GS1100G, fairing project

[Buffalo Bill]

Short sidetrack project, long overdue

I been wantin' to do this for years!
Sloppy, but I can clean it up later, was eager to see what it would look like.

[dorkburger]

Along similar ideas.....

Did the same to the shifter too...

[Buffalo Bill]

Nice Dorkburger, I should try that for my brake lever.

Made some progress, have the fairing struts in place and the fairing test mounted. Project is going well.

Lookin' Hooligan!!!

[Nessism]

Anybody know where I can buy one of these; 9 pin connector?
I think it was melted by heat from the headlight bulb. I think it was resting on the base of the bulb.

That connector melted because of the stator wiring up to the headlamp switch. A very common problem that's listed in the Newbie Mistakes thread of items that should be fixed.

[Grimly]

Thanks! I was acting for sure.
Have a look on ebay for some used GS mirrors. High quality Suzuki for cheap.
I think my G looks great with just the windshield, but over 60 MPH the wind drag compounds by the square.
I'm seriously considering taking this bike on the track. Hey it's a fun ride!

I wasn't impressed by the weeny little sports fairing on the XJ9 - all it did was direct high-speed air, water and insects at my head.
That was during the past few months, when it wasn't really being used much because of the crappy weather protection it offered.
A couple of weeks ago I made an interesting discovery - the fairing really works much better at 90mph+. In fact, anything above a sustained 95, the wind being shoved around it, is like being behind something larger in effect - almost the same result as a half-touring setup. There's a nice bubble of calm air which doesn't require much tucking in to get down into it, and the sideways deflection around the bar ends is really effective.
It's still not good enough for all year round use though, so it will be coming off and a touring fairing going on, but it was nice to find it wasn't totally useless.

[Buffalo Bill]

That connector melted because of the stator wiring up to the headlamp switch. A very common problem that's listed in the Newbie Mistakes thread of items that should be fixed.

W/G from the stator to the connector > does a loop back into the connector > becomes W/R and goes on to the R/R?

[Nessism]

W/G from the stator to the connector > does a loop back into the connector > becomes W/R and goes on to the R/R?

Yes, correct. Needless high current wire path, though connectors that develop resistance = melted harness.

[Buffalo Bill]

Thanks!
_______________

[Buffalo Bill]

Got all the struts finished

You have to design and build your own struts for these fairings.
My design came out really solid, feels good.
Next-headlight mount and windshield install.

[Buffalo Bill]

Installed, not yet painted

Ok, got all the mechanical work done and did a test ride, up to 85mph.
Works great!
Has to be painted to match the bike, no adjustments to mention.

[dorkburger]

I love it! I like the low mounted turn signals - they don't clutter up the look of the fairing.

[Buffalo Bill]

Thanks, for the signal lights it was an easy bracket to make, just a bent flat steel bar under the existing horn mounting bolts.
Did not have to buy new signal lights.
The wiring harness was long enough to stuff back into the headlight housing, I like that.

[Charlie G]

Looks really nice Bill. Are you going to have any pin stripping done to it?

[steve murdoch]

Holy Darmah, Batman that looks good.
A nice trade-off between full-on race stance and cafe racer.

[mmattockx]

Ok, got all the mechanical work done and did a test ride, up to 85mph.
Works great!
Has to be painted to match the bike, no adjustments to mention.

Damn, that looks good. You have enough room for your hands at full steering lock?

I love it! I like the low mounted turn signals - they don't clutter up the look of the fairing.

+1, they suit it very well.


Mark