Removing this ugly windjammer

[twadlington]

Hello,
I am a full fledged motorcycle newbie. I recently completed my state's (Illinois) MSF Basic Rider Course and began looking for bikes. I decided on a pretty well kept 1982 Suzuki GS650G w/19,000 miles that was being sold locally by a man on craigslist for $800. So now I have this thing and it has this extremely unpleasant faring on the front. I would like to remove it but the headlight and front turn signals are incorporated into it. What would I need to install a headlight and turn signals once this has been removed? I would like it to just be one nice big round light with some functional turn signals, much like the stock non-fared version of this bike I have seen online. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Go Mifune]

On my GS750 the headlight and turn signals mount to a pair of 'ears' that slip onto the forks.

 

[terrylee]

You an go stock which means you'll have to at least lower your forks to get them on, or there is a nice chrome clamp on type. Best price I found was Z1 enterprises. terrylee

 

[Planecrazy]

First off, welcome to the GSR!

Your best bet is to post a "parts wanted" post in the "parts wanted" section of the forum. It's quite possible that another GSR member has OEM parts they'd be willing to sell you that are made for your bike. Give it a whirl before you start with aftermarket.

You can also search Craigslist and Ebay for OEM parts, and while doing this you can at least enjoy your new GS with the fairing on it.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Steve

 

[MAC10]

Hang on to the fairing for a while, until you get some experience.Beware of buying in to motorcycle fashion trends, and caring about how it looks more than how it works. You have chosen one of the best lines of bikes ever built for serious riders. Take time to get to know your bike for what it can do, and what it really is. Experience will change your attitude, as many long time riders can tell you. Much of what seems important now won't be after your first 50,000.

If you plan to do long trips, and get serious about it, a Vetter fairing is one of the best made for any vintage bike. Function trumps form for serious long distance riding. You might appreciate it after a 1000 mile day, when you will only care how well it could have worked to protect you as you arrive bone tired, covered with bugs,soaked and cold from rain, with ringing ears from wind blast.

If you do sell it, there is a good market for Windjammers and their parts, which you can use to fund your restoration. They aren't made anymore, so be sure to sell it to someone who appreciates it.

 

[tkent02]

I have the turn signals you need, maybe the headlight parts. PM me if you are interested.

 

[850 Combat]

I'll agree that a Windjammer works great. Functionally, they kick butt on a Concours 1000 or BMW R100 R80 RT fairing for protection and quiet. Little to no buffeting with a Windjammer, unlike some OEM's.

That said, I have removed a number of them, and will probably continue to do so.

 

[twadlington]

Wow, guys. Thanks for your fast and informative responses. The fairing just isnt for me, so I really want to remove it. I have found these "ear" fixtures on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/82-S...6064784QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

So these just slide onto the forks and then you mount the headlight and turn signals to it, right? Am I better off paying for the originals like above, or can I use aftermarket parts like these? :

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co...=80003&zmam=88421133&zmas=1&zmac=45&zmap=7321

Thank you all.

 

[850 Combat]

You will want to consult a wiring diagram in order to figure out how to redo the wiring without the Vetter. It should be close to "plug and play", but uou will need to confirm the turn signals and running lights etc. There are grounding washers that mount to the back of the turn signals which have to be hooked up as well. Its simple.

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

I would get the original headlight ears

 

[physics-teacher]

warning

warning

I would stay away from those ebay parts. The seller shows they fit both a 650G and a 650GL, but this is wrong. The GL uses a smaller headlight than the G and also different ears, though they look similar at first glance. While the GL ears will fit right on your fork tubes, attempting to fit a stock G headlight will be a frustrating experience. I have an 81 650G and the ears are black. Maybe they went to chrome later like they did on the turn signals, but I'd make sure I wasn't getting L ears.

 

[Truth]

Welcome to GSR! I was noticing that bike on CL for a good while and almost picked it up myself. On a long highway ride you might be glad you have that fairing on there. Let me know if you want to sell it if you remove it.

 

[Steve]

Am I better off paying for the originals like above, or can I use aftermarket parts like these?

I would stay away from those ebay parts. The seller shows they fit both a 650G and a 650GL, but this is wrong. The GL uses a smaller headlight than the G and also different ears, though they look similar at first glance. While the GL ears will fit right on your fork tubes, attempting to fit a stock G headlight will be a frustrating experience. I have an 81 650G and the ears are black. Maybe they went to chrome later like they did on the turn signals, but I'd make sure I wasn't getting L ears.

No, they did not go to chrome. The chrome ears were to match the chrome headlight bucket on the L models. All the G models were black.

Twadlington, skip the chrome units on eBay, go for the black ones that physics-teacher has.

.

 

[ddaniels]

So, are you sure yours are not already on there? When I removed the Pacifico fairing from mine, the ends of the ears were swung together and ziptied. Better check.

 

[twadlington]

I ordered the Clymer manual for this bike today! Excited to start getting dirty! I also removed the fairing, and no, the ears are not there. The fairing is actually an "Invader" fairing made by the Hoese Corporation out of Texas. I am searching around for the black ears someone described above but I think I might roll with those aftermarket "clip ons" that I found and posted earlier. Anyone had good experience with these or should I really be using the originals?

I noticed the aftermarkets dont have any sort of rubber washer to go between the part and the handlebar (at least they dont show it in the pic) If I do get the part should I just get a rubber washer at the hardware store and cut it so it can go around the bar or is ok to go metal on metal? I would think it would slide a bit and maybe scratch the bars so I think I would get the washers if they dont come with any. Thanks for the help.

 

[ddaniels]

The headlight ears don't clip to the handlebars. They attach to the forks. You should not need rubber.

 

[physics-teacher]

The black ears for an "81 do have rubber biscuits in them that are probably there to insulate the bulb from the buzzing this machine does put out. You can find the right ears on ebay from time to time, though they will probably need repainting and some derusting. I haven't checked but I imagine Suzuki still sells the rubber rings that go on the top and bottom of each ear mount.

 

[jpaul]

I had a Windjammer on my 78 GS750, and I didn't need to remove the ears or the headlight bucket to install it. On my 77 Goldwing, I had to remove the bucket, but kept the headlight ears and just turned them in for clearance. Check to see if you already have the ears still on the forks, since it's actually more work to remove them when you install the fairing, and they do give you someplace to hang the wiring from.

 

[Skateguy50]

You can make anything fit you want to, but easiest would be to find some spare old ones from someone here on the forums. Think you had an offer earlier in this thread, if not try the parts for sale forum, then if not try the wanted parts forum.

 

[ChicagoBob]

Windjammers mounted over the original headlight bucket

Windjammers mounted over the original headlight bucket

Windjammers were mounted without removing the original bucket. Vetter supplied a wiring harness pigtail that you ran through the hole in the rear of the headlight bucket, and he also supplied a round, elastic-bound dust cover that went over the empty bucket. If yours is like this, you should be able to mount a stock headlight and turn signals to the original ears and bucket without much trouble.