bodywork??? which do u prefer

[Lowe119]

I wish I would've asked before I bought my first bodywork. I looked at Sharkskinz and they were too expensive. I ended up buying from another company and asked them "How crash-resistant is your fiberglass?"

They replied "All fiberglass will break if you drop it."

I should've hung up and found a company with better answers.  :-[

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Hotbodies is made from malformed, aborted eggshells.  It shatteres if the guy in the next pit has a backfire, and it fits like it was made for another bike.  I HATE that stuff, and I'll never buy it again.

[spyderchick]

Hotbodies is made from malformed, aborted eggshells.  It shatteres if the guy in the next pit has a backfire, and it fits like it was made for another bike.  I HATE that stuff, and I'll never buy it again.

C.mon Chris, don't hold back. Tell us what you REALLY think.  ::)

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

     I have used Sharkskins, Air Tech, & Air Tech greyline (made in Mexico). The Sharkskins bodywork was nice and survived well for me, but it is more expensive. The Airtech stuff seems to be a bit breakable and I wasn't too thrilled with their gel coat constantly chipping and spider webbing. The Air Tech stuff did fit well for me, but it's not drilled and a number of the screw pockets in the bodywork have been slightly deformed and interfered with the screw heads.

[Zac]

I have used Sharkskinz, Armour Bodies, Hot Bodies, and Beasley.

Sharkskins -  Has always had a wonderful surface prep, fits great, and is very light and flexible.  I haven't crashed it.  It is also very expensive, so I've only used it on bikes where I didn't have a bargin basement choice (Duc 750SS and TZ250).

Armour Bodies - Very similar to Sharkshinz for surface prep, fit, and flexibility, thought maybe a little heavier.  Crashes and repairs well, though I did completely destroy a tail section when the bike landed upside down after a flight through the air.  I bought it after reading the article in RRW, and wasn't disappointed.

Hot Bodies - The quality has improved over the last few years, but you still get what you pay for.  Fit isn't perfect, but acceptable with a little work.  The primer is really thin and pinholes are a problem, this can be fixed with some time and glazing putty, or just don't worry about it because it's a race bike and it won't stay pretty for long.  Has some stupid looking features, like the "taillights" molded in on the first gen R6.  Haven't crashed it.  In-stock availability and price would probably tempt me to buy again.

Beasley - The only company (at least in North America) making bodywork for the MZ Skorpion.  Fit was good.  Has a thick gel coat (I fixed some surfce imperfections, this was back when I cared about nice looking bodywork).  Pretty stiff and thick.  Has crashed well, but the MZ is generally kind to it's bodywork, and has repaired very well.

-z.

[rotoboge]

Late post, but I'll say it anyways...

Sharkskins are the way to go! I have had both Hotbodies and Godfather bodywork, you can not imagine the difference between those and the Sharkskins. Plus, Hotbodies are nortorious for not delivering on time! A few bucks more gives you quality bodywork for your baby... ;)