A custom toolbox cover for a daily-commuter motorbike — replacing a part that was never there

Olivier bought his motorbike two years ago without one of the OEM parts: the small toolbox cover that sits behind the rear suspension and protects the under-seat tool compartment. The OEM cover is the kind of part that's almost impossible to source after a few model years — manufacturers stop carrying spares, and even when listed they're often back-ordered indefinitely or only available through a dealer at a price that doesn't match a £30 plastic moulding.

The bike is in daily commuter use — the missing cover meant exposure for the toolbox compartment and a permanently unfinished feel to a part of the bike that should be invisible.

Olivier did the CAD work himself, drafting a parametric STEP model of the cover from measurements of the original mounting points. He sent us the file, picked the material, and we printed it.

The material call was the smart part of the brief. ASA is the right plastic for outdoor automotive use — UV-stable, weather-resistant, and won't go brittle in summer sun like PLA or yellowing like ABS. For a part that lives outside on a daily-driver bike, ASA is the answer; FDM in the right material is a far better long-term solution than the OEM cover would have been.

Printed in black, medium quality, single part, total £18.81 inc. dispatch.

Cover received, fitted to the bike, and now in daily use — closing out a two-year-old missing-part problem for less than the price of an OEM dealer enquiry.

A clean illustration of the case for 3D printing on functional motorbike parts: when the OEM doesn't sell it any more (or never did at a sensible price), and when the customer can do the CAD themselves, the workflow becomes "send the file, pick the material, print, fit." ASA in particular is under-used for this kind of weather-exposed part — most home printers default to PLA, which doesn't survive a UK summer dashboard let alone a swingarm.