Honda Grom - Panel Washers (08/2022)
The Honda Grom comes with six large plastic washers on each side, three per panel. These washers are purely decorative, and it is very common for owners to personalise their bike by buying 3D printed replacements in their preferred colour. I have seen numerous pictures of these washers for sale and the print quality appears to vary wildly, so I decided I’d make my own.
The washers are held in place with a small bolt which also helps secure the panel. I removed one using an allen key, then made a CAD model of it in Fusion 360. I printed a test washer in what was allegedly ‘gold’ PLA and tested it for fit. It fit perfectly, but I was not happy with the colour or the surface finish.
I tweaked the print settings and printed out a set of washers using black PLA. I fitted them to the bike, but it still didn’t look right. Was it the yellow shock? The orange reflector? The gold forks? I was pretty sure the bike needed more gold, so I tried that next.
I bought some gold silk PLA and that provided the desired effect – it was extremely shiny – but only on off-axis faces… On a flat surface, like the big ring the original washer has, it looks dull and underwhelming. The silk PLA additionally showed up every single blemish, and I just couldn’t get the washer to print nicely. I decided to modify the model to one which somewhat resembled a faceted gem – all my problems went away! I printed a bunch more and then fitted them to the bike, using some Loctite 248 on the threads of the bolts.
This straightforward afternoon of 3D printing turned unexpectedly into a project, and I am really happy with the end result. The gold silk PLA matches the forks nicely, and the facets catch and reflect the light giving the washers an extra dimension during the day and may potentially help to enhance side visibility at night. Was it worth going through the effort instead of buying them from someone else? Absolutely – I ended up with some truly unique washers and I learned an extra thing or two about 3D printing while I was at it.
