Aftermarket Plastics

I have a 99 vfr800, the plastics I have on now are red and in pretty good condition for me being the third owner and the bike having 30k on it. I have seen plenty of plastic sets on ebay for my like this
HONDA VFR 800 VFR800 98 99 00 01 1998 1999 2000 2001 Racing Fairing body kit 9 B | eBay

I have heard mainly bad about all aftermarket plastics from pre-drilled holes being off to the plastics just don't even come close. I would like to buy another set of plastics for the bike and I'm really only interested in a custom look. I'm not really interested in making my red vfr into a yellow or black one. What are my options? Are there any reputable aftermarket plastic dealers for the 5th gen vfr's? If not so be it and i will leave well enough alone.

Thanks in advance!

 

Those do seem to be my only 3 options. Ill sit on it awhile and if it still seems like a good deal in a couple weeks ill jump on a set from ebay and serf how it goes. I just wanted to see if anyone had aftemarket plastics and where they got them and how well they did for them.

 

I have a set from China I will sell you for cheap.

I got them over a year ago and they were so bad I refused to put them on my bike. It looks better with the rashed plastics.

Here is the thing, they are inexpensive. The shipping is about 1/2 the total price, so sending the back is cost prohibitive since return shipping is on you.

The other thing I found in my case is that the plastics are about 2/3 the thickness of the OEM pieces.

YMMV

 

What specifically made them terrible? Holes in the wrong places? Not the right size? Where did you get them?

 

Fairings were junk. The color did not match the bike (1998 Italian Red) even after I was assured it would match. The color was more like a tomato soup with lots of orange it it. The clear coat was sagging in a few places and it dripped and dried in others. It had a fish eyed hole in the paint that showed through to the plastic. It doesn't look like that the plastics had been primered before painting. There was a couple of gouges out of the paint in the tail.

The fairings were thinner than stock. In places where the OEM plastics were about 3mm, the China fairings were 2mm or less.


I squabbled with the seller on eBay and I pretty much got no where. He drug it out until I could no longer leave feedback.

I could have returned the fairings and gotten back a whopping $60 for my efforts. I probably should have done it. At least I would only be out $470 instead of $530.

I never did try to fit them on the bike. They are currently up in my attic.

 

That sucks, sorry you had that happen but thanks for the input. I'm asking the ebay sellers, who sell the sets, whether or not they can make matching seat cowls and a matching tank cover. If they can't do that then theres no way in hell i'm buying. If they can I probably will buy a full set made by injection molding not thermo.

 

Yeah, it does suck. So... you want to buy them? Half off! :wink:

Hell, I have thought about painting the whole damned bike with bedliner and calling it done. I have seen guys do it over on the EX500 forums and it doesn't look bad on that bike. I bet the Viffer would look like shit though.

Maybe if I did the Honda tank wings in silver and got some VFR decals for the sides... nah.

 

When I was looking for fairings I came across this website, I havent done any research on them. However from the looks of it, it seems better than the ebay fairings.

 

If only they came with tank covers I mean seriously what are you supposed to do? Do they expect you to schuck out more money to get your tank painted and even then having to match that paint what a nightmare.

The one seller on ebay I contacted said they do not sell tank covers, I'm still waiting on a reply from the other.

 

It's that whole can't undo what I just did thing.... and the bike would possibly unsellable after that. And even though you gave an A+ sales pitch on those fairings you have I think I'll have to pass lol.

 

Actually, Ill tell you what. If you can dig them out for me and actually put them on your bike and send me pics of the fitment I would probably buy them and just paint them again myself or even rhino line it!

 

To fix my bike with everything it needs from Honda would cost about $1300. That includes the right side case cover, upper cowl, both lower fairings and a right side turn signal.

 

Im confused... So are you saying you wouldn't want to sell me the red crappy fairing set you have?

 

Has anyone had experience with vinyl wrap. I'm completely new to it but, it looks like a viable option if you just want to change the color scheme of the bike plus in some cases it's removable. I know this would not be as easy as slapping the vinyl wrap on and bam perfect. From what I have seen you can do this with know-how, patience, cotton gloves, and a felt tipped smoother outer thing. Oh and the vinyl.

Please educate me.

 

I was just musing out loud. I will sell them to you. The test fit will not happen anytime soon. I am out of town on business and will be for the next couple of weeks.

I gotta do a valve check anyways so that might be a good time to do it.

 

Vinyl wrap takes time, patience and a heat gun. You also need to clear coat the edges so they don't lift, but they sell affordable little "pens" for that purpose. Vinyl wrap is also easily removed when you are ready to go back to original color. What it does require is a good, smooth finish underneath. It will show deep gouges and scratches in the paint. From what I see, buying enough vinyl to wrap a bike (along with some tools) puts you in the $500 range. Thing is, motorcycle plastics are not so hard to work with. If you get some flexible rattle can primer, you can actually prep your bike for paint with some time, patience and sandpaper. You sand scratches smooth, fill gouges with flexible filler and then prime/sand to create a smooth finish using sanding blocks and wet/dry paper. So all said and done, I think the effort and cost of vinyl wrapping are about equal to prepping for paint and having someone spray the paint on for you.

I think it boils down to two choices. If your paint is in great shape and you want to try a non-factory color then vinyl wrap the bike. If your paint is tired and needs a re-paint, then prep the surface and have it re-sprayed in your choice of color.

Now if you have a yellow 2K, be prepared to spend $500 on the two part, pearlescent paint. DAMN that shit is expensive!!!!!!!:hss:

Jose

 

The plastics on the bike are in great condition. Just the usual surface scratches to the clear coat nothing even remotely deep. Im really interested in this vinyl thing. Have you ever done it? What i really to know is what type of vinyl wrap to use. I hear hexis makes good vinyl but they have different types like cast vinyl and polynmeric?? I just want to make sure it is removable. Hexis's site says they adhere permanently but i think they just mean till you heat it up and take it off yourself. Which brings me to another question i live in Georgia where it can get 100+ with the heat index, does vinyl have the potential to come off at that temp.? And where oh where on Hexis's site can you buy the stuff or find dealers. I havent been able to find any links.

 

A pic of my bike

 

Hi! I'm new here and I am looking at your pic. I don't see anything wrong with it. Are you just tired of the color? I actually like it.