billyk
Guru
I've ridden 2 years and about 3500 miles on a Quest 2 with an old Zzipper fairing originally designed for a BikeE. My interest in a fairing is for winter commuting in rainy Seattle; secondarily it is 5-10% faster above 15mph. But mostly I like to arrive at work without being wet from either rain or the sweat I'd accumulate in full rain gear.
My previous fairing (1st photo) was repurposed and didn't fit the Quest very well:
- The bulge of the fairing was much higher than needed, so it blocked much of the near view. Although it is clear, looking through the curve is distorting. It also reflected low sunlight right into my eyes.
- With the bulge curving down at the back end, rain would flow back in the wind, dripping into my lap. Going over a bump at speed, I'd get a face-full of cold water.
.JPG)
I looked around for commercial alternatives and found none. The few that are available are too short to serve as raingear. They're also very expensive and use heavy mounts.
So I decided to build my own.
Polycarbonate is the material of choice: near glass-clear and extremely strong, virtually shatterproof. Motorcycle fairings are made of polycarbonate, also those blister packages that are so hard to open.
Polycarbonate can be molded if you have a controlled-temperature oven able to hold something this big at 360F (180C), which I don't. That means I can only bend it in one direction.
My design was based on experience:
The top of the fairing should be directly along the rider's line of sight, so you don't look through it at all.
* That way you see the road as close in front of you as possible.
* This angle also means water will not flow towards the rider.
* It should extend from feet to hands. This also keeps the drivetrain dry and clean.
* It should provide a mount for a light low-down in front.
Photos of the new fairing:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Specs (see photos below for details):
* The large flat piece is 3/32-inch (2.4mm) polycarbonate (about 35usd for the 30x26 inch piece). This thickness is quite rigid.
* The curved front piece and the side flanges are 1/32-inch (0.8mm) polycarbonate, which is flexible. Using a brake bender (for sheet metal), I was easily able to bend a straight angle to make the flanges.
* The pieces are held together using nylon bolts/nuts, and sealed with Lexel clear sealant, which is flexible. The Lexel is partly as glue but mostly to keep the pieces from creaking against each other.
* The structure is held to the frame by 3-point mounts:
- Handlebar mounts made from used bar ends. I inserted a wooden dowel that fit exactly, then cut the whole thing at the right angle. The dowel serves as anchor for wood screws that hold the structure at the top (see photos).
- The bottom mount is held to the frame by pieces of HDPE plastic (the same stuff used for cutting boards), which is a very friendly material for the home shop. It can be cut and drilled precisely. These were drilled with a 35mm hole to fit the wide part of the top tube, then cut across the hole and drilled to make a clamp (see photos). This holds very strongly.
- The two HDPE pieces are drilled to accept a 5/8-inch aluminum tube that runs forward of the bottom bracket. My mount for the old fairing used a 1/2-inch tube, which was not rigid enough. The new one repurposes the old by sleeving it into the 5/8-inch one.
- The front end of the aluminum tube goes into another piece of HDPE at the front (see photos). This is bolted to the flexible bottom of the fairing. It also mounts the light.
- The orange (naturally) near-vertical piece is a threaded rod that allows adjusting the angle of the main fairing piece.
* The polycarbonate structure is edged with plastic tubing, cut longitudinally and pressed into place. Large red piece at the top to redirect wind-blown rain, thin clear vinyl tubing along the sides. (Cutting a straight line in this stuff is a real pain!)
About 50usd of material, many hours of thought while riding, a weekend of execution and it all works! It's quite stable at high speed and does what was called for.
Detailed specs available on request.
BK
PS - This was blocked by the spam filter ... trying to change dollar signs to "usd" to pass ...
-----------------
Driver's view. Note looking (barely) at the bottom of the main fairing piece, to avoid low sun reflection. Angle can be adjusted using the central threaded rod (wrapped with orange tape).
Top view of the handlebar mounts. Stainless screws go into wooden dowels inserted into old bar-ends.
