Bill I hadnt any clue about any of this,I myself thought that these would be fair game since it's been years since any have been made.I don't know what the legality is of your rights to the lid,if their is a patent etc,but since I now know about your investment in them I will not lend mine out to be copied

I agree with Bill.

He has made an investment to produce these lids and has not just given up on them as many have thought. He has tried to get them made.

For the same reason this thread was started, I would still like to purchase one for my pilot.

Bill,
Some had made suggestions about the lids for more storage and a water leaking issue earlier in this thread. Maybe they can be approved upon when you start to produce them again? Let me know when they are ready. I'll take one!

Cheers, Curtis


Edit: I think it would really open up your market for them if they could be adapted for the FL350 as well. Just a thought.

Hey Bill.. since you say you are starting to produce these again, can you give us an approximate ETA on when the first lid will be available for sale ??

Hello Bill.. ---- ????

Hello Bill.. ----- ????

Something tells me Bill will not be a frequent flyer on this site. Hope I'm wrong. He could probably teach me a few things.

Yeah that's what I was thinking as well and it is the reason I am poking him a bit.
He seemed upset in the comments he posted here.
I understand why he may have some hard feelings because if you feel someone "stole" or "pirated" something you feel is yours then I think we would all be bitter about it.
The question I have with this roof lid thing is that if you have a great product that everyone seems to want, but then you don't supply, why are you mad when someone else decides to make their own ??
He just disappeared from this site one day (I don't know why), it was before my time here.
If I had something I thought I could make a killing at I would be all over it.
Not trying to bad mouth the guy because he does have a point.
Just my opinion.

I agree with what you are saying. I bet the lids are harder to make than a guy might think. I know Bill has had the mold for many years. I also believe he had some health issues (I do not know for sure). I know I spoke to him on the phone I believe and he is a standup guy. I think I even sent him a couple bucks to help offset the expense. not sure it has been along time ago. I hope he comes through with a product.

That’s why I figured it was free game if someone wanted to make these,I mean Bill hasnt posted in 7 years! His last post in 2012 he was still working on them so.......

unless he has a patent on the lid, I don't see any reason why it can't be reproduced by someone else. if he hasn't posted in 7 years chances are he's not going to get around to doing these.

here an idea

anyone with some CAD experience and a 3D printer might be able to produce something similar. you can make just about anything with a 3D printer

I have an entire folder dedicated to vacuum forming.
I did at one time know all about HIPS, Styrene, ABS blah blah.
I was actually gona make a roof lid compartment similar to the one we are talking about here but it would not have a hinge. I was also going to make a storage compartment in between your feet just above the master cylinder. I went so far as to buy three butane ovens to make a vacuum former, but I gave up on all this because I found an easier way to store stuff. It is posted here.
In my opinion this fiberglass roof lid is a dead duck because of the amount of time and effort it takes to construct one. I just don't think they are cost effective. The idea is a kill shot but the manufacturing is not. I don't feel you can or will get your money back. I feel this way because these are rare machines, so not many around and many people will not pay the needed price to make a profit for a tiny roof lid storage.
When my brother and I go riding we pack stuff. Gun, ammo, hot dogs, coffee, spare parts, tire patch kit, compressor, small jumper cable, knives, sparkplugs, wrenches --- lots of stuff and it aint gona fit in a roof lid.

that's why 3D printing would make more sense, no costly molds, fibreglass, etc, one cad program and how ever long it takes to print. that's of course if you already have a 3D printer,

Yeah, bummer, I didn't know Bill was still interested or had money in the "design".

Every time I come on here for many years someone is looking to buy one.

That's why in the other thread I suggested Forbes design his own, so its his.

Did Honda ever sell a similar product?

Yeah I also looked into a makerbot.
Did a lot of reading. The reason I wanted one was to make gun parts.
I thought about this before Cody Wilson made the liberator plastic pistol but I wanted to make the parts and not the whole gun. Making the whole gun wasn't on my radar at the time.
Then I found out that the plastic is not strong enough for anything so I thought I could make the parts in wax and then cast them in metal using the lost wax casting method. At the end of the day I just gave up because it started to get involved. Then I saw an oddy for sale and bought it LOL.
I don't think 3D printing is there yet in my opinion.
The reason is that it takes a lot of time and electricity to produce a big product and the plastics are still suspect.
If you want to get into real stuff it will cost real money and that is not going to be cost effective.
The military has had 3D printed metal guns for years but it is only cost effective for prototypes.

Man this thread is getting out there. Looks like we are hijacking Curtis401 thread LOL.

