Tecate tank shroud reproduced by me!!

[ScottZJ]

Well I cant say totally by me but my neighbor has done the unthinkable. He has assisted me in reproducing the left side tecate tank shroud. Left side you say...why? Well this was just a test to make sure he could accomplish this task before I let one of my treasured right side shroud go.
Now it is rough form due to him not wanting to waste time on just a test. The matting was the thicker kind like on a boat but the finished product will be green and with the thin cleaner matting. It has a mix of materials to give it alittle bit more flex than 100% fiberglass. They are going to place washers inside the material in the bolt hole areas to assist in reenforciing the bolt area. I am totally stoked on the outcome of this and will be giving up my right side shroud soon to get the mold done. Once they have finished the molds and ready for production, I will have them start making the pairs of them. I will then add some repro stickers to them and sell them as a pair. Yes you can still get the left side factory(as seen in pic below) but I wanted them to match in material(and eventually the left sides will be gone too). For those that say it couldnt be done, it has, and its not going to cost me thousands, but it will be a chunk out of my pocket. But I know its worth every penny to keep the tecates out on the tracks and not in the kitchen to be looked at(right waterpumper! LOL).

And to those that doubted me, oh yee of little faith, as long as you have faith in something, you can believe in your heart to come true









NEXT TO A NEW OEM LEFT SIDE SHROUD

[cliff2302]

that is awesome!. are the actual ones you are going to make be out of the same material that this one is? and if it is, can you get the exact match of green that the originals were? congrats, another example of american inginuity. i'll tell you now that you are going to have atleast one order from me

[CHAINSAW]

ahh man.. think of the possabilities!!! hehehhee. Id love to have some one of a kind custom designed shrouds for the ole 85 Tri Z.

[3WheelsForever]

Ill be interested in some shrouds, think youll start making some rear fenders eventually?

[Racedude48]

just be careful... the gelcoat + resin in the fiberglass tends to spider crack when it flexes... also from the elements..... juss my.02 but man that looks sick!

[ScottZJ]

My buddy did say he could make them in green now if its super green like Kaw green I am praying for.
As for the jell coats, you are correct, that is why its not 100% glass and is a mix agent to assist in the flexing, similar to airplane parts and other flexible stuff.
This is just the beginning for tecate parts, the headlight bezel is next and he said would be even easier.........peace

[350Xccelerator]

thats awesome scott, you think you guys would be able to make a repro of a 350x fork/disc guard?

[smokinp]

very cool!

[hadar]

I would buy them as well.

[ClayW]

Cool deal Scott. Im impressed.

[Jeb]

I recommend you slap a set on your KXT and ride the hell out of it for a good test period before you mass produce these and sell them to a bunch of people. Dont claim they are good or better than the factory shrouds until you test them good. I would get as many hard trail hours as I could in and see how they hold up before selling a set. No one here ever said that I can remember that they COULD NOT be reproduced. But the only way to correctly reproduce the factory ones is by injection molding them from plastic. Which again, is no where near impossible, but a bit technical and expensive. The only way to 100% copy them is mold them off the original Kawasaki molds. Everything else is just replicas. I mean afterall there was a guy selling his replicas on ebay for a while now.

Good luck with it. I hope it works out for you. I'm not trying to discourage just let you know they may look like the factory shrouds but are nothing like them material wise. If they start cracking out, people will be upset.

You and your neighbor ought to research vacuum forming. Then build the molds for that process. Your neighbor obviously shouldn't have a problem getting the shape very close. And make the shrouds out of colored plastic as close to factory as possible. Or you can easily use different color plastics. Vacuum form plastics should hold up better than fiberglass. There's a reason Maier vacuum forms instead of fiberglass layups. You want to stay away from painting them too.


http://www.media.mit.edu/physics/ped...u/vacform.html

[Enigma]

WOW nice. Taking into account what Jeb said I'd like to see if can withstand some hard riding, I dont ride woods I ride in the desert. I just want to make sure that when Im going full throttle they dont pull out or break off. If they can hold up to that then sign me up for a set.

[ScottZJ]

Yeah they will be by far different than stock, which is due to the cost ratio. The only thing to compare them to stock is the shape. I am just going to offer these as a cheaper replacement for those that dont have shrouds or have nice OEM ones they dont want to trash. Put set of these on and blast around without the worry of trashing them since they can be bought or reproduced again.
I did have a few that said it couldnt be done when I mentioned the possibility of a friend assisting me. I want to prove to them with hard work and determination anything is possible. Even if they arent the best and most durable material in the world, I will still be able to blast around my tecate without wondering if or where I would get more plastics for. Mind you there were many trikes in the old days with glass fenders that lasted. If I had the resources I would use something besides glass, but its not financally sound to do something of that nature. Thats the reason no one else will reproduce them. I plan on offering an alternative to nothing, and not a OEM product. That is if I decide to sell them once the right side is completed. But I dont feel I have failed or wasted time at all cuz its a huge victory over lost trike parts............peace

[Jeb]

Again, I'm not at all trying to discourage what ScottZJ is doing. And I'm sure not taking from his neighbors fiberglass work. I'm impressed with the shape copy. Also it's not like there's alternatives all over the place for shrouds.

[ScottZJ]

Hey bra, I dont take anything to heart on the internet and I do appreciate any and all info others have on this. I am a computer admin and network guru so this is by far out of my league but its exciting that it can be possible without taking out a second mortagage! ROFL I am not going to be out to make a killing on these either(if I sell them). The first sets will just be used to pay off what it cost me for the molds. I am just hoping it works out and that it helps keep a few more tecates from the chopping block.