.JPG)
Detail of the HDPE plastic clamps that hold the aluminum tube running forward of the bottom bracket. Pieces are drilled to 35mm, then cut across the hole to provide a very rigid clamp.
Also note light mount at the front.
My previous fairing (1st photo) was repurposed and didn't fit the Quest very well:
- The bulge of the fairing was much higher than needed, so it blocked much of the near view. Although it is clear, looking through the curve is distorting. It also reflected low sunlight right into my eyes.
- With the bulge curving down at the back end, rain would flow back in the wind, dripping into my lap. Going over a bump at speed, I'd get a face-full of cold water.
I looked around for commercial alternatives and found none. The few that are available are too short to serve as raingear. They're also very expensive and use heavy mounts.
So I decided to build my own.
Polycarbonate is the material of choice: near glass-clear and extremely strong, virtually shatterproof. Motorcycle fairings are made of polycarbonate, also those blister packages that are so hard to open.
Polycarbonate can be molded if you have a controlled-temperature oven able to hold something this big at 360F (180C), which I don't. That means I can only bend it in one direction.
My design was based on experience:
The top of the fairing should be directly along the rider's line of sight, so you don't look through it at all.
* That way you see the road as close in front of you as possible.
* This angle also means water will not flow towards the rider.
* It should extend from feet to hands. This also keeps the drivetrain dry and clean.
* It should provide a mount for a light low-down in front.
Photos of the new fairing:
Specs (see photos below for details):
* The large flat piece is 3/32-inch (2.4mm) polycarbonate (about 35usd for the 30x26 inch piece). This thickness is quite rigid.
* The curved front piece and the side flanges are 1/32-inch (0.8mm) polycarbonate, which is flexible. Using a brake bender (for sheet metal), I was easily able to bend a straight angle to make the flanges.
* The pieces are held together using nylon bolts/nuts, and sealed with Lexel clear sealant, which is flexible. The Lexel is partly as glue but mostly to keep the pieces from creaking against each other.
* The structure is held to the frame by 3-point mounts:
- Handlebar mounts made from used bar ends. I inserted a wooden dowel that fit exactly, then cut the whole thing at the right angle. The dowel serves as anchor for wood screws that hold the structure at the top (see photos).
- The bottom mount is held to the frame by pieces of HDPE plastic (the same stuff used for cutting boards), which is a very friendly material for the home shop. It can be cut and drilled precisely. These were drilled with a 35mm hole to fit the wide part of the top tube, then cut across the hole and drilled to make a clamp (see photos). This holds very strongly.
- The two HDPE pieces are drilled to accept a 5/8-inch aluminum tube that runs forward of the bottom bracket. My mount for the old fairing used a 1/2-inch tube, which was not rigid enough. The new one repurposes the old by sleeving it into the 5/8-inch one.
- The front end of the aluminum tube goes into another piece of HDPE at the front (see photos). This is bolted to the flexible bottom of the fairing. It also mounts the light.
- The orange (naturally) near-vertical piece is a threaded rod that allows adjusting the angle of the main fairing piece.
* The polycarbonate structure is edged with plastic tubing, cut longitudinally and pressed into place. Large red piece at the top to redirect wind-blown rain, thin clear vinyl tubing along the sides. (Cutting a straight line in this stuff is a real pain!)
About 50usd of material, many hours of thought while riding, a weekend of execution and it all works! It's quite stable at high speed and does what was called for.
Detailed specs available on request.
BK
PS - This was blocked by the spam filter ... trying to change dollar signs to "usd" to pass ...
-----------------
Driver's view. Note looking (barely) at the bottom of the main fairing piece, to avoid low sun reflection. Angle can be adjusted using the central threaded rod (wrapped with orange tape).
Top view of the handlebar mounts. Stainless screws go into wooden dowels inserted into old bar-ends.
Detail of the HDPE plastic clamps that hold the aluminum tube running forward of the bottom bracket. Pieces are drilled to 35mm, then cut across the hole to provide a very rigid clamp.
Also note light mount at the front.
