GENERAL CARBON FIBER FAQs

Q: What is carbon fiber and how is it made?

A: Carbon fiber is a polymer which is a form of a graphite. Graphite is a form of pure carbon. Hence carbon fiber is literally a fiber made of carbon. The most common raw material (precursor) of carbon fiber is polyacrylonitrile. Precursors go through several processes than include stretching, oxidation to raise melting temperature and carbonization in high temperature furnaces that vaporize about 50 percent of the material, making it nearly 100 percent carbon.

 

Q: What are the key advantages of carbon fiber?

A: Carbon fiber is 5 times lighter than steel but 10 times stronger than steel. Carbon fiber is much tougher than steel and plastic and has longer life and wear and abrasion resistance. Unlike steel, carbon fiber is highly resistant to oxidation and non-corrosive. Carbon fiber can be easily molded in complex and intricate shapes, high fatigue resistance and high stiffness.

 

Q: How do carbon fiber components affect the ride quality and handling?

A: Carbon fiber has excellent strength to weight ratio which provides ample scope to designers to reduce the total weight of the motorcycle resulting in improvement of the overall handling of the motorcycle. Carbon fiber also has excellent vibration damping which results in lower vibrations and noise, improving the overall feel and ride quality of the motorcycle.

 

Q: How does carbon fiber improves the look of motorcycle?

A: Carbon fiber components have excellent fit and finish and they have high wear and abrasion resistance. Hence they maintain the original look and finish for a much longer period of time in comparison to steel and plastic stock components. Carbon fiber is non-corrosive unlike steel components.

 

Q: Why is carbon fiber safer than steel or plastic?

A: Carbon fiber has high heat tolerances and resistance and has flexible thermal and electrical properties. Carbon fiber components are non-flammable and can be deployed in areas prone to high heat, flames and sparks. Carbon fiber absorbs impact energy by repeated failure of the material whereby the composite structure is broken into tiny pieces when accidental crash occurs. Structure can be designed to dissipate and re-direct the crash forces making it safer for the driver, passenger and pedestrian.

 

Q: How is the future of carbon fiber motorcycle components?

A: Carbon fiber is widely used in Formula1 cars, aircrafts, aerospace, sports equipment, marine application, etc. Carbon fiber is also commonly used in motorcycle components like headlight surrounds, fenders, fuel tank covers, fairings, chain covers, etc. However, companies like BMW and Ducati have introduced motorcycles with carbon fiber chassis and the steel bastion in frames and chassis has finally been intruded by carbon fiber. With numerous benefits of carbon fiber and continuous research and developments, the future looks exciting for more practical applications in motorcycle components.