In The Box
- Two piece fiberglass fairing
- Lexan windshield
- Harley FLH mounting brackets
- Chrome/stainless screws
I was surprised to find the fairing was a sturdy fiberglass, rather than the ABS I had heard it might be. The hardware was all decent quality, the bolts weren't scruffy, rusty, or rough. The overall fit of the fairing definitely matches the EBay listing that it will need some work to get it to be perfect. I am still working on how to trim it exactly, I am not a 'glassman.
The fairing is a classic inner and outer style, the two halves fit together with weather stripping and foam tape in the areas needing some protection from the elements.
Parts List
- one bar of 1.5" 1/8" Weldable mild steel available at any hardware store
- Two 10mm bolts to match the windshield mounting holes on the triple tree
- Two 10mm lock washers
- One package of rubber gasket mat from the plumbing aisle - 4"x4"x1/8"
Prototyping
Since my R* had come with nothing in the way of frills (it took two months and 2500 miles to finally decide I needed things for it, how I love the feel of this bike naked!) I had no windshield mounting brackets to use as a quick and easy installation base. The logical place to start seemed to be the provided mounts for the factory parts.
Holding the Invicta fairing up I took note that the top hole was positioned almost exactly at the same height as the bolt holes, and that it was only 2-3" out. Thus, I came up with the following:
Test fitting the fairing went well, it bolted right up to the upper hole in the fairing, the angle was good, the brackets only needed slight tweaking outward a bit.
Having no other guide to go on, I eye balled things and added another piece of steel going downward to the second hole, pivoting on the bolt above so I could move the fairing forward and back until I was happy with the angle and marked the bracket around the edges of the added piece.
(in the pictures you may notice one bracket has a extra hole in it, I used this to install a set screw while I worked out the angles.)
Once the angles were worked out, and a test ride to check for any abnormalities in the wind around the fairing onto my hands, over the light, and up past the tank, I welded the parts into place and polished them up a bit.
I'm also not a welder
Installation
Cut the rubber gasket material so that it covers the same area as the brackets do against the triple tree, add the lock washers to the bolts and install as tightly as possible, without stripping the holes.
Position the fairing over the brackets, hold the bolt between your index and second finger, pointing toward the back of your hand, reach around the fork, under the triple tree and slide the screw into the bracket. (If your a non smoker, ask one to show you how they hold a smoke, then hold the bolt that way, as your hand goes around the fork, the screw ends up at the perfect angle to pop right in)
At this point I would check the tolerances on the fairing on the
INSIDE to be sure you aren't going to compress it to much and crack it as you tighten. If there is to much room, unmount the fairing and bend the brackets out a bit until the fairing fits snug over them.
Add a backing plate, and a nylock to the front portion of the inner fairing to spread the stress a bit better, and tighten it all down.
Outer
You will want to scrape off the provided foam weather stripping for the windshield and buy some camper seal foam tape, this will take care of tolerance issues and keep the rain out better than stock.
The left side of my fairing is a bit to long, it will require some trimming and sealing to fit snugly inside the outer.
Be careful lining up and screwing the two halves, it holds great after it's together, but during installation it is possible to crack the holes around the screws on the lower portion.
Hope this helps someone
Will
'06 R* 1700 (New, 3miles on ODO, spring 2010)
-10" Mini Apes
-Invicta Fairing
-Saddleman Renegade Seat
-Saddleman Curv'n Slant Hard Mount bags
-Yamaha Big Bar Engine Guard
-Emgo Fold-Up Highway Mini Floor-Boards
-Stage 1 Exhaust Mod w/ Custom Detachable Baffle Plate (To loud behind fairing w/out them on looooong rides)
-Custom Lexan Lowers Mounted on custom signal light bar mount, behind signal light bar
'09 V* 650 Custom
'92 RT180
'70 CT1-B 175
Update 4/3/2011:
I changed my bars out to lower and less pullback Glide-Style bars, and have had to add in a spacer block between the tripe tree, and the fairing mounts. To use bars with less, or no, pullback requires the use of a pullback riser to move the bars back out of the way of the speaker area, but I haven't decided which one to use yet. Currently my brake line is pushed up against the fairing below the right speaker.
Since the snow has almost gone in Montana now, I'll get back outside and take more pictures of the brackets on the bike and the difference with the huge gap that exists now from the spacer, as well as add in more dimensions for everything.
Update 2/13/2012:
The decision to go with the lower, and further forward glide-style bars, compared to the mini apes was made for me when I was doing a full lock turn in a gas station parking lot, and got too close to the back end of a very high rear windowed SUV. The bars went into the scrap heap, and the bumper of the SUV remodeled the right side of the fairing. I love the mini apes after all, they are still on the bike now. I got lucky though, the bike got laid down as gently as possible as I danced out of the way, leg intact, and my Saddleman hard mount bags, fairing, and bars took the full weight of the bike, the bars bending on the ground, and the fairing keeping the SUV from pummeling anything tin.
The fairing, being made of fiberglass, was easily patched, and I took the time to also add more support around the screw holes in the outer fairing, as it had cracked around a couple, but considering the recent abuse when it got run over, minimal. If there is ever a question about ABS over fiberglass, I'll take fiberglass any day.
The wife went to our local hot rod painter (lives two doors down, shop in his backyard) and got me a full fairing paint job for xmas. I'll be matching the R* red and working out a custom 'stock' graphic to match the tank and rear fender.
I read a post regarding the invicta being 'off', lop sided, etc, and I agree. I had to make one of the brackets 1/4" higher than the other, as they appear to have made them either off, or the mold had slipped slightly and every fairing made from them tilts. This also required me to shave and re-glass the left side to custom carve it to fit the outer, as after being mounted there was a gap on the left side between inner and outer as it came to me.
Pictures of the current before and after, bracket modifications, radio, and other points of interest will be added soon, as I am handing it to the paint guy this week.
Favoured: 0
I wish I would have made my own brackets good job''''''''
