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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1342031115 Message started by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 11:25:15 |
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Title: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 11:25:15 So at the beginning of the year I got this fairing kit for my Triumph Bonneville, it wasn't just a bolt on kit, unfortunately, after months of struggling with it, this is what I've got now. before I go spend $500 for a paint job, I want to get some opinions. my main concern is, is it too high on the bike? does that make it look too weird that it is that high? with the stock handle bars, I really only have another inch or maybe 2 inches at the most where I could lower it without my handlebars hitting the fairing at full lock. I'm about 85% happy with this the way it is, if I could get it lowered I'd be at most 90% happy, this project was way more of a pain than I would have liked. all opinions welcome, I'd hate to start over again, but filling holes for mounting is easier before a paint job. I need some fresh eyes, I've been living with this for a week and I get this gut sinking feeling when I look at it sometimes, I wanna know if it's just me http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0030.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0033.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0035.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0023.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0022.jpg |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Serowbot on 07/11/12 at 11:41:07 Personally,.. I like the bike better without it... It's a beautiful machine... Hate to see it covered up... ... but, that's just me... I also agree, the fairing seems to sit too high... I'd want to get the headlight down to where it was stock... maybe impossible... ...again,.. JMHO... :-?... PS.. If you had showed the pics and said you're thrilled with it,.. I would have lied and said it looks great... ...but, since you asked,.. I'm guessing you have your own doubts... So, you get my honest opinion... ;)... |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Savage_Rob on 07/11/12 at 11:57:37 I agree that the bike is a great looking bike by itself, though I also think that fairing would look good painted to match the bike. If I were in your place, I'd think about my riding conditions and if the fairing is fulfilling its purpose functionally. If it's causing you additional drag or obstructs your vision, forget it. If it's protecting you, reducing your resistance and fatigue and feels right, then I'd paint that puppy and enjoy it. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 12:00:52 I can go back to stock easily enough, on my test ride with the fairing, it helped get the wind off my chest and legs a good bit so that was kinda nice. the stock bars are a limiting factor as far as lowering it, I could maybe lower it a few inches, maybe. . . but I"m really sick of working on it. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Boule’tard on 07/11/12 at 14:25:59 I think it'll look a hell of a lot better, and smaller and more integrated once painted black to match the bike. Positioning: I'd try to pitch it forward (nose downward) a few degrees as well as lower about an inch. That way it won't seem to be going off up away from the bike, plus the bottom of your tank will match up as a tangent of the swoopy curve of the fairing. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 14:31:47 202D372E2736233026420 wrote:
good idea! now I have to delay painting to try that out this weekend :( |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by RidgeRunner13 on 07/11/12 at 14:34:07 IMO, it's way too high. From the side the tank should be more or less centered in the fairing opening. Maybe go almost straight up from the opening, cutting off the wrap around part of the wind shield. That might let you lower it & keep the stock bars. Otherwise, it looks like it was meant for clubman or clip-on style bars. But if you could get it down so the headlight is in the right spot, it would look good. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 14:39:24 here it is blacked out, photoshopped http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0022-blackedOut.jpg |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Serowbot on 07/11/12 at 15:13:32 Hate to say,.. 'cause I know you're fed up,.. but,.. The bottom part needs to come down a couple of inches,.. and the headlight part needs to be detached, cut, and rotated, for a more downward tilt then re-attached... That would give you more clearance for the bars, and get the headlight in the right place... |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 15:29:55 this is carbon fiber, I'm not cutting and rotating and then re-attaching much, it's been a pain already, I've already had to cut bigger areas for the forks to come through. and I don't have a freaking welder to make my own custom brackets and crap. I might be able to tilt it a little bit. but that pushes the bottom all out of alignment I REALLY WANT TO HAVE THIS DONE SO I CAN FREAKING RIDE AGAIN! idk |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by EJID on 07/11/12 at 16:03:56 I agree it would look more "finished" if it gets moved down some more like your original photoshop you posted of it back on 4/11/12. http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1334169286/6#6 http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/MYBONNEVILLEDecorated-sm.jpg |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by rfw2003 on 07/11/12 at 16:20:30 Myself I'm not a real big fan of the static style fairings. The ones that are 2 piece and the top portion moves with the forks I like better. But that's just me. I also agree though with the others, From looking at it, it needs to move down some still and the tilt of it is wrong for the lines of the bike. