jmdaniel
Has A Well Known Member
Same here. The wife won't ride, so the back seat is worthless to me. Last week in Big Bend.
El Cheapo home-made Smuggler?
- Thread starter DENCOUCH
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mferriter
Occasionally trying to get work done
I like your use of fleece as a substrate for the fiberglass. It looks much more flexible and forgiving than trying to start out with the fiberglass....and this is the underside with the fleece stretched out.
A couple of coats of epoxy over this will firm things up enough to remove the excess fleece and begin layering the fiberglass cloth.
After 3 layers, the thickness will allow smoothing & blending to take place, after which time I can concentrate on other parts of the shell and add additional detail.
SnowAviation
Well-known member
Chiefblueman
Well-known member
Dencouch, anyone who would do something like this for their best 4 legged pal is alright in my book. Can't wait to see how it turns out with pooch installed. Be sure to post up a photo so I can show it to my Boston Terrier buddies, Deuce and Buster.
RedPorscheKilla
Well-known member
Hey Jmdaniel,
Glad we live like 2k miles apart, I almost did say, WTF, what's my bike doing in da sun? LOL, sun here in WA at this time is a rarity...yet like you, wife rides her own ride, so I've got me the smuggler and all the fancy goodies, much like your bike is having, I only have the ZR1 mirrors..... I found the smuggler a neat and handy add-on to the FeeJay, but also hefty in da price askin' ....
It was great to see a sister bike though!
Stay safe in Austin and elsewhere!
V
RPK
SeattleTy
LOVE 2 RIDE & RIDE 2 LOVE
Way to be creative, can't wait to see the finish product 
jmdaniel
Has A Well Known Member
You got me there! I was just thinking the other day, what can I do to make the center of gravity on this bike even higher, and you've beat me to it!
Well, my wife doesn't ride anything but the crash carts at the trauma center downtown, so motorcycle riding isn't on her agenda in any way, shape, or form. No worries, interests don't have to match, and the guy that comes in when I'm gone doesn't drink my beer! I picked up the Smuggler and Yamaha trunk here on the forum, used, but in great shape, for around $800 total, and I didn't think that was too bad. It gives me a lot of different combos I can go with, driven by where I am going, and for how long. Ride safe yourself, m'friend!
RedPorscheKilla
Well-known member
No worries JMDaniel, it was meant more to be on the lighter side. I got my Smuggler and the Yamaha Trunk off of eBay for about the same, turned out that SpeedyG here from WA and I been fighting for the smuggler on that bid, was too funny to find this out on our last meet. I ended up paying $485 smuggler and $350 for the trunk, which I found very fair compared to the retail asking, which is really a bust if you end up spending twice as much for it.
Take care
V
RPK
maddad
Well-known member
I've started the same type of thing. For a base however I picked up a used rear seat, stripped off the cover and foam and started with that. Have to get back to finishing it someday.
majicmaker
Well-known member
That's what I'd like to do. Just get a discarded rear seat and see what I can come up with. The possibilities are endless.
I still think this is one of the quick and nicest passenger seat smugglers around:
Nelson Rigg CL100
Nelson Rigg CL100
majicmaker
Well-known member
Looks Sweeeet Fred. Not a bad price either. Thanks for the info.
escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
Sorry to hijack Den's DIY post with that alternative, but not everyone will have the fiberglass sculpting skillz he has, and the Nelson Rigg option hasn't been talked about for a while. Mostly because that CL100 model has been discontinued for a while now, but if you search for it you may be able to find a used or NOS one around.
One note... I really wanted to do this on my 1st gen, but alas, the rear seat space is not large enough to allow the CL100 to be mounted down on the subframe rails this way. Only the second (and third) gens can play in this little reindeer game.
One note... I really wanted to do this on my 1st gen, but alas, the rear seat space is not large enough to allow the CL100 to be mounted down on the subframe rails this way. Only the second (and third) gens can play in this little reindeer game.
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I wonder how one of these would be accepted as a hard-shell... not as pretty as a Smuggler, but the form would fit the function (someone once said).
mferriter
Occasionally trying to get work done
I agree it's a cool idea. I don't think my border collie would like it, though. He's a little too big and has a hard time sitting still for more than 5 seconds or so.
escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
Can't think of a reason it wouldn't be accepted. Although it isn't as elegant as a Smuggler, sometimes function trumps form...as long as it's not TOO fugly.
--G
mferriter
Occasionally trying to get work done
Do you have any issues with water getting under the rear seat bag if you ride in the rain?I still think this is one of the quick and nicest passenger seat smugglers around:
Nelson Rigg CL100
mferriter
Occasionally trying to get work done
By the way, you could turn this into a "hard-bag" with a couple coats of epoxy.Do you have any issues with water getting under the rear seat bag if you ride in the rain?I still think this is one of the quick and nicest passenger seat smugglers around:
Nelson Rigg CL100
I do not actually have the Nelson Rigg bag. Wish I did, but as I mentioned earlier it won't work on a 1st gen due to the seat dimensions being different (that is a 2006 in the pictures).
But, I do not see why it would matter if water were to get underneath the bag where the rear seat usually is. It is not waterproof with the stock seat there, so anything you have under the seat should be weather resistant on its own.
I believe that the bag comes with a rain cover of some sort, which would be kind of a PITA to have to use every time it rained. If the bag were made of some kind of a fully waterproof fabric (marine grade vinyl) with waterproof zippers it would be better, but also likely quite a bit more expensive.
But, I do not see why it would matter if water were to get underneath the bag where the rear seat usually is. It is not waterproof with the stock seat there, so anything you have under the seat should be weather resistant on its own.
I believe that the bag comes with a rain cover of some sort, which would be kind of a PITA to have to use every time it rained. If the bag were made of some kind of a fully waterproof fabric (marine grade vinyl) with waterproof zippers it would be better, but also likely quite a bit more expensive.
