bigmal wrote:

I'm well impressed with how you cut that perspex to shape without it crazing & cracking. Really neat job! Look forward to seeing the finished job.

Cheers Mal, the thicker the plastic the easier it is to cut it just needs a fine toothed blade at the right speed, to slow and you risk snagging and to fast and it will melt its way through rather than cutting. I usually try an off cut first before attempting what I need to use.

simbo wrote:

Great job ! Looking forward to seeing the finished items , Could have done with some of those today, My hands were freezing.

Thanks Sim, sadly the good old British weather means these are useful at all times of the year, especially at night or early mornings.

This sight might give you a couple of ideas for brackets etc.

http://www.barkbusters.net/products/159.html

Thanks but Idea's ain't the problem, I have them by the bucket load after having guards on every scrambler that I have ever owned. Making them with the materials that I have and to a standard that I am happy with is the tricky bit. Its turned out to be a bit more of a bitch than I anticipated.

As always Dave an excellant product and write up,the way you have done this project is a credit to you.

Originally I was going to make some metal brackets to attach the hand guards to the bike but after my first attempt which was a disaster I decided to attempt to make them with the plastic. The plastic I have used is as already said 6mm so its pretty strong. I tried to give the bracket a reasonable amount of of curve from the bike fixing point to the guard its self, more so for aesthetics than any other reason.

To get the bend in the bracket I simply heated up the plastic slowly and kept a very small amount of pressure on it until it wanted to bend rather than forcing it prematurely.




As you can see from the next couple of pictures I simply drilled and bolted the bracket and guards together and trimmed the bracket edges to conform to the guard.





Here you can see the guards fitted to the bike, I really like the fact that they don't stand out like a sore thumb but are unobtrusive.




Since taking these photo's I have actually shortened the brackets by 1.1/5" and spun them to a slightly more forward position as they were positioned outwards a little to much.
I have been for a test ride and they seem to work really well. They are stable up to about 50mph but above that get a bit of a crazed wobble on, so I will simply cut a small piece of plastic and add a small brace which should eliminate this.

I hope you have found this thread interesting as I have really enjoyed making these.

sweet mate lookin goood shame about the wobble they get above 50 but im sure yourl sort that they look very kleen on the bike better than metal brackets asfeticly couldent see in photos did you use some sort of rubber washer as well as the metal washers to stop any vibration or damage to them

Cheers Morgan, The wobble is now gone. Just shortened the bracket again and brought the guards in more so that they are resting on the inside edge against the cable end of the levers, this has stopped the wobble and I am completely happy with the end result. I also warmed up the lever and bent it slightly lifting the guards slightly. Really happy with the end result and they are now there to stay on a permanent basis. I will post up a detailed drawing with all measurements as soon as I get a chance, just in case anyone else wants to give it a try in the future.

Cracking job Dave I wish i had your ability.

Well done Dave,you really have made a good job,the clear perspex is the way to go,and also the brackets you have made excellant.Looking at mine now they look like they come from Poundland or Hong Kong.Will be getting some decent perspex now to make them like yours,thanks for taking the time to post most interesting as always.

Thanks guys I appreciate the comments

The thing I like about this place is that we all learn from each other, although I have wanted to make some for ages I was a little uncomfortable putting it in to practice until now. Being the first to do something which you were (Alfie) is often not the best place to be as you are often working blind. I looked at yours and modified it in my head then modified a little more due to cocking up the metal brackets and then modded a little more out of desperation.
The plastic bracket is what really makes this job stand out in the crowd but I was just fortunate that I was gifted 6mm plastic which turned out to be perfect. However the plastic bracket came out of wanting to crack on with the job as I was unable to pop out today to get some metal to make some. I was a bit dubious about them at first but they really do work well, I have no doubt in my mind that if I was the first rather than the second to do it, they would not be what they are now.
I am going to get some more at some stage and make some in fills for the crash bar centres for next winter, that should help keep a bit of the water spray from cars on a rainy day and cold wind from my feet and lower legs. Oh my god my brain never stops from getting ready for the next mod, I think I need help

As always an excellent write up and instructions, Good on you Mr I for adding another great modification to the site.

