Harley Dash Panel ???

[William Hutchinson]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/IMG_0275.jpg

I received a request to build a wooden dash panel for a Harley motorcycle. The client wants dark sides with a lighter contrasting face. I didn’t accept the project but said I’d study the feasibility of building something to withstand the elements while under constant vibration.

My first thought is to laminate the sides to a form. The face would be relatively simple, except in the areas of instrument mounting.

I’d be appreciative of any suggestions from anyone experienced with this type of project.

Thanks.


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/IMG_0272.jpg http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/IMG_0273.jpg

[Bruce Page]

William, unless the bike is going to be sitting indoors as a museum piece I don’t think it would be feasible. I don’t think there is a finish that would be both fine enough to look good and durable enough to withstand the elements. And that's after you figure out how to make the darned thing.

[Martin King]

Why not? It's no different than making boat parts in wood. I'd definitely
vacuum bag the lams to a form. For a finish you could do 8-10 build coats
with a varnish that has a UV inhibitor followed by topcoating with a clear
linear polyurethane such as Sterling or Awlgrip. I think the results could
be pretty cool considering you'd be using a material not usually associated
with custom bikes, i.e. wood.

Martin

[Jamie Buxton]

My first impulse is to avoid putting wood outside. However, I'll bet that this Harley is babied. An owner who wants a wood dash doesn't just leave it out in the weather. It probably goes outside only when the weather is gorgeous. Under that usage, I'd be okay with wood outside.

You might use some flashy light-colored veneer -- like fiddleback maple or maple burl -- for the face. You could use darker wood for the sides, or paint.

I'd probably use spar varnish for the finish. However, spar is pretty dark for varnishes, so be prepared for maple to appear darker under it. I'd use satin sheen. Gloss will make fingerprints and scratches too obvious.

[Don Bullock]

Martin has a great idea for finishing and I like Jamie's choice of wood for the face. Perhaps go with a dark walnut for the sides rather than paint.

My concern is how thin the metal of the chrome "dash" is. Making something that thin in wood that would be strong enough to stand up under the conditions necessary, even if the Harley is babied, seems impossible to me unless the veneer was attached to a base if some other material like plexiglass. The only way that wood could be used is if it could be thicker. Here's a link to a similar wood Harley dash: http://thumb14.webshots.net/t/59/759/7/24/32/2263724320027396834shuRPp_th.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2263724320027396834shuRPp). Click on picture to make it bigger.

It looks like 3/4 or 4/4 solid wood was used in this one. I think solid wood would hold up better than veneer.

[Richard Wolf]

I think this is a great project. This could be a great new line of products for you. Just talk to the boat builders. Not many guys riding Harleys in conditions more extreme than boats.

Richard

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd bet you don't have to make the wood dash as thin as the metal one is. You can probably make the wood 3/4" thick in most places, or at least 1/2". There might be a few spots where you need to relieve the wood a bit to avoid some internal structure, but otherwise you can leave it thick. You should get a look at the tank the metal one goes on.

I'd varnish the interior, too. This will help keep water out of the wood, and maybe spilled gasoline too.

[Martin King]

The first thing I would do is build a bending form out of scrap wood
or mdf to build the sides. The next thing would be to figure out
how thin the lams have to be to take the curvature. I'm guessing
1/16" or so. The inner and outer skins should have the grain oriented
longitudinally or in boatspeak, fore and aft. The inner layers would
have the grain oriented diagonally at 45 degrees, opposite each other.
These lams would be vacuum bagged in epoxy to the form. The resulting
thickness of the sides would probably end up being around 5/16-1/4"
and be extremly stiff and strong-certainly strong enough to sit
on a gas tank. Doing the top is simply straightforward woodworking
you could do it out of solid but I would probably laminate that as well.
I would coat the inside with epoxy and coat the exterior with the finish
schedule I outlined in my previous post. Bright finished wood is done
everyday on boats and has to live in the harsh marine environment. I
would have no qualms about having some aboard a pampered
motorcycle.
Martin

[Dewey Torres]

Don't forget to consider teak as a wood choice (not mentioned here yet).