I don't think they did.
These machines weren't produced long enough for them to have made any accessories.
I don't count the whip flag with a light on it or a cover as accessories LOL.

If you want to protect your project you might want to copyright/patent it. You can't make something and say no one can copy it without going through the legal process of a copyright. I personally could care less as I'm not interested in a Pilot lid. The person in the SXS always carries anything we might need while riding.

I understand where Bill is coming from and I agree with him. I emailed Bill as someone suggested to do so, from the start. He informed me of his struggles with this roof lid. If he had said, I have given up, i'm done with it, have at it. It would have been a different story. I did not make any decisions on the lid until I know what his intentions were.

How would you feel if you made an investment into a project, whether it be time or money, and someone comes along and steals your product or design. On top of it, they undercut your price. With a patent or not it takes a special type of person to do this. A POS in my opinion. Plenty of them out there, that's the sad part of it. People don't have values anymore, it's all cut throat.

I had people that wanted me to sell them my foot tub templates, so they could just "make their own". I wasn't born yesterday. I have countless hours invested into making my temples just right. For someone to just take them and make them as their own? I don't think so. On the same token, it is not something that a patent would be needed for. These are off road buggies that were produced for a short period of time. It costs more for a patent than the product is worth.

This thread really shows some of you guys character.

Like I said, I personally could care less about the roof lid. It is business 101 to patent something if you want the right to sue someone copying it. I own several businesses and would be a fool to not protect my rights. Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers here. I personally would share it with everyone. As you stated, there is no real money to be made in this sport so patenting it would be at a loss. I would share it with as many people who wanted it. I'm not in this sport to make money, I'm in it for the friendship and FUN!!!!! Just my opinion and that's it.

Now go RIDE!!!!

Im with Duneit. Had no idea someone was making them.

However, what is the time frame before someone can make a roof mounted holder thing,(That a lot of people are interested in) that no matter what is going to resemble the one everyone is familiar with, without someone showing up and saying they "own" it?

I was just trying to help out Forbes with his new venture.

Deep down I think we all know that there is no chance in hell Bill.. is ever gona produce these.
Even if he does build "a couple" he is going to have to charge $500 for it to make a profit, and there is no way in hell anyone here is gona pay that.
So I think it comes down to ----- if you want one make your own.

I make my own intake manifolds and Engine mounts. Like was stated here earlier in this thread -- a patent is not needed because the production run of these machines was low and there are not many left in the world still running. Our community is small. So getting a "patent" is not worth it. I am more than willing to share any info on how I built them but there is no way in hell I would even consider selling made manifolds or mounts unless I know the member has at least 500 posts and has been here for years. That way you know what kind of person you are dealing with. I have this bad attitude because of a few issues I had helping others. I am sure most of you have run into this problem. This is a hobby boys. We are here to help each other out with info. That's what I do anyways.

Patents -- I am not sure how patents help a guy.
Apparently patents are suppose to protect you but like Bill.. said: "The Chinese do it everyday all day long". He is right. If you look at Chinese products they are ALL stolen ideas from other countries. In fact if you look at the current sudden rise in Chinese military power, it is obviously stolen tech from the USA.
IBM made the computer and Bill Gates came up with the software but look at what is going on now.
Now if you had a patent, you have to lay out all the info on your product in writing and it is available online. Now someone just changes one small thing and they are golden. A patent might protect you in the USA if it is a USA patent, but your free as a bird to sell elsewhere. If you look at the list of inventions on Wikipedia you will see that almost all inventions are German, Greek, Italian, French, British or American. In fact it was Germany that put the first American on the moon. It was a stolen Nazi tech. The Redstone rocket was NOT a Redstone -- It was a V2 built by Nazi Germany. Even the scientists that worked on the "Redstone" were all Germans who were threatened with war crimes if they did not comply. Think Wernher von Braun here.
I may be wrong on all this but spying, theft and copying is common in the world. It happens all day long.

CAN'T WE JUST GEY SOME STORAGE LIDS.

First guy to get a decent storage lid made at a fair price, gets my money.

Ok I'll bite:
1) What do people here think is a fair price for a fiberglass roof storage lid ??
2) What do people here think is a fair price for a plastic roof storage lid ??

Please post your answers.

Had to

Honestly guys -- serious question here.
What would you be willing to pay for a roof lid storage in fiberglass or plastic ??
Lets see if Bill.. would be wasting his time. Lets settle this topic once and for all.
Please post your answers. Don't be shy -- post.

Super low quantity, Id probably make them out of aluminum.

After that, vacuum formed over a wooden plug.

I wouldn't pay anything for them though.....I don't have a pilot!