S fairing on Ebay

[Rapid_Roy]

I bought an S style fairing on Ebay from Harber's Cycle. It was 56 bucks including shipping. That seems ridiculously cheap, so I am posting this here in case my loss is your gain, and you do not get ripped off. It is black with a smoked windshield. I am wondering if anybody else has run onto these before and what problems I may have with mounting. It says it fit many brands with a 7 inch headlight and it fits BMW's (and the hellish words "with a custom mounting") It is in my price range however and swearing is free so I am going to try and make it fit. I will post follow ups so you can all share my pain.
Harber's Cycle

 

[Polarbear]

Mounting hardware;

The hardware is all you need and if its not included, you're kind of screwed. Easy otherwise. The BMW S fairing, I assume is what you bought. There are two metal, flat pieces that go under your top nuts on the sliders and rubber pieces for the turn signal posts. Thats it! Somebody will have the hardware on the internet, I'm sure, so don't fret too much if its not included. The fairings are well made and very streamlined, racey looking and attractive. Not much for wind protection though. I had one mounted to my /7 for a cross country trip, years and years back and took it off when I got home. I could not take the wind beating any more! I moved to a Parabellum Scout Fairing and its still on the bike, 18 years later. The scouts are an S Type fairing on steroids. Just bigger and more protection... Still made, too. Happy Trails, Randy13233

 

[cjack]

The hardware is all you need and if its not included, you're kind of screwed. Easy otherwise. The BMW S fairing, I assume is what you bought. There are two metal, flat pieces that go under your top nuts on the sliders and rubber pieces for the turn signal posts. Thats it! Somebody will have the hardware on the internet, I'm sure, so don't fret too much if its not included. The fairings are well made and very streamlined, racey looking and attractive. Not much for wind protection though. I had one mounted to my /7 for a cross country trip, years and years back and took it off when I got home. I could not take the wind beating any more! I moved to a Parabellum Scout Fairing and its still on the bike, 18 years later. The scouts are an S Type fairing on steroids. Just bigger and more protection... Still made, too. Happy Trails, Randy13233

Actually the turnsignal posts are about a half inch longer than the non S ones. All these parts are still available from BMW, however the longer stalks are the best part of $175 each last time I looked. You can make stock ones longer with a small machined insert. Also the fairings and windshields are also still available. In prime.

 

[MurphyPeoples]

Roy - I believe the major problem you'll have is not with the hardware to mount, but the fact that your fairing will not have the tabs to bolt in said hardware. I've seen folks glass in their own tabs however. But in my opinion after the $56.00 fairing, $40.00 in mounting hardware, and then the materials cost for fiberglass and the time spent fabricating and then mounting... you're not too far off from the $260.00 you would have spent on this from Chicago BMW (cheapest place I've found for ANY BMW oem parts).
Good luck and let us know how things shake out!
Murphy

 

[MurphyPeoples]

Actually the turnsignal posts are about a half inch longer than the non S ones. All these parts are still available from BMW, however the longer stalks are the best part of $175 each last time I looked. You can make stock ones longer with a small machined insert. Also the fairings and windshields are also still available. In prime.

If you can settle for the stalks in Black instead of chrome they are $40.00 for the pair.
Murph

 

[Rapid_Roy]

I have gone to Pecatonica and have been looking for years but I never had the money when one was available so this is a hail mary. I am fairly certain it is not a BMW S fairing, not at 56 bucks. I can do without a tach and clock though. I already have the turn signal stalks, some leftovers from another gentlemen who wanted to do a conversion. I don't even know if it goes far enough to reach the turn signals. If any of you are married, you can understand how this went. "I want to get an S fairing for the /7." "How much is it?" "Only 260 dollars Honey but I found a cheap copy on Ebay for 56 bucks" "Sure, you can get that one on Ebay!" Believe me , I have heard the horror stories about conversions gone awry. My one buddy bought 5 sets of handlebars.

