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Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:37 pm
by Zx250r
Read some reviews, seem to be all over the place. Anyone have a recent reviews or want to sell theirs?

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:48 pm
by JonW
Hondaror is your man...

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:18 pm
by Questo vecchio rz
Just do a search here, you will find out everything you need to know, likley posted from me...lol
I have two sets ( no not selling). Unless I buy a RS250 :smt005
Fact: Airtech is NOT High quality in the nature if quality durability, mainly due to their gelcoat, it does crack n spiderweb..so be warned that if your looking for OEM quality paint and durability/longevity..it will NOT work..but I have Sharkskinz fiberglass in my GSXR, and it gas stress cracks too.
But Airtech is the only mmaker of race replica bodywork for the RZ, it is what it is...fiberglass. it's lightweight and if you expect it to be like race body work, you should be happy.

Nuff said.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:00 pm
by JonW
I wonder why Airtech doesnt use a better gel coat as it sounds like the stuff they use is quite brittle, nothing more modern out there? Rory, do you know?

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:15 pm
by RuZty
Why even use gelcoat? All it does is add colour (in this case white) and allow you to use it without paint. It adds weight in the name of appearance, but not strength. I can only see the point on a boat hull or something that you'll never paint.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:10 am
by evan_calgary
Why use a gelcoat? It cuts down on material costs, reduces bubbles and adds a better final texture to the part. Not to mention if you intend to do any finishing sanding you would not want to be doing so on fabric. Its really the proper way to finish a composite and actually uses a higher cost material so really it is a higher quality part.

If airtech would use some vinyl ester or less chop strand glass things would be better but of course also cost more.

I've been through the kit before. Above opinions are correct. Airtech is up front in that they sell race glass. It fits but with poor bodylines which would be of no care on the racetrack.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:34 pm
by kpke
I have sold off both RZ500 and RZ350 Airtech bodywork sets.

As said above, they are lightweight race bodywork pieces that will spider crack.

Not showy unless you really know your stuff and are able to rework it, strengthen it, etc.

I think it was jzanutto (RIP) that had put a reworked set on his 350 and it looked beautiful.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:50 pm
by evan_calgary
I also did a full rework on a set (they came damaged second hand) to make them fit properly. Panel gaps were fixed. See my white/Red Marlboro bike. It was a huge amount of work.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:27 pm
by Zx250r
Someone mentioned they requested additional layers or thicker bodywork. Is this worth it?

Also someone mentioned fitting tz250 fairings.

I'm just looking for a full fairing look without square/Cafe style.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:54 pm
by RuZty
evan_calgary wrote:Why use a gelcoat? It cuts down on material costs, reduces bubbles and adds a better final texture to the part. Not to mention if you intend to do any finishing sanding you would not want to be doing so on fabric. Its really the proper way to finish a composite and actually uses a higher cost material so really it is a higher quality part.
It didn't occur to me when I typed that, because my composite experience is with carbon, but the gelcoat makes up for a problem that vacuum bagging eliminates. If you have a good mold finish you will have a good part finish. Gelcoat is probably a lot cheaper than vac bagging, which will produce a higher quality part.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:56 am
by evan_calgary
Ruzty, you are correct that when you get to vac bagging and vac infusion the hand layup and chop gun methods would be the 'cheap' and old school way of doing things. Vac bagging improves the fabric to resin ratios and vac infusion does even further. Of course you will need to use a lot of higher cost materials for infusion (less mat) and the vac bagging will take much more time especially with that complex a mold shape. Weight could be substantially improved as well with bagging. Gel coat is definitely the easiest way to avoid bubbles in the finish. Even with a vac bag I find it hard to eliminate all bubbles in the final surface. Wish I had more composite experience myself.

Essentially ANY fiberglass fairing with get cracks if there is any tension on the parts. Ensuring there is none will majorly reduce the risk of spider web cracks. I had zero on my YZR stuff.


If you are looking for full fairing the YZR stuff is about as good as you will get for the cost. The TZ stuff will require some custom fitting and look a little more home built. Suspect cost is about the same. Obviously TZ bodywork is meant for the racetrack so you end up with the same problems. Would be nice if Tyga would sell some RZ bodywork but market likely isn't there.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:49 pm
by RuZty
I've got an Airtech YZR tail that I bought about 15 years ago, and also have their solo cowl from Rory. Both of them met my expectations for the price, with their detail shortcomings accepted for a custom product. I'd rather have that than something built like a boat hull that weighs a ton. I recently acquired a quality vacuum pump, so maybe I'll get back into it. I've never tried infusion, only pre-preg, but it seems like an affordable alternative. I do have a neighbour with a large oven he uses for powder coating, so who knows....

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 4:58 am
by RC45
I have actual bits and pieces of real YZR body work from the early 80's and early 90's. In kevlar and fiberglass. Both have a gelcoat-like surface finish and as they age, both types seem prone to cracking around mount points just like real original factory TZ bodywork (of which I also have a couple sets) - which is not surprising as the bodywork was only intended to last for the race season at most :)

It appears Airetch bodywork is actually closer to the real McCoy than folks care to admit :) I have always been 100% satisfied with what I got, appreciating that it is race bodywork. You can ask for an extra layer if you want some extra strength for not a lot of extra weight - folks just need to be realistic - it is sold as race bodywork :)

That being said, I am building a pucka World Superbike out of a 2017 CBR1000RR SP2 and I recently took delivery of some HRC Endurance patterned race bodywork from Cleverwolf out of Japan.

Hands down the best race bodywork I have ever seen. Not only are all the parts properly and well made, with kevlar reinforcing around all mount points, panels align, all edges have a radius finished lip, all the hols were pre-drilled, (screen and top fairing included) Dzus fasteners pre-mounted and the bodywork fits perfectly - right out of the box.

The point being that is possible to have presentation quality race bodywork, the manufacturer just has to take the time to do it right.

Hopefully at some point a good manufacturer will see fit to make some really good YZR500 style bodywork - the big question will be whether people will be prepared to pay for such quality.

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 11:06 am
by evan_calgary
Random. RC45 pops his head in on this discussion.

No one will make a really good YZR500 style bodywork for the 350. There is no money to be made. I certainly would not with the limited market. Airtech really is good stuff when you consider the amount of labor and materials that go into it. Not to mention they had to get good quality molds made.

As I said, if there is any stress you will get cracks. That's the case with literally any composite as it ages. They have to be rubber mounted and just suspended in place to avoid cracks or thick as a boat anchor.

Ruzty: Where did you find prepreg? I always wanted to mess around with some of that but did not know of an autoclave I could use!

Re: Airtech rz350 yzr go bodywork

Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2018 3:25 pm
by RC45
evan_calgary wrote:Random. RC45 pops his head in on this discussion.

No one will make a really good YZR500 style bodywork for the 350. There is no money to be made. I certainly would not with the limited market. Airtech really is good stuff when you consider the amount of labor and materials that go into it. Not to mention they had to get good quality molds made.

As I said, if there is any stress you will get cracks. That's the case with literally any composite as it ages. They have to be rubber mounted and just suspended in place to avoid cracks or thick as a boat anchor.

Ruzty: Where did you find prepreg? I always wanted to mess around with some of that but did not know of an autoclave I could use!
It is good stuff - I have yet to get any Airtech I was not satisfied with. TZ250, RS250, TZ500 & TZ750, YZR500, NS400 - I have bought and used as is or modified many of their fairings over the years - all have been perfectly suited to task.

In a way I think the RZ350 crowd is a little spoiled as Airtech/Dutch is the only outfit that took the time to put together an RZ350 target-ted YZR500 setup.

(random turns into conversation LOL ;))