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/11/12 at 16:31:26 I have seen bikes with a fairing, but thats a fairing, with a bike,, The only way I see that working out is with extensive modification, IOW, it fits like socks on a rooster,.But you know that. I know you know that, youre just hoping & praying people will tell you it looks okay & go paint it,,because youve got so much time & $$ in it,, & frankly, I dont blame you one bit,, but to be honestly perfect with ya, unless youve got the ability to section a hunk out of it & close the handlebar end clearance gap down, theres not gonna be any making it look right,& then youd have to get the headlight hole back in it,, Im not sayin it cant be done, but w/o being there & studying it, theres no way to say that it would look good even if you did all that,., Is there not a nice little shield that goes on that bike? Do you need leg protection from the wind? Ohh,, When youre sitting comfortably on the bike, where is the top of the center of the windshield relative to your head? I think the fairing itself is a nice looking piece, maybe sell it & spend that $$$ on a windshield? Bummer to put heart & cash into a project & it not work out like ya had in mind,, I can relate,,Ohh Buddy, I can RElate,, |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Cavi Mike on 07/11/12 at 17:03:57 Looks way too high to me as well. You say you can't weld but can't you just bend up some brackets from stuff you can find at home depot? If you say it would just require too much modification regardless, I think it's time to hang up this idea. Sometimes that's all you can do because things just look better in our head than we'll be able to produce. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 17:11:23 darn, I haven't felt this beat up since art school |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Boule’tard on 07/11/12 at 17:22:00 Try optimizing the fairing position without any additional bracket work. Just place it on there however, stuff towels, foam or whatever behind it, step back and decide if the overall fairing needs to be hacked. I think that will help you decide. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 17:24:51 0A05060B4F0 wrote:
yeah, see how my handlebars are going through the windshield on that photoshop??? that's why it's a "concept" sketch, also, that fairing in the photoshop isn't sized or proportionally correct, as it turns out. I dream 'em up good don't I? :'( |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/11/12 at 18:13:43 11322E291C2F29342E295D0 wrote:
Well,, harsh as it may feel right now, just think how youd feel if we all just said your labors & investment have paid off & it looks great & you spent the $$$ for the paintwork & you got shot down on it later? Heck, man, you knew before you asked,, youre into shape & design & how things look,, its what you do,, & you know it looks, well,, like socks on a rooster,,but youre not done, not yet,,But I do think the overall height of it is too much for that bike to wear & not look like a chihuahua wearing a bulldog's head, |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/11/12 at 18:49:38 yeah, I know, just seriously, with everything I've been through trying to get this to work, this is almost the best it gets unless I get new lower handle bars or clip ons and change the total ergos of the bike, which I don't want to do |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/11/12 at 21:56:03 Well,, Im sure everyone here learned something,, test fit things before a ton of labor goes in it. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by arteacher on 07/12/12 at 10:37:24 724944474572554E4E45521113200 wrote:
+1 |
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Title: A Trick Post by RidgeRunner13 on 07/12/12 at 11:01:10 Set up a camera on a tri-pod & get several good side views, some without the fairing. Pick a view that give good detail & make some prints of just the bike & with the fairing. Cut out the fairing, trim it & fit it to the bike picture. For me it's easier to figure out in paper than on a 'puter screen. :-? I still think it will work with those w/s side parts cut away. 8-) & look good! ;D |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by jef.savage on 07/12/12 at 11:02:20 The photoshop concept looks great. You might be surprised how comfortable a set of clubman bars can be. They're not expensive. You can get them under $40 on Ebay and easily get $20 back on Craig's list if you hate them. (Be sure to get 1".) But if you're not going to commit to go all the way then I'd get rid of the fairing. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/12/12 at 11:28:15 updated images, it is MUCH MUCH lower now, but now the question is, is it too far forward? and because of the bracketing, there really isn't much I can do with it being too far forward, I dont' think anyway, but I also didn't think I could get it this low, so who knows. I don't have great photos here, these were taken with my phone and it was raining pretty hard so I didn't get it out since I'm a wimp to the rain :P http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/2012-07-12_10-44-35_671.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/2012-07-12_10-45-07_835.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/2012-07-12_10-45-19_768.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/2012-07-12_10-45-36_361.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/2012-07-12_10-49-10_695.jpg |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by verslagen1 on 07/12/12 at 11:40:30 looks to me as the top should be rotated back some so the front is parrallel to the frame. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/12/12 at 19:30:59 76696F6875724373437B69652E1C0 wrote:
so, here's the complete story on the fairing, since some of you seem to think I'm a total idiot or something (well, I probably deserve that). I go to farleyandace.com/fairings.html and I see http://farleyandace.com/sitebuilder/images/coventry_003-340x255.jpg and I think, I like that, it's on a Triumph Bonneville, I own a triumph bonneville, so I email them about the fairing, telling them the details of my bike, make, model, year, so it is made to order to fit my bike (so I think) I send them a photoshop mock up of my vision, they are digging it, I'm digging it, we talk about getting it painted up there and then shipped to me, they quote $700 for the paint job, I'm not comfortable with that, not before putting it on the bike and "test fitting it" so I get it shipped down just primed gray like it is now. So they make the fairing, ship it down and I get it in late March, or early April or something like that. I don't have a garage, but I have a good buddy who let me use his once and awhile. So I get my bike and the fairing over there and we spend the Saturday putting it on. To put on the fairing, you have to strip the bike of it's gas tank, which, as usual, means taking off the seat, and for safety, disconnecting the