I was always a unofficial "poverty" BMW rider but the situation has changed.
My situation is that people are having fund raisers for my daughter's medical expenses. Money is a little tight (we have enough to make ends meet and some perks, we are ok) and I don't need much for my old airheads. The harsh reality, fair or not, is people will talk if I buy anything new that is expensive, even if it is with my hard earned money. I am going to make this fit, one way or the other. Someday, if/when she gets better, I will try and get the real one maybe. I have a brother who is quite handy and very knowledgeable with metal. I may get lucky, we will see. In the mean time, this will divert some wind and sport the bike up a bit.
He also has a seat cowling for me because I used the factory seat off my RT for my /7 and it looks a little odd. I bought it with a King/queen stitched monstrosity and a windjammer, both of which I removed (I have a fairing bike, I don't need 2). I will post my progress, thank you all for the help and suggestions.
Another Faux "S" in the making. Cheers.

 

[ISAMEMON]

I wish you luck on the fairing, and luck on your daughters illness.
Its one thing when we get hurt or sick, its hell when its one of our kids

 

[cjack]

If you can settle for the stalks in Black instead of chrome they are $40.00 for the pair.
Murph

Hey thanks. I didn't know of them. They are used on the R100CS up to 1984.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

I wish you luck on the fairing, and luck on your daughters illness.
Its one thing when we get hurt or sick, its hell when its one of our kids

Yes indeed. Thank you very much. I am glad it didn't come down to having to sell my bikes. Riding is one of the few pleasures I have left.
On the plus side, my wife said with gas prices being what they are, I am riding my cycles everywhere. I tried to look as depressed as I could when she said that.

I also didn't know about the black stalks, I think I would almost prefer them to the chrome.
I love this forum! Thanks everybody.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

Roy - I believe the major problem you'll have is not with the hardware to mount, but the fact that your fairing will not have the tabs to bolt in said hardware. I've seen folks glass in their own tabs however. But in my opinion after the $56.00 fairing, $40.00 in mounting hardware, and then the materials cost for fiberglass and the time spent fabricating and then mounting... you're not too far off from the $260.00 you would have spent on this from Chicago BMW (cheapest place I've found for ANY BMW oem parts).
Good luck and let us know how things shake out!
Murphy

Thank you for the ideas.
Between time and Money, guess which one I have?
Neither really, but more time than money.

I probably will regret it though. If my wife sees me suffer enough through this, I can place ads from Chicago BMW all over the place as a "plan B!"

I plan on letting everybody know if it works great or fails miserably. If I hustle, you could see it at the Nat'l.
Cheers.

 

[boxerkuh]

This past weekend I saw an aftermarket S fairing on an Airhead. The owner had put the sign "Emgo" on it, although I am not sure if that was the fairing. It did not look half bad. As long as you put the turn signal stacks through the fairing and build mount for the top, I think you are good to go. A trip to the hardware store may do the trick. Best of luck.

 

[MurphyPeoples]

Yes indeed. Thank you very much. I am glad it didn't come down to having to sell my bikes. Riding is one of the few pleasures I have left.
On the plus side, my wife said with gas prices being what they are, I am riding my cycles everywhere. I tried to look as depressed as I could when she said that.

I also didn't know about the black stalks, I think I would almost prefer them to the chrome.
I love this forum! Thanks everybody.

Roy - you and I are undertaking the same "S" adventure. I'm taking a 1980 R100T and turning it into a full fledged "S" using only BMW OEM parts. BUT! Our wives share the same outlook on our expendutures for doing so!

The only way I'm getting away with this is I'm selling beaucoup goods on ebay. Starting with the R100T's crash bars, rear seat rest, Lufmeister Fairing, and so forth. I'm nearly breaking even..... kinda.

Anyhow... let me give you a little "good news". I was told the same thing many times about my turn signal stalks "won't be long enough" to work with the fairing. Well.... balderdash! They were PLENTY long enough. Don't know why my bike is going against the grain of what everyone says... but it does. So hopefully you'll have the same luck!
Keep us posted!
Sincerely,
murphy

 

[Rapid_Roy]

I have both types of turn signal stalks, (I think). Good luck with your adventure. I fear we are both walking where angels fear to tread. I tracked it, it is supposed to be here tomorrow. If you all sense a disturbance in the force, you will know I am having immediate problems. I think it may be some advanced polymer (readlastic).We shall see.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

The fairing came today. It is made of a space-age polymer (plastic) and black. I was thinking of painting it that color anyway. Yeah, thats it.

