Don Vesco Rabid Transit

[81ZUKI75]

I'm fritzin' around with a Rabid Transit frame-mount fairing I picked up from a member here (thanks a heap Frankenzuki). It was previously mounted on a 1980 GS1100E so I was pretty confident it could go on either of my bikes.

Here's what it looked like after its first fitting on my T model (crummy blackberry photo)...

I've got another set of body work and eventually wll have those and the fairing painted to match...gotta figure out a color scheme.

I've been tweakin' on it for the past week or so. It makes the bike really stable, especially at highway speeds and really smooths the air out. I've got something vibrating at about 4500 rpm that I've got to find and I'm still sorting out the handlebars.

I've been running a set of GS450S bars that were narrowed a little (had end plugs that were sawn off to allow bar-end mirrors) but have gone back to a set of Daytonas. The Daytona's have a little more pullback which is allowing me to use bar-mounted mirrors. The fairing mounted mirrors are really too narrow. I'll probably go with bar-ends before its all done.

The real reason for the post: Has anybody ever seen a set of bars like these Don Vesco low bars?

They look like "Flat" or zero drop Clubmans. I've never seen any like that but I thin they would would work great.

 

[crazydave]

suburban handlebars look similar. mostly found on newer sport bikes.

 

[81ZUKI75]

Thanks for the response Crazydave.

I had never heard of Suburban. Those would work I bet, but at over $170 I will have to pass on new ones. I wonder how hard it would be to find used ones.

One of the reasons I ride these old bikes is that I'm CHEAP .

 

[Guest]

Looks good. Now I need to get busy and get my Rabid Transit mounted. How did you handle the wiring from the head light and for the turn singals? My fairing is not is as good a shape as yours. Looks great on your bike.

 

[81ZUKI75]

I was lucky enough to receive the 6-pin factory pigtail with mine . I still had to break out the volt/ohmeter though since I didn't have instuctions. It was a little frustrating until I realized that the second filament in the turn signals were not hooked up (so no running lights which is okay by me).

From my notes (if you have the pigtail):BLK goes to the right headlight terminal, the Orange (or tan) goes to the top. White/Red Stripe goes to the left headlight terminal. Brown goes to the right turnsignal. Red goes to the left turn signal. Blk goes to the Blk/W ground. Naturally YMMV and I am going partly from memory. All connections are made in the headlight bucket. The headlight connections were made with spade connectors plugged into the OEM headlight plug and all others were bullet connectors.

The pigtail on mine plugs into the faring on the left side but I've seen brochures that show it connecting to a panel behind the headlight. Just sayin' that DV changed things over time and your's could be different.

Oh, and there were two unused wires on my pigtail to power accessories.

Good luck...

 

[Nessism]

That's an interesting looking fairing. How about some more photos?

 

[Guest]

Pigtail

Pigtail

Thanks for the reply. I did not get the pigtail so I will fab up a harness and tuck it inside the fairing. Sent you a pm with a web site I found. There is some good info there.

 

[Truth]

I saw that fairing on a google search once and was very interested in picking one up. I'll have to keep an eye on eBay. Nice find!

 

[81ZUKI75]

I saw that fairing on a google search once and was very interested in picking one up. I'll have to keep an eye on eBay. Nice find!

I've never seen one on eBay. I HAVE seen them on other forums like ADV and a lot of old beemers had them. Hannigans are pretty rare too.

Good luck and be patient.

 

[Smokinapankake]

Thx for posting those pics. I have a Cycle magazine (Dec. 1981, I think) with a review of that fairing. I thought it looked interesting, but the photos in the mag were less than stellar.

Very cool.

 

[81ZUKI75]

Rabid Transit Pigtail

Rabid Transit Pigtail

Thanks for the reply. I did not get the pigtail so I will fab up a harness and tuck it inside the fairing. Sent you a pm with a web site I found. There is some good info there.

I removed the fairinf this weekend to install steering stops and took this shot of the wiring....

Hope this will help.

 

[81ZUKI75]

Rabid Transit Pix

Rabid Transit Pix

That's an interesting looking fairing. How about some more photos?

As requested...

Full Coverage... okay, find the bike

Rider's view...

Right Rear quarter..

Left...

I'm thinking it'll all get painted Tuxedo Black after I've spent some time with it.

 

[81ZUKI75]

and Steering Stops

and Steering Stops

For those who may be interested. To keep from mashing digits and accidentally applying the from brake in the middle of a left-hand low-speed maneuver , steering stops are required.

I drilled, tapped, and installed a 5MM X 10MM socket head cap screw on each side.

Here's a pic of the left side already drilled and tapped...

And the right side all modified and ready to go...

 

[Guest]

wiring harness

wiring harness

Thanks for the picture. I plan on extending the stock wiring and tucking in side the fairing. The fairing looks great on your bike. I have always liked the way the Rabid Transit looked. I got a some fiberglass repairs to do and then get started on getting it mounted.

 

[russr33]

That fairing is groovy baby yeah!

 

[ddaniels]

Looks like something from Flash Gordon. I like it.

 

[DMorris]

I'd love to have one of these.
I visualize it on a built 1200 Bandit.
Think I'll start looking around.

 

[GS Jim]

Hey 81ZUKI75, that is one cool looking fairing - interesting project. I like the clean look of your bikes, btw.

One question, I see you have Hagon shocks on the 750. How have they worked out for you? I have a set on my Thruxton, they've worked fine, but the spring rate is a little stiff for my weight (165lbs).

 

[81ZUKI75]

Hagon Shocks

Hagon Shocks

One question, I see you have Hagon shocks on the 750. How have they worked out for you?

The Hagons are fine. I had Progressive brand shocks on it until I decided to replace the OEM shocks on my '81 750E. I moved the Progressives to the '81 and installed the Hagons on the '82 750T. I'm at about 180 lbs and they were a tad stiff at first but have worked in nicely on the mid pre-load setting.

Oh, and thanks for the compliments on my little twosome..

 

[Guest]

That is great. So where are you in colors thought?