1/10/12 Back in the Saddle

The bike is back together. I rode a good few miles this weekend, and it was great to have the wind in my helmet again. I still have some little odds and ends to take care of, though. I ordered some new bar end mirrors. I also ordered some Delrin stock to make a new frame slider for the right side. I still need to extend the speedo pickup and trim the rear fender, but the bike is alive and well.

I also found out from the company I ordered my struts from that they will  be delayed an additional week or so, which is frustrating. I ordered from them because they were 25 bucks cheaper than everyone else. I guess I learned my lesson...

In order to keep working, I went on a bit of a shopping spree! Luckily, I am ordering only from my paypal account, which is funded by the sale of old parts, so I don't have to feel bad about it!

I want to get the interior put together while I wait. Now that the frame rails are welded and the floors are painted, I can move forward with this. There are two things I want to reduce in my car, road noise and heat. I don't mind having a loud car, but exhaust noise is very different than the drone of road noise. To kill the noise, you, unfortunately, need to add weight. This weight keeps the sheetmetal from vibrating and transmitting the noise into the cabin.

To kill heat from the engine, you need an insulating material between you and the heat source. Often these two tasks are combined into one product, which either doesn't deaden noise well, or adds excessive weight. I will be using two products together to get the desired effect without adding too much weight.

For noise, I chose to go with Fatmat, mainly because the price was right, and because it was an automotive-oriented product, it shouldn't give off the smell that some of the other budget solutions do.

For heat, I went with EZ Cool because it is quite cheap, VERY light and has proven results as a heat barrier. 

At 2lbs a roll I don't have to feel bad about putting this everywhere, and because it has some sound deadening properties, I can go lighter on the Fatmat in areas that are of somewhat less importance, saving weight. Both of these products are intended for automotive use and will not retain water, though  the POR-15 should protect me from that anyway.

On top of that I'll lay some standard Home depot carpet padding and carpet. This should provide me with a low cost, reasonably low weight solution for the NVH in my car. 

-W.W. SBSS