If the 'carved foam' technique is to be used for the bodywork, as will happen next here, foam blocking can also be used to simplify sheet GRP fabrications. Here, a foam block has been glued to the upper and lower sheets that form the rear light mounts (Ford Ka units). Later GRP can be laid onto it to form a very strong box that would be difficult to make from sheets

When flat sheets of flat GRP or with right angled edges as seen below are not enough, several sheets can be joined together with resin and glass laid into the joins to 'weld' the assembly together.

The assembly needs to be held together firmly enough to maintain the right shape while the strips of glass are laid up, but in a way that will not intrude on the finished part.

Sheets of GRP are normally joined up with the 'good' surfaces (facing the table when laid up) outboard and the rough surface is used for the jointing layup. To avoid resin running onto the good surfaces, that may be finished surfaces, lay a strip of masking tape along the join.

The surfaces that are to be laid up onto MUST be cut back to 'Grey' with all cured surfaces (Glossy) cut away. This ensures a good bond when resin is laid "Wet on Dry". (Work "Wet on Wet" if possible) 40 or 60 grit "production paper" is normally used for this

Several pieces of GRP can be joined together using this technique

(if he can use my name, I can use his title)
F-Roads

From left to right;

Digital scales, the Sicomin Epoxy SR5550 resin mixes at 100grams to 29 grams, scales work to +- 1 gram, not good enough for cocaine but fine for resin. Scales live in a plastic bag to avoid resin contamination.

Release wax. Ensures clean release from table, or anything else you don't want the resin to stick to.

1 kilo pack of Sicomin SR5550 and the 5505 hardener. Goes off at 25 degrees C to touch dry in an hour.

Pair of good kitchen scissors to cut the cloth before and after curing. Double layers need sheet metal shears.

Some mountings are best done by right angled sections and these can be easily made using a right handled panel on the layup table. Table is ordinary 'melemine' worktop surface. These release very well, but an application of release wax also helps once they get a bit scratched. A corner radius was achieved using a strip of masking tape, this removes fairly easily after curing.

This includes any flat sections located by simple bolt holes like these side panel mounts (above the silencer) The line and arrow on this panel shows the maximum width of the bodywork, it's essential to establish symmetry at this stage.

Then the individual fasteners can be cut out of the sheet and bolted to the locations on the bike already prepared

A cone cutter and a tap will clean out the mounting holes (M8)

It saves a lot of time to bond all the 'Big Head' fasteners into some sheet in one go

This is my second Cmax conversion on roll-out from workshop to bodyshop. The gold-coloured 'Big head' bonding fasteners can be seen in various places, ready for the first pieces of bodywork to be bonded on.

Lane splitting is no problem on the MP3 TTW. Photo of Blez driving shot from the pillion seat by Bernard Zieja. 2007

The front wheels of Piaggio's MP3 are only 420mm (16.5inches) apart, so lane-splitting like a conventional bike or scooter is no problem. Pic of Blez in West London by Bernard Zieja, 2007.

You'd have to be fairly bold to put a heavy two wheeled scooter into a full bore drift like this. On the MP3, it seems less bold.
Pic of Blez by Bernard Zieja, 2007