Just been for a unscheduled trip down the tarmac. It was relatively low speed so I got away with bruises but my 748E has a somewhat battered LHS fairing and cracked headlight fairing. The indicators, mirror etc can be got hold of easily but the bike has the 998 style fairing which is not so common so I'm looking for any recommendations for a fairing repair/respray shop (preferably as close to Portsmouth/Hampshire as possible).
Thank you, that's really useful information (and recommendation) - just what I was looking for ! I'll certainly check them out - maybe send some photos to see if they can give me a rough quote. Cheers
If they are weldable then it's quite an easy job but as mentioned it does take time. I have successfully welded a number of fairings both 748 early type and the later 998 style. I use a Sealey plastic welding kit and if you can do it yourself you might find it cheaper to do it and then have it painted by a professional. Do you have any photos of the damage? Most things are possible with Ducati fairings I even filled a hole in on one using a patch which I let in where it had been ground away on the clutch side to the point where it had totally worn away to nothing.
Here's some photos; I'm sure the headlight fairing can be fairly easily repaired and resprayed but having no experience, it's not something I'd wish to try myself. Is the bottom side repairable or do you think it would be too costly? The top side decal is something I can't seem to source, which might hamper a complete respray of that panel - unless any forum members can help (silver decal for 2002 748)? ;
The side panel doesn't look too bad and looks typical of the sort of damage you get when the bike pirouettes as it slides down the road. The fairing would clearly be harder to do but it certainly looks possible. I have seen worse, just!. If the fairing is not under any strain when fitted back after repair it should hold, after welding you can sometimes get a crack along the outline of the repair when slight shrinkage sets in. Later Ducati fairings did actually have quite decent plastic The fairing will need a complete respray and I doubt you would get away without doing the whole sidepanel as it looks from the photo that the lacquer at least is scratched around the decal and blowing it in would be difficult if the scratches are deep or you have dirt or grit marks in them. Have you checked to see if the decals are available they should be as you can certainly get them for older models. Failing that you could get some made up, the 748 font looks like the same font as used on the 998\S models, if it is I had some made up in black a few years back to complete a refinish on my own bike. You can see a photo in my gallery that shows the decals on the panels. Is it a 748E? I hope this helps.
i was suprised how cheap the oe ducati stickers were for mine when i had all the stone chips sorted. think they worked out about 18 quid for a pair posted from neil @ cornerspeed.
I'd thought that the hole in the side panel would be a greater problem than the cracked fairing - I'll get a quote and see whether a repair is the best way to go. As far as the decals go, I hadn't thought about checking the availability of OEM stickers, I'd assumed they wouldn't be available - I'll ring around. Cheers all for the advice.
The hole should be fine I have repaired bigger holes than the ones you have by stitching in a new piece of plastic. I either use an old piece of fairing from a damaged bike from the same area or cut a piece from an old scooter side panel that I kept for the job as the thickness is about the same. Whatever happens it will need some filler on the repair or use of spray putty to get the gouges and marks out of the whole of the panel.
Agree with Red998. It looks all perfectly repairable. Ive repaired quite a few bikes fairing in the past. I dont have a proper plastic welding kit, so I use an old braising iron. Like a soldier iron but with a much wider tip - its like 10->12mm wide. I use this to melt the plastic on the inside and melt the crack together again. Its worked for me on loads of things, including car bumpers. Paint wise, i usually use rattle cans, but professionally made up ones by a local paint supplier. They can match the paint exactly and supply it either in a tin for compressor use, or a rattle can with a decent nozzle on it. I resprayed the whole nose cone on my 748 when I had that and you couldnt tell the difference between the paint finish compared to the side panels. As long as you take your time you can get a decent result.
