Plastic Surgery

[LTCUSA(ret)1995]

As I work my way through the finding, buying and “refreshing” (I don’t fully restore because then I would be afraid to ride them) older bikes, I am always aghast of what folks do to their bikes.
Case in point my recent purchase and ongoing “refreshment” of a 1982 CBX – one of the icon bikes of my yuute. Wanted one when they first came out, and for me (certified serial sport touring bike owner) the ‘81 and ‘82 models were functional culminating points.
Bought my bike from the second owner in Bedrock, GA – I am not making this up. He had removed the fairing and saddle bags because the original owner had fit a radio or something and frankly butchered the piece. See the 1st 2 pictures in the attached .PDF.
I then spent a great deal of time poring over the forums as well as searching for used fairings on all the usual sites. The problem was that other than the cut up interior panels, the fairing was a perfect match for the bike and saddlebags as they were handed over to me (now the 3rd owner). I looked at lots of .PDF parts pages and didn’t see where I could get the replacement plastic for the interior.
Then the brain cramp came as I worked my way through E-bay. See, if I could find a donor fairing, perhaps I could figure out a way to transplant the needed panels. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The most reasonable (in terms of price and apparent condition from the photos on E-Bay) candidate is/was shown in the next series of 9 pictures. Again, I’m not sure why some people inflict what they do on these hapless and inoffensive motorcycles. Not a great deal of remorse in making this the Young Frankenstein, abby-normal donor for my stupendous brain cramp.
Note how pristine the top panel was in terms of compatibility for transplant. The major issue was that on both fairings that area is glued and riveted into the shell and wasn’t sure how to make the move without literal surgery involving cutting and gluing and probably cobbling up some sort of trim pieces to hide the gaps.
Sigh . . .
Then Ron and Patrick of Barely Legal Bikes in Athens, AL (who were the agents of the refresh because I’ve seen Ron bring 3 different CBXs back to life) managed to disassemble the donor with heat guns, sharp knives, the lack of adhesive in many places due to the age of the thing, and lots and lots of gentle patience. Patrick reversed the process with placing the donor panel in the fairing that came with the bike.
The last set of photos is the result of the amazing plastic (literally) surgery. Patrick also did a meticulous job of riveting the panel into the recipient fairing and making it look perfectly stock. Ron roamed the community and came up with the round inserts to complete the look. Just a few more items to be gotten and installed and the bike is ready to ride. Cannot wait!!