Fairing

Started by Scott Luck, August 09, 2017, 01:50:08 AM

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CDNRatMan

  Well I have progressive on the front and rear of the bike and the progressive 465-1148 mono shock was really worth the funds spent.  Not that hard of a swap job really if you are of a mind to do the work yourself. The swapping of the springs up front is easy. Doing a valve adjustment is not hard doing the check is really simple. OH hypercharger I did not do that ....lol.......

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

yeah...I've been looking at that mod, too. Probably time to change the fork oil anyway.  I am also looking at the progressive rear spring, since I am going to have the whole bike torn down this winter....replacing tires, doing the valve lash, putting on the new hypercharger, etc...

OR Seedman

CDNRatMan

 On the topic sort of, I replaced the original front springs with a set of progressive springs from a 1500 Drifter and then added 1/4" to the spacer provided. This made a huge improvement in the front end. Winter is coming mod time....

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

Well, we finally had some nice weather again, so I took my 800 with the new batwing fairing out yesterday afternoon for a test run.  I went out on some country back roads to get a good feel on the handling vs. the old windshield.  Several things I noticed, especially at higher speed (60+ mph)

HUGE increase in stability at higher speeds
MUCH LESS wind buffeting to my arms and shoulders....much more comfortable for longer rides
A bit heavier in the front end so compensation is necessary in turns, both slow and high speed...
Less front end "bounce" on un-even road surfaces....probably due to the increase weight over the forks.  Between the fairing, stereo and speakers. the unit weighs about 28 lbs.  That doesn't sound like much, but it is noticeable...

Overall, I am really surprised in the improved ride quality....even though the actual windshield is lower compared to my riding height, I get much less wind-buffeting to my body and head vs the regular style windshield....plus the stereo kicks A$$!  ;D

I am quite happy with the setup...

This winter, I plan on taking it to a local body shop and having it re-painted to fix the issues that occurred when it fell on the floor from the stand I had it on....

OR Seedman

OR Seedman

OR Seedman

CDNRatMan

  :o Thanks now I'll feel better........I can sleep knowing you will be safe.

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

you're right, Ratman.  it should be on the lowest point of the bike, but so far, it seems to work where it is....it was mounted there by the original owner and I haven't moved it yet....but when I do my winter tear down, I will relocate it to the proper point.... ;)

OR Seedman

CDNRatMan

  Looks really good but the only issue I have is with your gremlin bell.

The Gremlin bell can not work correctly unless it is just above the road surface. So OR you need to move the bell lower on your bike.

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

#13

no room for mirror integration...speakers take up all the room...lol

got the spotlights mounted..I had a small piece of chrome steel with bent up tabs at both ends....cut it in half, drilled some holes and viola! mounting brackets.....

OR Seedman

Pilgrim

would be cool if you could incorporate the mirrors into the fairing. Looks good man, bet that cuts down the wind on you.


mittico68

It looks really good!
Now you should think about match paintin' those crashbar covers...  ::)

I love my swingin' bike!

OR Seedman

ya know....I auto corrected the orientation of the pictures on my pc BEFORE loading them and they all turned 90 degrees when you zoom them.....so I set them back to the original orientation...now the look like they do on my pc, but when you zoom on them they rotate to the correct view...

by the time I got everything together on this, I am into it about $500 including paint...works for me

OR Seedman

CDNRatMan

   :o I remember a time when people were smarter than their phones.......oh sorry....wrong subject.....but OR that does like nice.

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

#8

Vector Batwing fairing for Vulcan 1500 Classic....took some work but is now mounted up...Pioneer 450 watt 6x9 speakers, Boss Mechless BT audio (240 watt), waterproof quick-connect wiring...and I painted it myself with spray cans....was looking really nice until it fell off of the stand and smacked into the floor at my research farm office...over the weekend while I was away...fixed it as best I could....still looks okay.  I do need to make some new mounts for the spotlights....they need to be moved forward about 1" to keep from hitting the fairing....

The only real issue with mounting the fairing is that if you use the mounting holes on the parts that came with it, it sits about 1.5" too high over the headlight.   I drilled new holes in the upper mount that attaches to the upper fork tree and drilled new holes in the lower mounting pieces that are attached to the fairing....can't use the quick connect mounts on the lower holes as they have to be mounted directly to the side holes on the forks....but I got it sitting on there pretty good.....now I need it to quit raining so I can try it out at highway speed.

OR Seedman

OR Seedman

ok...so I did the upper tree swap yesterday.  The only issue is that the cable routing stays don't fit because the handlebar mounts on the 1500 tree as set back about 1/2" more than on the 800 (more in line with the center bolt)  So, the one piece cable routing stay can't go back far enough to bolt to the underside of the handlebar mounts.  I have left it off for now, but I think I will cut it in half and then it should work.  Otherwise, no issues at all with it bolting right in place.....so now I have the upper tree needed to bolt on a batwing fairing for any 1500 classic....now I gotta save the $$  to get the one I want...

I can't add any pics yet because I am waiting on a new phone....mine camera in my phone is still not working correctly...

OR Seedman

greenbarn

Waiting patiently for those pics.

No Worries

chief

There are several mods relating to the bat wing fairing. Downloadable PDFs are there as well.

  • Vulcan Drifter Riders >
  • Links >
  • Mods, Tips, Maintenance >
  • M/T - Windshields, Fairings and Lowers

http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/chuckfairing.html

Slainte mhaith - Good Health - Cheers

'02 Vulcan Drifter 1500

CDNRatMan

Well if anyone can do it I think you have a decent chance of making it happen....

GPS is not to get you THERE but rather to get you home from THERE

OR Seedman

I am also looking at putting on a batwing fairing....maybe a Vector one for a Vulcan 1500 classic.  I have ordered the top of the fork tree (used) for a Vulcan 1500 classic to swap out with the stock one on my 800.  the measurements are identical, but the Classic has 2 threaded holes in the front that the fairing bracket needs to mount to.  If that works out, the fairing will mount right on with the provided mounting brackets....I may have to remove the spotlight bar, though, and put a regular turn signal mounting bar on instead....I will cross that bridge when I get to it....this will be a winter project....I will try to get the fairing installed with full stereo by spring....going to paint it myself with the oem color.  (I already re-painted my rear fender after gouging the crap out of it with too long bolts on the 2-up seat)  I will document with pics as the project comes along....I really want the "bagger" look on my bike...

OR Seedman

chief

Slainte mhaith - Good Health - Cheers

'02 Vulcan Drifter 1500

Scott Luck

I read some info online today that a fairing for a Vulcan classic 1500 should fit a drifter with some slight modifications. Anyone know more about this?


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