Need Help!- Cutting molded carbon fiber

[alec]

Hello all. I've got a question on cutting carbon fiber that has already been hardened. It's made with epoxy resin.

This is for a motorbike and I have bought the race version of these fairings. Meaning, they have no headlight cutout. However, I've decided to use these on the street and I need to have a cutout for my headlights.

What would be the best way to cut out the holes needed for the headlights? Dremel and then sand the edges out?

The one on the left is the Race version the other one is the street version

[Unabiker]

Dremel with a diamond coated bit cutting close to a trim line, then Dremel with a sanding drum to finish out to the trim line.
Be sure to use a shop vac or something to suck up the dust, wear long sleeves, and rubber gloves to help avoid getting the dust on your skin and a respirator to keep it out of your lungs.

[alec]

Thanks for the reply! Any idea on how to get the best cutout line? I have an oem fairing that is exactly like this if that helps. This is $800 and I don't want to mess it up haha!

[JerryFlyGuy]

There are two types of diamond bits for the dremels. Both should work equally well but for different cuts. One is a diamond wheel which works great for long straight cuts and the other is a diamond coated rotary bit for neat yet tight and curvy cuts.

I would take your old fairing and tape some heavy paper over the light and opening, then trace out the profile and get some measurements [if at all possible] as the the placement of the paper placement on the orgininal. Then transfer this paper to the new unit and make the first cut inside the profile by whatever you feel comfortable w/ [1/4 at the least I'd think..] rough trim to this line and then with lots of patience and test fitting, work outward w/ the opening until it fits.. there's no short fast way to do it unless you have some automated multi axis robot [which is unlikely ] Measure 1000 times if you have to, 'cause you only get to cut once.. any fool can cut it twice and the hole will still be too big.. it takes patience to get it right w/out messing up the part

Are you going to need some form of a light 'well' or something in behind the fairing to mount the light? or does it mount to the frame?

Good luck!

[alec]

Thanks for the reply Jerry! Your way seem very smart, I will try that for sure. I'm going to try and cut it as close as I can because when I take this thing to the track I need it's headlights to be covered.

No I won't need to mount anything on the CF, the headlights are attached to the top of the cluster gauge. I just need the cutout so I can have headlights. There are little mounting holes on the oem fairing but they just hold wires and etc. nothing a ziptie can't do!

[Unabiker]

Similar to what Jerry said, for a job like this, I usualy use a file folder to trace a pattern using the fairing with the cutouts. Then I would take several measurements to ensure that I located the pattern in the correct position on the race fairing. Using a sharp scribe, I would scribe myself a line around the pattern to cut to.
For the diamond bits, I've had good luck using the cheapass Harbor Freight bits. There are like 20 different ones in a box for $5.00 or so. They are all about 1/8" dia.
There is no fast way to do something like this well. Take your time, make a good pattern and take gentle cuts. It will help if you've got the headlight to offer up behind the fairing so that you can judge the gap between your cutout and the light. If you should cut a bit too far, you can hide it by making the gap even all the way around the light. A white or yellow paint pen can be very helpful for marking areas where a little more material needs to be removed. Small repairs can be made by mixing some of the grinding dust with super glue or epoxy.

[svenakela]

Hmm... Kawasaki ZX.
I cut fairings with a standard Dremel cutter disc, sometimes with water as coolant to keep the epoxy temp down.

[alec]

Good to know! Thanks for the info!

^^wow you know your bike makers. Yep it's a 2006 Kawasaki zx6r