HELP: Upper Cowl Removal - Anyone have any hints...

Noticed my "upper cowl" - the faring part that has the "Interceptor" badge on it - has some deep-ish scratches on it. I'm not going t speculate how they got there for now, but it almost seems like they were covered up with color-matched wax or touch up paint. I found them after a wash and polish - my white polishing buff went pink when I hit the area. Regardless, they irritate me - I can't un-see them so I want to replace that part.

Does anyone have hints or tips they can share?

Some questions:

1) The Upper Cowl is listed as a separate piece from the mid cowl on the parts pages I have visited- I'm assuming I couldn't be so lucky as to only have to remove that single piece? Some diagrams seem to have it listed as part of the mid-cowl, so I'm a little confused.

2) Does the "Interceptor" badge come pre-installed or do I need to order a set of those as well

3) How hard is the job? I've always found fairings pretty easy to work with on other bikes, but a couple of searches around here suggest otherwise...

4) Can I pry/heat/otherwise remove the existing badge? If so, how do I do it and what do I use to re-adhere it?

I love the bike - it's a minor annoyance, but my OCD compels me to address this in a timely manner. If anyone could share experiences, good, bad, or indifferent, I would be indebted.

I also like pictures and videos. As cave-man simple as possible

Man thanks in advance!!!!!

 

Oh, forgot to add - if anyone is in the SE Ohio or SW PA area, there is free beer involved if you've done this before and can offer assistance

 

I had a low speed crash on my bike that took out the upper cowl. I bought a replacement upper cowl that included the badge already attached. The upper cowl is attached to the middle cowl by self tapping screws. When I replaced mine I found disassembly and reassembly quite straightforward.

 

Do you mind sharing where you ordered, or was it from a dealer?

 

I ordered my parts from Partzilla.

 

In case anyone stumbles across this in the future, the correct part number for the left upper fairing in red is :

64230-MJM-A00ZA is Victory Red R334. (WL)

Apparently the (WL) designates "With Logo" so the badge is already applied. I would guess you could get them without the badge and apply the VFR logo instead - I've read where guys have done that and to be honest I'm tempted but then I have to do the other side as well.

Thanks!!!

 

If you're speaking of (only) scratches, why wouldn't you consider a repaint job ? I bet it's quite a lot cheaper for a paint job you won't notice the difference from a new one. I did a similar repaint job on a top case (had my older grey Krauser K5 repainted in white immediately after buying my 8th gen), and the result was like new. The bodywork repair (doing mostly car body work repairs, but it's the same techniques used after all !) needed only the color code. He fixed the paint job for 50€, I bet a new panel like yours would cost a multitude of that amount...

 

I have considered it - I suspect I'd be in it for around $50 US. I'm going to ask around, but the panel can be had for $130 and then the bike is perfect. The repaint probably is the smart way to do this, but I don't know how long I'd have to wait for it. Its a combination of my OCD and impatience - I can swap out the panel as soon as it gets here and have it installed in a couple of hours, vs. waiting for days to get the the part painted. The riding season here is short, and I've made it shorter by getting older and not being willing to ride in weather under around 55-60 F.

What I probably will do is get the part painted at some point and keep it as a spare. Again, I acknowledge that it's not the smart way to do it, but I'm weird Honest but weird.

 

Your honesty outweighs your (what you yourself called) weirdness It's a wise thing to do indeed, to have it painted and to keep it as a spare, there's nothing weird to your choice, on the contrary. And who knows, if you'd have some other bodywork (like e.g. some case or the like), it wouldn't even cost you all that much extra.