Vinyl Wrap

[Ranger06]

Holy Hell.

Those of you who have done the black wrap on the forks must have had the patience of a saint...impressive work.  I must have struggled with that madness for hours last night.  Looks decent...from about a block away, but I think it has to go.  Maybe I'll post a picture a little later if I can find an angle that isn't too embarassing.  Has anyone tried anything else, like a thin carbon fiber sheet wrapped around the fork tubes?  How about a black Cordura cover that velcros around the tube?  Hockey tape or header wrap? 

[Mojo S2R]

I used athletic tape and liked how it came out.  I am currently looking at a CF alternative.

[Rameses]

Pompetta and I were discussing heat shrink tubing that you use for insulating wiring jobs.

Anybody know how big that stuff comes?

[ducpainter]

Pompetta and I were discussing heat shrink tubing that you use for insulating wiring jobs.

Anybody know how big that stuff comes?

http://www.buyheatshrink.com/heatshrinktubing/index.htm

it comes in every size and color imaginable.

[Rameses]

http://www.buyheatshrink.com/heatshrinktubing/index.htm

it comes in every size and color imaginable.

At $4.85 for a 1 foot section of 3" tubing, I'd say it'd be worth giving that stuff a shot.

[ducpainter]

At $4.85 for a 1 foot section of 3" tubing, I'd say it'd be worth giving that stuff a shot.

Yeah, 3" in the 2:1 shrink rate would work.

The stuff is waaay thicker than vinyl though. You might need to wedge the triples open to get the legs in.

[Ranger06]

I'm game.  Gives me an excuse to buy a front stand too. 

Anyone in the market for some black vinyl?

It's...really easy to put on 

[Rameses]

Yeah, 3" in the 2:1 shrink rate would work.

The stuff is waaay thicker than vinyl though. You might need to wedge the triples open to get the legs in.

I'd still do it the same way I did my vinyl.  (Meaning wrap it up tight to the triples, don't try to put the triples over the wrap.)

Starting with the forks on the bike and everything assembled, measure the amount of fork tube showing above the top triple.

Take the top triple off and then drop the fork off the bike.

Pull the forks out of the bottom triple, slide the bottom pieces of heat shrink tubing on, and then put the forks back in the bottom triple.

Put the fork back on the bike and put the top triple back on.  Get the height of the forks set based on the measurement you took before you took off the top triple.

Tighten everything down and then slide the bottom heat shrink tubes up and shrink them down onto the forks.

Now take the top triple back off and drop the sections of heat shrink tubing on to cover the forks between the triples and shrink it on.

Measure the height of the top triple.  Add this dimension to the amount of fork that was showing above the top triple.

Cut the heat shrink tubing off that far down from the top of the fork and then re-install the top triple.

[Ranger06]

How about if you lifted the front of the bike.  Disassembled the front wheel and brakes, then slid a piece of tubing up the fork flush to the lower triple.  Shrink it, then trim it flush on the bottom.  Reassemble everything.  Take the top triple off, drop a piece of tubing down the top of the fork, shrink it, then trim off the excess (so it's flush with the top triple), reinstall top triple.  Sounds easy enough...then again, so did wrapping a little sticky plastic around the forks.

Rameses, how did your vinyl job turn out?  Were you able to get it on smooth or are there wrinkles and bubbles?  I am going to have my wife sew up some of this cordura tonight and see how that stuff looks.

I think heat shrink could be the way to go though.  Do you have a heat gun?  Is there any other way to shrink that stuff?  When I use it on wires, a lighter works fine.  a 2" diameter piece may be too much for a lighter.

[ducpainter]

That makes sense.

I wonder what the UV stability of that product is?

Paging Dave.....

How about if you lifted the front of the bike.  Disassembled the front wheel and brakes, then slid a piece of tubing up the fork flush to the lower triple.  Shrink it, then trim it flush on the bottom.  Reassemble everything.  Take the top triple off, drop a piece of tubing down the top of the fork, shrink it, then trim off the excess (so it's flush with the top triple), reinstall top triple.  Sounds easy enough...then again, so did wrapping a little sticky plastic around the forks.

Rameses, how did your vinyl job turn out?  Were you able to get it on smooth or are there wrinkles and bubbles?  I am going to have my wife sew up some of this cordura tonight and see how that stuff looks.

I think heat shrink could be the way to go though.  Do you have a heat gun?  Is there any other way to shrink that stuff?  When I use it on wires, a lighter works fine.  a 2" diameter piece may be too much for a lighter.

How are you going to get the heat shrink over the caliper mounts?

[Rameses]

How about if you lifted the front of the bike.  Disassembled the front wheel and brakes, then slid a piece of tubing up the fork flush to the lower triple.  Shrink it, then trim it flush on the bottom.  Reassemble everything.  Take the top triple off, drop a piece of tubing down the top of the fork, shrink it, then trim off the excess (so it's flush with the top triple), reinstall top triple.  Sounds easy enough...then again, so did wrapping a little sticky plastic around the forks.

Rameses, how did your vinyl job turn out?  Were you able to get it on smooth or are there wrinkles and bubbles?  I am going to have my wife sew up some of this cordura tonight and see how that stuff looks.

I think heat shrink could be the way to go though.  Do you have a heat gun?  Is there any other way to shrink that stuff?  When I use it on wires, a lighter works fine.  a 2" diameter piece may be too much for a lighter.

DP beat me to it.  You're not going to get the tubing to fit over the fork lowers.

And yeah, a heat gun is the way to go with it.

Rameses, how did your vinyl job turn out?  Were you able to get it on smooth or are there wrinkles and bubbles?

[Ranger06]

Ya, that looks sharp, good job. 

Fork lowers...shows how many times I've had my forks off.  I'm gonna order the stuff and take the plunge.

[ducpainter]

At $4.85 for a 1 foot section of 3" tubing, I'd say it'd be worth giving that stuff a shot.

After poking around on their site they have a $25 min order.

[DucHead]

Heat shrink is an interesting idea, but it shrinks in every direction, so once you get it snug against that triple and heat it, it will move away from the triple leaving a gap.      Maybe.

[NAKID]

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