My New Custom Chinese Fairing

I disagree with Honda that the VFR demographic wants a mono-colored graphic-free look. That's the BMW demographic ain't it?

I'm probably in the minority but even at 55 I prefer a loud, looks-fast-even-when-parked, stands out in a crowd look. Give me a racer replica over a slab of black or silver any day. And don't hold the decals. Every sticker adds at least $50 to the value of the bike

I figure a big splash of color will make me more visible on the road without having to dress like I'm going deer hunting.

So in that vein I contacted one of the many fine Chinese purveyors of aftermarket plastic on eBay.

My recently acquired 08 had taken a skid on the right side and the PO had inexplicably "fixed" the scrapes with JB Weld. "It's silver just like the fairing," said he. Ooookay. It wasn't terrible but I wanted something unique.

Packaging tracking shows the new set should be arriving on Thursday so thought I'd share the experience.

I sent them the following two pics as far as instructions go. I'll keep you posted as to what they came up with.

Basically the look I'm going for:



But since the VFR fairing is different here's the "color map."

 

Why not just get it painted the way you like? Personally, I would also move the "VFR" logo down into the red zone below where you have it now. But that is personal preference.

 

It's hard to beat the iconic scheme of the NC30, RC30. 25-30 years on and it's still relevant, that is a testament to the original designer. Some of the later years were pretty wild with neon splashed all over the place, etc (929-954-VTR250). Some things about the 80's needed to die in the 80's, lol. Good luck with the fitting, I've heard both good and bad on that front.

 

I would just go straight Honda wings on the tank, in yellow. An homage to the old school. I always thought the world endurance look was spot on. IMO that early 90's VFR logo looks a little out of place on that scheme, too much of a mashup. But like you say, it's the decision of the person spending the money and their personal taste.

 

The box arrived early.




I'm coming to this look with a clean slate. I know nothing about Honda racing or its history so elitists can mock me as I pass them.

I didn't go with paint only because I had a lot of scraped up plastic and a cracked cluster shroud. Besides the last time I got a paint estimate on a gas tank they wanted $450 - granted it was a three color job with some minor graphics. This set cost me $425 so I don't have too much skin in the game. And I've had good luck with Chinese fairing sets for the couple 600rr I've restored.

 

Interesting

 

Got the pieces unwrapped. Sadly it's too cold here to do much assembly. Plastic is fluid so I've found it's best to install on warm days. Also there's some prep work required -- add heat shield, new well washers, make sure the holes were drilled the proper size (the Chinese tend to err on the side of too small).

The main side panels look good:



The Chinese plastic feels heavier (exact weight difference to come). It's definitely not as elastic.

Both side pieces had one of the tabs broken off. The same one. I think it helps hold on the black plastic piece that links the two side pieces. It's of no consequence as this light piece is held on at four other anchor points.



Only damage of consequence was the left side piece had the little extension that goes back to the side stand snapped off. Seems to have been packaged that way as the shipping box had no damage. This is structurally a weak spot made more so when the plastic is rigid. It's likely to break again but I super glued it and added a metal reinforcing bar on the back side. If it won't hold I'll just eliminate that little extension.

 

What about the nose, rear and cowl?


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It warmed up today so I put on the new fairings. Not quite final as I still need to order a couple things from Honda. Currently it has my silver grip cover tabs and I think I'll buy some red ones. These don't come with the fairing set. Also there's a small rubber bumper on the rear seat cowl that I'll order where I currently used some checkered tape.






I'll write up a few details of the install tomorrow.

 

As I mentioned the aftermarket set felt heavier and it's definitely more rigid. In a low speed fall I think it will crack where OEM would only scar.

I weighed the old and new pieces:

Side panels:
OEM 2 lbs. 9 oz.
Chinese 3 lbs.

Passenger seat cowl, tail cowl and nose cowl all weighed basically the same with the Chinese plastic a small amount heavier, in the .1-.5 oz. range

The tank cover added 2 lbs. 13 oz.

