Update | fitting tank cap and rear light

The body has been trimmed; the rough glass fiber edges have been trimmed off. Even so the cuts have been made to fit in the fuel cap and the rear light. Using a lot of paper templates made in Solidworks; digital CAD modelling.

The body and the frame will be joined soon! Some brackets and flanges will be welded on the frame to bolt the body on the frame.

Last weeks I have been working on the handmade glass fiber body for the MTD café racer. With the valuable help of Antony, one of my Spark design & innovation colleagues! Check our website http://www.sparkdesign.nl/

After two layers of white gel coat, the glass fibers have been positioned in the mold and soaked in epoxy resin. Lot of small clamps kept the fibers in place while adding the peel-ply and all the foils and vacuum plastics layers.

After the epoxy resin hardened the mold was opened and made super happy! The body is super clean and fitting on the frame perfectly! The coming period the body will be sanded and painted. Keep posted for the latest developments.

Video | The Delivery by Old Empire Motorcycles

The Delivery from Old Empire Motorcycles on Vimeo.

Thanks for sharing @pipeburn

http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2013/11/21/the-delivery-by-old-empire-motorcycles.html

Update | Mold making

The three molds for the MTD café racer are finished! The glass fiber molds have been made following the hand lay-up glass fiber laminating. Over the HD PU plugs; which are the CNC milled positive parts of the final motorcycle body.

The plugs have been sanded super smoothly and finished with a clear coat. On top of this coat 7 layers of mold release wax have been added.

All the layers and patterns for all the glass fiber fabrics have been cut with care, and fitted on the plugs before adding the polyester resin. After which the laminating started, merging the fibers with the resin over the plugs.

After the polyester completely hardened the rough edges of the molds have been trimmed, releasing wedges were slammed between the molds and the plugs,… and finally air pressure and two large chisels released the molds from the plugs!

Now these molds will be bolted together for construct the large mold in which the body kit will be made. Keep in touch for more footage..

The first body kit of the custom MTD Ducati café racer will soon be made. If you have interest in this body kit send an email to info@maartentimmer.com

Update | First mold ready

Last week the first of the 3 mold pieces have been made. The glass fiber fabrics have been laminated with the polyester resin. The mold you see in this blog post is the center one; the top of the fuel tank. The other 2 HD PU plugs are now being prepared for the final mold making.

Once these molds are finished the first body kit can be made for the custom MTD Ducati café racer. If you have interest in this body kit send an email to info@maartentimmer.com

Video | Walnut

Walnut from Cineastas on Vimeo.

Another video that makes you happy and your hands itch.. handcrafted bicycle equipment by Walnut!

Update | Sanding the plugs for mold making

The last two weeks I have been sanding the HD PU plugs. These parts need to be super smooth before I send those over for a coat of 2K-paint. 2 coats of spray filler have been added and many hours of sanding.
Looking for the right company for the paint job now..

Video | Dainese presents Rossi's Ranch

Brilliant video; the quotes, the shots and the accents of Rossi and Guys Martin make this video amazing!

"It's like a dream from when you are child" quoted by V. Rossi.. love that guy! Check the video for more quotes..