I tried it on the bike for fit and it hits everywhere. Yay.

I need to remove the turn signals and lower the bars (by loosening) to see if it will line up correctly. I will then have to drill holes in the S-AP (plastic), obtain the rubber grommets to line the holes, find a mounting system for the upper part of the fairing. Factory or Roy rigged, what to do? The factory parts may be expensive (being made of unobtainium, and all ) so plan B it is.....for now.

 

[bprigge]

Rapid_Roy

I had one of those ebay sport fairings on my R75/6 for a couple of years.

I thought it looked VERY good, it was light and stable. I even outlined mine in thin white pin striping to give it a BMW flavor.

I made my own custom mounts out of the mounting hardware that cam with the fairing plus one extra piece for a top mount.

I used my stock /6 turn signals.

On a /6 there is a ring around the ignition switch that is threaded on. I used a washer the size of the ring and welded one of the mounts that cam with the fairing to the washer, then mounted the washer under the ring. My fairing came with mounting holes already drilled so I bent/cut/drilled the home made mount until it reached the fairing mounting hole. On the other side (right side) I used the mounting bracket that came with the fairing and attached it under the right headlight mounting bolt. There was some bending/drilling required.

I also made a third mount that ran from a bolt under the handlebars to the top left of the fairing. Yes, it was unsymetrical but BMW styling is often unsymetrical.
I was going to make a forth mount going to the top right of the fairing but it was so solid with just three mounts that I settled for 3.

I was VERY pleased with the way the bike looked with the fairing and felt it was at least a match style wise with an S fairing. I sold the bike a couple weeks ago in favor of a K100RS. My next airhead will have one of those ebay fairings too!

Bruce

 

[Rapid_Roy]

Excellent! Thank you for the info. Your approach sound similar to what I was thinking. Now, I know it can be done. The next obstacle is how my mechanical skills compare to yours.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

Here is where we are at. The whole thing was delayed because I gave my bike to my brother for the summer. He had a blast with it, especially at the National. I got all the pieces off last night, and they are on their way to the painter. The bike is just oozing oil, just sitting there, I think it's the Neutral indicator switch. I have some mechanical work to do yet, and I haven't even started on the faux "S" fairing. I think I am going to do some work on the suspension also, I do have a fork brace, and I am thinking about a beefy triple clamp, but I am trying to keep costs down. We'll see. I have the equivalent of an RS fork. We blocked 2 of the holes in the rod(not sure what that is called?) and have heavy duty seals and fluid, and a progressive anti-dive kit. The rear shocks may be original, so I am wondering what I should do with that. It's all starting to get interesting.

 

[9842]

S faring off ebay

Hi
The faring you got is most likely from JC Whitney. I have two of them on my r75/5's.
If you have two mounting holes, one on each side it is a JC whitney faring. I went to the hardware store and bought 1 inch wide aluminum bar stock, bend it in the shape of a horse shoe. Drill four holes total. Bolt one side to the faring mounting holes, and the other to the headlight bucket holes. Clean and simple. The bottom fits a little tight between the directionals, it snugs up to the headlight chrome ring, and it stays put and looks great.
From the side it looked a little square on the back side so I cut and sanded it to look more round.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

Hi

The faring you got is most likely from JC Whitney. I have two of them on my r75/5's.
If you have two mounting holes, one on each side it is a JC whitney faring.

*he said with great interest*

I went to the hardware store and bought 1 inch wide aluminum bar stock, bend it in the shape of a horse shoe. Drill four holes total. Bolt one side to the faring mounting holes, and the other to the headlight bucket holes. Clean and simple. The bottom fits a little tight between the directionals, it snugs up to the headlight chrome ring, and it stays put and looks great.
From the side it looked a little square on the back side so I cut and sanded it to look more round.

Excellent suggestions. Thank you. I am not sure how I want to go about it, but that does sound easy.

 

[Rapid_Roy]

The parts are being painted. I wanted a unique BMW, so I went with Black with white pin striping.

I am going to repaint my valve covers. Does anybody have any suggestions or tips on this job? I did a search and I found no post exactly relating to that. I have heard about covering the fins with tape, not covering and using a file to clean them up. I am just curious if anybody found a method that worked really great. Even powdercoating?