So I don't often post a new threat but you know what today I am! Reason... CRAP QUALITY CARBON FIBER, TAIL TIDY'S AND OTHER BLING YOU GET ONLINE!!!! Now I won't name any names but more and more I see these things and like today they drive me friken mad, some of the top brands I have here now are crap quality, a mix of carbon and fiberglass, holes that don't line up, does not even fit together! ITS there own stuff that does not key together too, what a joke!!! Grrrr! You know its got worse and worse to, more and more people ask me to fit this and that and I spend and age milling it, twisting it, drilling it and it still don't fit right! And people pay good money for it! Well (NO NAMES GIVEN) You are getting a pile of your over priced crap back from my customer, its a joke, I know what they will say "Oh no Sir, its not normmaly like that, we can send you some more crap that won't fit" Or they just won't bother to do anything.. Maybe this thread should be in the moan like hell section...
Fight the power! I agree mate and now that I think about it, I've had to modify quite a few parts recently just to get them to fit and operate properly. At least you know what you're doing though. What about folk who have no clue and just want to fit their shiny parts. Must be the most frustrating thing ever.
Quick example. Tail tidy... > Indicator hole wrong diameter, so had to drill it > Indicator bolts far too long, so sticking out too far and corroding > Anodising coming off, corroding underneath > No provision for wiring, so had to package up inside an old piece of neoprene This is supposed to TIDY my tail. May return it under trade descriptions act
Name and shame Arthur save some people wasting there money... If you paying peanuts then expect crap, if you paying top dollar then its not acceptable at all!
Mate I fell gutted about some of this stuff, if I had hair I'd pull it out, you know you piss about with it, drill it, file it, mill it, stick it and it still looks like sh@t! Look at this:- After ages messing around with it I finally got it mounted and then the bits of bake bean can they use to hold it onto the tank pop off......HAHAHAHAHAHA MAN it kills me!!! Im real fussy about this stuff and my OCD makes me want to KILL THEM! Im telling you I need to stop working with this crap!
I would do mate, but let me tell you what will happen:- They will say Oh no sorry about that let me send you some more FOC... SAME! Or they will somehow blame this bike being different to the other 90 million made! Or they will claim it was distorted in the post. Or they will say we have changed out normal supplier. Or they will blame me Mr Small Guy for not being able to undo a screw. Or they will say I damaged it and offer no refund. Or.....and so on...
Im so glad it isn't just me who's dismayed and pissed off with poor quality parts! Went to the science museum yesterday and the quality of the old engines and machinery is mind blowing...all these years later! Think Im getting old! Come on UK lets put quality before quantity, we used to!
I was going to post my favourite Ron Burgundy 'That escalated quickly' meme but thought, 'No, Arthur's too handy with a gun'... I've been fortunate with add ons I've fitted to my bikes over the years. MRA, Gilles, Brancato, all bit's that fit and look easily as good, if not better than originals. The worse alignment issues I ever had was faring hole alignment on my 750ss. Mind you, that was a factory one so I , sort of, expected it.
Its just so hit and miss, some of it for some bikes is ok, order the same brand for another like this RSV4Tuno and its CRAP!!! You say about MRA but even this MRA mounting kit is poor imo, cheap bent metal tags that mount the screen, tbh I have even gone off MRA screens of late, you know they give you a trim to mount to the sharp edge and some metal tags to hold it in place, if it was not just heat treated acrylic and it wad nice injection molded polished plastic it would not have the razor edge, but you know it does and for the money you'd think they would mount the flipping trim, but NO! The last few I have had have had marks etc, the answer they supply is "we sell a polish"....ha, whatever.. Hours of excess work to sort the customers bike for him.. Man, I'm done as the yanks say! ALL the carbon needed mods, about three top brands!!!! If it was not pissing it down I'd take it for a test ride and end my pain.......thank God for some good tunes on Planet Rock! (life: internet just crashed, cheesed me off, but I copied my post before I clicked post....lololol 1 UP!)
You raise a good point with those clips. I shat myself crimping the first one then wrapped the pliers in a flannel for the rest. I'd forgotten that because I was so happy with how the bolt holes lines up.
Ha, they are hard to get perfect for people who on have limited number of tools, like I say it sold as a first class product but still you have to build it yourself! You don't buy a bike or a car and have to fit your own wheels! Anyway my advice to people is same as I do, if its not 100% box it up and send it back, and DEMAND your postage back too under the remote sales of good act! Stuff them!
DEMAND BETTER CARBON!! DEMAND BETTER CARBON!!! DEMAND BETTER CARBON!! or sod the weight saving and have the OEM parts carbon dipped for the perfect fit
I know what you mean about crap quality. I bought for the blade a tail tidy from a very big and well known crash bung company. I removed it just under 18 months after as it was rusting or just under 3000k miles of riding. It was no cheap but the quality was not good and it did not last. Yes I would buy their crash bungs as they have saved my bike but thats about it from them for me
Is there anybody on here who has some conquest carbon items and is prepared to give their opinion on quality and fitment
It's the little things that count like, if the OE has holes for well nuts then the holes on the After Market should match, if it has retaining lugs then they should also match, size should be same and not blatantly been cast from a poor mould so is bigger! the clear coat if used should be even and not milky, glass fibre should not be used to make up strength so they can cut down on carbon cloth, cut up coke can is not suitable for retaining clips, sticking said clips to the carbon with glue will not last, holes should be in the right place, you can not easy move a hole! the carbon weave should be even and not pulled, the weave would be nice if it were lay in a direction that aesthetically suits the parts being made, carbon is stiff so hard to flex - consideration needs to be made for awkward to fit items that key into other parts. All of the above has been a problem for me this week. It's not all bad though as I have had some good stuff in the past from the likes of Ducati Performance (I know no use on a Honda), CM composites (Italy), Magical Racing and a good few others from Germany and Slovakia.
