GS 550E 1980 - headlight fairing

[ukjules]

Long term rental (from GS owner):
- this would work for sure. you see if I did this
I could do it on no other bike as I know GS's
are ideal for long distances.

Next spring that would be just outstanding.

I'll check out link for flight shipping !

and you guys in usa ! I tell you an EU tour is amazing.
I dod uk - Normandy to somme - Amsterdam to Germany and all
the sights to prague back to swiss to France spain Gibraltar
(as. nice to be in a bit of uk again)
then back up through spain looking at the amazing
deserts, roman ruins etc)

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Unbox?ing/ Fitment

Unbox?ing/ Fitment

First impressions of the packaging were not encouraging. Wrapped, no box. Unwrapping revealed 2 layers of foam and 2 layers of bubble wrap. The shield is really light, so I guess it didn't need a box to protect it. It came with a good protective film on the outside as well. Fitment only took about 20 minutes including a slight straightening of the metal ears that tuck between the headlamp bucket and the bikes headlamp mounting ears. I think it looks pretty good. for $22, I'm well pleased with the look. No test ride yet.

Don't know what's up with the "H" logo front and center. It's the only thing I don't like about it.

What should I be using to clean this shield?

​

 

[ukjules]

Like you I am massively impressed so far.
Quality , speed of arrival everything.

I cant get my bike out for a long ride
so cant test at cruising speed but I am convinced
it is going to help long rides.

I'll report on the extra attachment fairing when it
arrives.

be interested in your test!

 

[fastbysuzuki]

Due to the two people on here that has purchased one of these has caused me to bite the bullet and buy one :smug:
For that price it's well worth a try.
The single fixing does look like it could move at speed but as jules said a hat or another idea would stop that.

If either of you have tested it at speed please post results.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I put about half hour of paved road riding in this past Sunday. In my very un-scientific analysis of the the cheap ebay shield shown in my pics above: It does help, a bit. Instead of my entire torso getting the all of the the buffeting, the air seems to come over the shield and concentrate pretty evenly across, right at about my shoulder height. It's just not high enough to get it up over my helmet as I had hoped. I do have it angled forward as far as the adjustment in the brackets will allow, I think. But I may play with that some. It definitely feels better at 55-65 mph with the shield than without.

I really like the look though.

To mount it, as I said above, I did have to hammer the 2 bent mounting flanges a bit to widen them to slip between the headlamp ears and the bucket. But nothing major. And the mounting seems to be really secure. I did not get out on the interstate, just too cold.

Worth $22, at least.

 

[ukjules]

I'll inform when the extension arrives in a few days.
that might give the added protection head height.
also it can easily be removed leaving main headlight fairing only.

but I confirm I am very impressed so far too.

 

[Steve]

Looking at all these postings, I saw a reference to National Cycle shields. I have installed a few on different bikes. The LARGE PlexiFairing 3 is definitely more than you want, but it offers almost as much protection as my Goldwing. A smaller one that might not "ruin the look" of your bike is the Street Shield EX. You can see it installed on my son's (former) GS650L by clicking on the picture in my sig. Cowboyup has installed on on his daughter's bike, he might be able to provide a picture or two. I like it because it is steady. Two mounting points on the handlebars, another two on the fork legs. Initial installation of the brackets might take 10-15 minutes. About 30 seconds to remove, probably a minute or two to re-install.

.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Quick search of the Street Shield EX looks like a good shield for @ $180.00. Will keep that one in mind. I know I'm going to need something more than the one I just installed if I want to do any extended highway riding.

 

[ukjules]

Update :

I installed the headlight fairing and the extension.
Roadtest:
While it wobbles a bit on rought terrain (without
the extension it does not wobble ).
Again I cant test at 70 mph but at lower speeds
there is.no doubt it took all the wind off
my helmet . Having been buffeted for thousands
of miles round Europe it was instant relief !
the ext seems to be built very well.



so the 13? fairing and 14? extension I am gonna
go with until someone can show me better .



guys we need pics of fairings if you have !

 

[ukjules]

bike with fairing and extension

 

[ukjules]

how it looks on bike.
a glove between fairing and dash solves
any chance of movement !

i am impressed with the total lack of wind on helmet.
it. an also be taken of in seconds
for touring when the tent is up !

 

[ukjules]

Bike now ready for long road cruises.
Shame its winter here ! (uk)
I need somehow to get my bike to California.....

 

[Steve]

Shame its winter here ! (uk)
I need somehow to get my bike to California.....

Umm, not sure how to break this to you, but winter will be arriving in California in just another five weeks. :-k

.

 

[ukjules]

..... But surely winter in California is like summer
to us brits ....?

Understood.Next year I must do a USA trip.
Will need to get my bike there or buy one there (a gs)

 

[Steve]

Several years ago, Simon and Deb Keuther came on holiday from Australia. He found that shipping his bike here would cost close to AUS$2000 and take a month or two. Then there would be a quarrantine period of a couple months before the bike would be released to him for riding. Repeat that process for the trip home. He decided it would be much easier and cheaper to buy a bike here and store it than it would be to ship his and wait for the quarrantines. One other factor was that they planned on returning a couple of times, hence the storage factor. If you just wanted to come over one time, I'm sure someone would have a "rental" available that would be cheaper than what some rental company would charge.

Then, the next challenge would be to decide what part(s) of the country you wanted to see. That would help determine what time of year to visit. The country is large enough to have smaller weather-related areas, making different times of the year more desirable for visitation.

.

 

[ukjules]

Yes understood.
It is a case of rent one or buy one.
Thing is it has to be a cool GS or I
wouldn't bother.
Need a GS550 1980 ish or 750.

I follow good dry weather . Florida to Los Angeles
is an option and I think is ok till about now time.
But id probably be forced to whatever the cheapest
flight is to any airport in USA.

So I'd arrive like that. Get to bike location.
then ride for a month or two. 5000 - 7000
miles kinda run.

I'll start a thread if this ever happens
and ask where I look for second hand bikes.

 

[fastbysuzuki]

Today I received mother fairing that UkJules & Rich82GS750TZ purchased yes it came very well packed and looks good quality.
I have not fitted it as yet but going along with what has been said I have straightened the brackets (I did play around with trying to adjusting them) but gave up on that.
I sat it roughly were it will sit and yes I like the lines, as Rich commented would have prepared not to have the H logo but I can live with that.

 

[uk gs nut]

Jules, here is a picture of my son James's GS550 with Rifle headlamp fairing. Rifle were part of the Craig Vetter group. It keeps the wind off your body but still the wind gets to your head.
DENNIS PHONE PICS 002 by Dennis Harland, on Flickr