I had no problems fitting anything except the tank cover. There were a total of four broken tabs. Three were minor and didn't affect anything. The fourth required a zip tie but I've found that's par for the course when installing aftermarket fairings. It's behind the left turn signal so not noticeable.

The worst part about Chinese fairings is the paint isn't up to 1st world standards. This set didn't have any major runs or drips but the nose cowl light blue doesn't exactly match the light blue on the side pieces. I think it's because the side pieces have extra layers of clear coat to protect that VFR decal. The base coat color is the same but once you layer on clear coat the color darkens. I know this from experience. The right way to do it would be to layer all the pieces with the same amounts of clear coat.

Also one of the color transitions isn't razor sharp with some splatter visible.

I was suspicious about the tank cover from the start. I used silver elements on this fairings since I figured I might have to keep my existing silver tank. Since there's no OEM piece to copy I was concerned it would not fit right.

And it didn't, initially.

The inside of the cover is unfinished plastic and rough in spots so I lined it with 1mm felt which only made it thicker. Result was the classic
'if it lines up in front it doesn't in back" and vice versa. So I attached it in front and cut off the back mounting plate with a Dremel. With such a tight fit it ain't moving.

Then I parked it in direct sunlight. After less than an hour I was able to push the back all the way down. Problem solved.

The "Interceptor" lettering is a vinyl decal I added. Not really thrilled with my choice of color or font here. I could rub it off and do-over but I don't dislike it that much.

I forgot to specify for them to paint the two little "shoulder" pieces next to instrument cluster and the cluster shroud. My existing silver looks okay for the shoulders but my painting of the shroud cluster was a bad idea. I thought gray would make for a nice continuous look and look less cheap than the stock black. Well it doesn't and it doesn't. I'm going to repaint this light blue next time I have occasion to remove it.



The shoulders and the shroud should all be the light blue color I'm thinking.

I mentioned the damage to the seller and she was quick to offer to send "special fairing super glue" that would solve the problems. I suggested she refund me $50 and she agreed. So net cost to me for the set was $380 delivered.

People knock the Chinese fairings and they're not wrong that the quality isn't the same and there are sometimes minor fitment issues. But I think they're good bang for the buck. They try hard and will custom paint whatever you want. If you're reasonable they will be too when there are problems. And if you drop your bike it's not that big of a deal.

The OEM premium is just so crazy high and you're limited to stock colors. An OEM set runs about $1800 for the VFR

 

Look great to me for the price!! I paint cars for a living and the price of paint is crazy!! How long did it take for you to get them?? I tried them years ago and never received them. Said they were stuck in customs.


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I've done four fairing sets in the last 12 months - 3 CBR600rr's and one Yamaha R1.

All arrived within three weeks of ordering with no issues.

This one I ordered on 10/17. But because of the custom paint scheme it took until 11/4 to approve. Each back and forth takes two days as they're working while we're sleeping. They mailed the painted set on 11/8 and it arrived on 11/14.

One nice thing about ebay is that as the buyer you hold all the cards. If they don't deliver you don't pay. If they don't deliver what you agreed on you can return it. Since return shipping to China is prohibitive and at their expense they're careful to deliver something acceptable.

 

Awesome!! Might give them a another try again. What seller did you use??


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I think there are only a couple factories that make all of the plastic and lots of middle men who sell them on eBay. For popular, and oft-crashed models like the 600rr they've begun stocking them in the US so you get them in just a couple days (standard paint schemes, obviously not with custom paint).

I ordered the VFR fairings from amymotor-9

"Amy" is a good communicator, she responds to all your emails promptly. I doubt she knows anything about fairings but she's a good liason. You get photos of the painted pieces before they're shipped so you can make sure they did what you wanted.

She currently lists VFR fairings on eBay but the photo is not of a VFR.

 

Great!! Thank you!!


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