Cheers Crash, it's never a chore when you enjoy tinkering

Just a quick update.
I will be removing the clear plastic mounts from the deflectors as they have become stressed around the mirror mount. I will then replace them with a chrome sprayed metal bracket similar to the one Alfie has made.
I will post more pic's when done.

if you have difficulty getting the metal brackets to mirror each other, could you bend a peice of metal first, then cut it into 2 halfs with a bandsaw?

Thats a bloody clever idea

When you moulded the deflectors over the pan lid, did you use an electric oven ? iv'e tried three times now with a gas oven at varying temps but they keep bubbling around the edges.

Thats definitely to much heat, our oven is old and bolloxed but I did it on Gas mark 3 on the middle shelf. I kept the guard towards the front of the oven so that it wouldn't get any direct heat from the flame. A slow heat is definitely the key, hope this helps.

very nice job..

Dave looks great as already said but will you still use the screen and hand guards now that you have fitted the ape hanger handle bars

Not sure the guards & screen will work now

Crash the screen used to be on all year around because with the C's upright riding position, I felt that when riding at speed the pressure on my arms and chest was just to uncomfortable and the screen eradicated that. However when I fitted my home made rider back rest LINK it made such a big difference that the sreen was no longer needed.
As for the hand guards, they are not needed in the warmer months. However they will both go on the bike for the colder winter months, so that the majority of the cold is deflected from my hands and body. I like looking cool while riding but I don't like being cold regardless of whether it looks right or not!

Hi Dave went for the clear in the end,what a difference.I put some 5mm flat bling strip to the edge to finish it off.Just been reading the post from Sim a while ago over bubbling up,what I did was cut to shape,then placed in a wok of water and boiled them one at a time pressing down in the middle to get the curvature required,then whilst still boiling hot placed in a container of cold water still pressing down the middle to keep the shape.Bling strip on second photo.

Alfie wrote:

Just been reading the post from Sim a while ago over bubbling up,what I did was cut to shape,then placed in a wok of water and boiled them one at a time pressing down in the middle to get the curvature required,then whilst still boiling hot placed in a container of cold water still pressing down the middle to keep the shape.

Cheers Alfie I'll give that a go as I've still got plenty of perspex left and I suffered from numb finger syndrome after last weekends ride I've been informed it's our oven that's faulty ? at least that's the excuse Jo gives me when the tea is burnt every night

They look great alfie, when it comes to custom mods, this site is the dogs nuts.
I love the winter on this site as it become the modification season, we just never could second guess what's going to be next

alfie92 wrote:

Hi Dave went for the clear in the end,what a difference.I put some 5mm flat bling strip to the edge to finish it off.Just been reading the post from Sim a while ago over bubbling up,what I did was cut to shape,then placed in a wok of water and boiled them one at a time pressing down in the middle to get the curvature required,then whilst still boiling hot placed in a container of cold water still pressing down the middle to keep the shape.Bling strip on second photo.

Bloody hell I am really impressed with this set Alfie, they look absolutely fabulous mate
I think I would probably spray the bracket grey or silver to help it melt away. They really are the dogs danglies for sure, they look like they have just been took out of the box and unwrapped

Hi lads and ladies what I done was,grabbed this photo,printed it on A4 paper than got the contour that I needed.Dave I take on board what you
say about the paint,always good to get feedback.Sim dont moan too much it could cost you a new stove (instead of more goodies for the bike)

Another item for the Intruder I think! Thanks for the idea & Pic's everyone!

I'd forgotten I had made these, time for them to come out from the storage container they are in and be popped back on.

I made my own as well Dave & they've been on since the early part of 2014, do the job admirably!