battery, undoing a few bolts and disconnecting the fuel line and an electrical connection, anyway, we get everything on the bike and the fairing interferes with the forks when they are at full lock, turning side to side, the fairing itself is rubbing and hitting the forks, and it's kinda crooked and not looking the best on the bike. Since I'm not a master installer of this custom piece, and the guys that make it are in Pennsylvania, I'm in Texas, so I can't just go over there and get them to put it on. so thinking I just messed something up, I email them and tell them what's going on, the offer some advice and the next weekend I try some of that, well, still not working right, I point out some issues with the fairing to them and they say they'll send some new brackets and pieces, so I wait for them. I put my bike in running order so I can ride a few days. I ride, it's good. I'm hoping the new brackets when they come will fix this so I don't have to cut up the fairing to make it work. So the brackets come but my friend is on vacation and working weekends for the next couple of weeks, so I don't get to work on it for awhile, and I'm enjoying being able to ride my bike, we were having unusually nice weather for late May early June here. So my friend gets a weekend off and I get to use the garage again, I put the bike back up on the jack, tear it all down again, put the new brackets on and try everything again, still no good luck, the front top brackets of the sides is pushing the fairing into the forks still. so, bummed out by this, cause this fairing was supposed to have been made to fit my bike, I decide to cut the fairing where it's rubbing my forks, so we get the fairing all back up on the bike, adjust it, and end up with the first result, my buddy is kinda not into doing this, can't really blame him, and I'm just looking to get this thing over with at this time also. so it's on the bike, I take the bike and fairing for a test ride, everything seems good, from the seat nothing is in the way and it blocks the wind nicely so it's functional. I take some photos, I start looking at the photos and start thinking, mmm, that is a bit high huh? wonder how noticeable that is. . . so now we are here. the lesson from this is, everything is fixable, the only reason why I was able to lower it this time was because I had already cut the fairing to fit it as it was before, if I hadn't have done that, if I mounted it lower, it would still be rubbing on the forks. Now all I gotta do is figure out some way of pushing it back about 3 inches or so, which I may or may not be able to do because of how the bracketing works, if I could make my own custom brackets, that'd help, but I'm not sure I want to spend another month on this project with my bike in my friends garage. it is really close to being good, and if I can't get it to move back, well, it's okay, I'd be about 92% happy with it the way it is. maybe I can find something really cool to put in that space, speakers or something, idk so I ordered some fairing kit that didn't work exactly like advertised but I got it working. I shoulda just cut the thing to start with, but once you cut it, you cant' really just glue it back together. the other lesson here is, when you order a "custom" piece that's not from the factory, get ready to deal with some sh!t, so be prepared for that. and get a garage :P |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Cavi Mike on 07/13/12 at 01:09:11 Does it look too far forward to you? I find it funny that you mention you haven't felt this "beat up" since art school but has anything really changed since then? Why are you so focused on everyone else's opinion? Isn't that what the point of being an artist is? It's something you like, so you like it - or conversely it's something you don't like, therefore you just don't like it. That's all there is to it. To hell with everyone else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIKdJo5QexQ#t=56m04s |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by WD on 07/13/12 at 06:54:29 Looks much better now than it did. Fairing notch base where the forks go through should always be lined up with the mid-line or base of the lower triple tree. Why was it such a pain to deal with? Simple, those style fairings were originally designed for track only motorcycles, no gauges, headlight, high handle bar or bulky stock tank in the way. I think you've done pretty good taking a compromise design and making it work. As for getting it to suck back tighter to the bike... probably not. Looks like space is getting a bit tight. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by LostArtist on 07/13/12 at 10:50:44 now we're talking, the sides still need to be bolted to there back brackets to pull them in, but this is SO close to what I originally envisioned, I'm really happy now, not going to worry about pushing it back towards the bike any more, I'd only get maybe a half inch back, just gotta adjust the windshield some so it's not rubbing so bad on the handlebars, I know it should be tilted down a bit but I don't think I can do that with the stock handle bars. This is Good! after I get all the rest of it finalized, off to paint with it. Thank you all, this is why I ask for criticism so I get it and don't stop with my normal complacent attitude http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0044.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0047.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0053.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/mxr199/TriumphStory/DSC_0060.jpg |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Midnightrider on 07/13/12 at 19:49:21 If you ever get tired of the fairing and take it off all you need is a National Fly Screen. That little thing looks sharp and it takes the wind off the vital chest and arm muscles. Makes a 500 mile day easy. Serenity has done a 400 mile day with me and thats all I had on my Savage.. I had one on my 2000 Thunderbird and it was sharp. Almost a cafe racer look. |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by Serowbot on 07/13/12 at 19:58:31 See?... We're a total PIA, and brutally cruel,.. but,.. it's for your own good... Looks delicious now!... ;)... |
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Title: Re: hmmm, almost happy, fairing on Triumph Post by verslagen1 on 07/13/12 at 21:21:10 Well, I suppose that's the best you can do... considering the extra jug ;D |
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