Fitting aftermarket fairings

[stinkwheel]

Just got a set of fibreglass fairings for the VFR750 delivered from Poly 26 in France.

Seem well finished and pretty heavy duty.

There aren't any holes for fixings in them, just the plain fibreglass with cutouts for the headlight and flashers.

Any top-tips from people who have fitted them before?

I'm going to try to make as much use of quarter turn fasteners as possible for holding them to the bike itself but how do people normally deal with the parts where, for example, a bit of trim is attached to the fairing using a well-nut or a self-tapper.

The flashers would be a good example. They normally screw into a sort of post moulded into the plastic with a self-tapping screw through a lug on the flasher. This one is just blank. Considering stuff like bonding a setscrew to the inside of the fairing and slotting the flasher over it. The headlight normally attaches to a captive nut in a plastic slot.

Might not look too bad if I even through-drilled it and used countersunk stainless fittings with a nut on the back? (so the head of the fitting would show through on the outside of the fairing).

I'll post pictures later.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[stinkwheel]

Ok. Adding pictures.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1010_zps616da97e.jpg

They look pretty good quality on the whole, feels pretty heavy duty compared to a lot of race fairings I've seen and feels less likely to snap than the standard plastics. There are patches of extra fibreglass in the bits where it'll be prone to flexing.

Surface finish is good too, a few blemishes here and there but they'll sand out easily enough and by hand they seem to fit together well. They've done the bottom half as two pieces instead of a two piece belly pan then two middle sections which in all honesty, seems a more cohesive way of doing things.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1012_zps6e713672.jpg

I think I should be fine attaching them to the bike itself and with less plastic well-nut fuckwittery than Honda did originally. The tricky bit is going to be fitting the headlight and bits of trim because there are no tags for them to attach to.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1013_zpsa1c8b980.jpg

I'm also going to have to cut out where the flashers go.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1015_zpsb1ef13c8.jpg
Then find some way of attaching them (although I might just glue them in there).
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1014_zpse2a31a33.jpg

I'll follow up with pictures of what's there on the original fairings.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[-Matt-]

If all else fails - cable ties

[stinkwheel]

Flashers shouldn't be too difficult in fairness. I reckon they'll just glue in.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1026_zps4bf13546.jpg

The headlight isn't all that great a fit. Mind you, it wasn't on the originals either.

The original attaches to the inside of the fairing on four lugs.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1029_zpse818a274.jpg

Closer view of original:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1027_zpsd2b86439.jpg
Corresponding area on replacement:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1028_zps6001617a.jpg

My initial idea was to get some bits of alloy tube to use as spacers between the fairing and the brackets on the light. File the ends to the appropriate angle then attach them by bolting through the whole lot from the outside of the fairing with some neat looking stainless fastners.

That said, I'm now wondering if I should try to attach the lights to the subframe somehow so the fairing just slips over the top of them.

Any ideas or experience welcome.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[-Matt-]

I attempted that before on a tail-light [it was actually the tail light that was aftermarket] but the same principle i think would apply - because it was SLIGTLY out of line, and more importantly not attached TO the fairing all vibrations between the 2 items led to slight rubbing and a constant white dust along the meeting lines where it was very very gradually sanding away at itself. Subsequently the light also got faulty - maybe coincidence but im inclined to think it was slowly vibrated to death basically

I'd go with some fixing paste that will 'glue' the lights to the inside of the fairing, but could be cracked/melted away should you need to remove it entirely for some obscure reason.

I used to have a tube of some stuff in the garage but i can't find it and fail to remember the name now

[G]

With race fairings it was generally a case of getting a load of bits of thin strips of flat metal to be bent in to appropriately shaped brackets.

[Robby]

It seems odd to mount the headlight on the fairings, in my experience headlights are fairly heavy things and best secured to the frame, so the fairing only have to support themselves. If there is a way of securing the headlight to the frame, do that.

If you glue the indicators with something like UHU then you have a chance of removing them if you need to. Don't epoxy them in place, just in case a unit fails and you can't remove it without ripping the fairing.

[Timmeh]

all VFR/RVF400s and the like all have headlights bolted onto their fairings.

Presumably because it was cheaper/easier.
____________________
GSXR400 x2 | '94 RVF400 | '93 TZR125 4DL (again)
20:22:30 BLUEX5: i would love to be forced to undergo a**l plugging with different sizes
20:48:18 Temeluchus: comp you hunk of smouldering homos3x you

[stinkwheel]

[-Matt-]

Instead of foam you might want to consider something like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Neoprene-Rubber-Sheet-Solid-Black-Smooth-1mm-1-5mm-2mm-3mm-4mm-5mm-6mm-/261237258709?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item3cd2f439d5

Only downside with the foam is given enough vibration over time etc it can eventually 'crush' and lose its springey-ness essentially opening up a gap [plus on the off chance water gets up there and it absorbs that].

Few small cut outs of the rubber stacked if nescessary should do the same job. Good for general vibration reduction on any custom bracket areas too.

[G]

Pretty common for headlights to have a good bit of support from the fairing at least.