r100rs fairing

[trolle]

I made a bid for an RS fairing on eBay and won. As the fairing is complete and nearly undamaged I was lucky (nagging thought: is something wrong since nobody else but me made a bid for it? It went for the same as  an S fairing which was rather dilapidated).

Problem: How difficult is it to mount this fairing, has anybody any experience in this?

greetings from a greying north

[donbmw]

I installed an RS fairing on my 75 R90/6. Was not a big deal. The Steering head may already be drilled for the mount.

Don

[NC Steve]

Justin put an RS fairing on his '80 R65 and it fits and looks great. 8-)
There's pics of it here somewhere; actually, check his website, there's quite a few on there.

Seems like a fine idea... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[larstorders]

trolle you were lucky.
My RS project is on hold while I take the R65 on holiday to the alps next week. See my previous thread for a picture and anticipated problems http://suraklyn.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1209158392. I did manage to get a good fit for fairing and mountings without use of a spacer, the problem was twisting in the upper mount, before time I had reserved for the fitting was lost to a higher priority. Handle bars and brake lines are the major issues remaining in my project.
Good luck with yours.

[trolle]

Thanx, I expect this to be one of those two hours job that lasts a fortnight of frustrating trial and error  

In addition to actually getting the fairing fitted on, new brake hoses, change bars to allow continued use of R65 master cylinder, cables and wiring mods, and many more yet to be discovered no doubt. First major work to get a spacer for the headstock cradle that will move the whole fairing 1.5cm forward. As you can see the faring lowers aren't well lined up with the cylinders. Bars and forks need the spacer to allow free movement. Most annoyingly BMW have tapped the headstock to accept 8 x 1.12 mm bolt threads, talk about unobtanium. I have a pair of used ones on the way but worry they may not be long enough for the spacer.
 

What kind of handle bars were on your r65?

How is the headstock cradle fastened to the front? (I take it  that  it is this weird contraception: http://picasaweb.google.dk/petertrolle/BmwR6584Restoring#5243669587344821090 )

greetings from a cloudy north

[Justin B.]

PO had installed the fairing on our bike before we got it and it looks like the stock handlebars were cut and re-welded.  I'll see if I can snap some pics that clearly show the mods.

[larstorders]

Trolle, the frame mounting  cradle thingumy is fastened to the bikes headstock using TWO small bolts. These bolts are labelled as No 2 in the diagram you posted. The bolts are 8x1.12 mm THEY ARE A UNIQUE THREAD. I think you really must have the proper BMW bolts for this because I found it impossible even to find a die in any catalogues for an 8 x 1.12 mm thread. The bolts are deliberately a quite tight fit and it almost feels like they're cross threaded when you screw them in. Great care is needed tightening them.
It seems that all BMW R series frames from the late 70s and 80s have the mounting holes pre drilled in their headstocks and capped with plastic bungs, which is nice.
My R65 had the standard european bars with approx 2 1/2 inch rise. A bit too high for the RS fairing. I'm going to use original R100RS bars which are essentially flat, with 25mm or 30mm risers. Risers are needed because the R65 standard brake master cylinder is otherwise fouled against the triple clamp with these low RS bars.
I've chosen to set the brake lines up as per factory RS and route them through the holes in the fairing. This means I can use those rubber bellows and get the full RS look. Maybe be a wrong decision wrt cost but the brake lines need replacing due to old age anyhow.
The great thing about this type of project is that everything is actually designed to fit. So, as I found if it doesn't fit then it's not the kit thats wrong it's me that's making a mistake, or something is a little bit bent.
Hope this is helping.

[Justin B.]

I snagged a set of RS bars off ibmwr.org and ran into the same issue.  Being too lazy to machine some risers I put the old welded up bars back on.    This is what the mess looks like:



Ummm, pardon the dust...







Although they are kinda ugly (would help if I wasn't too lazy to take them off and paint 'em) they did a good job as they are exceedingly straight and the welds are strong.

[trolle]

Thanxs very much - now it begins to make sense. A couple of questions more: As far as I know, the headlamp of the r100 is bigger than that of the r65 and therefore I will have to get a new headlamp as well?

Another question is the problem of the shorter wheelbase of the r65, how does this influence the fitting of the rs fairing?

greetings from a moist north

[Justin B.]

You will need a headlight and bucket from one of the bigger bikes.  I can't see that wheelbase has any bearing on the fairing fitment.

[larstorders]

Ah yes. The headlamp. A good second hand one is predictably not cheap. So I chose one from ebay with a dent and lightly damaged chrome rim. Much cheaper and of course all the damage is hidden from view.

[larstorders]

At last.

Family probs have limited fairing work to a couple hours at a time. But today I had the whole day to myself. Managed to finish the fitting and get everything safe to ride by 3pm. So at 4pm as the sun was going down I set off to Manchester for a test ride. while everyone else celebrated the execution of Guy Fawkes. I wore my usual touring leathers and took along unlined waterproofs for the usual expected downpour. Bars seem cumfy enough for me. Wind pressure is all but gone. Consequently, cruising speed is greatly increased   . Cornering, narrower bars and the fairing give a more planted, 'on rails' and stable feeling then previously. Which I don't like, because I know the front tyre is overly skinny and that's the feeling which creates false confidence. So, carefully does it. As I crossed the Penines on the M62, Firework displays from a couple of early bonfires, rightly added some celebration to the run. The flip up windshield provided a bit more protection than the standard screen, but I'm not sure its for me. There's a fair bit more noise of the flip up, even with ear plugs I think it'll be unacceptable over a days riding. Another minor prob surfaced when I came to park in the compound at Manchester. There's a lot less steering lock now. I had to saw backwards and forwards a half dozen times to park in a space the R65 would've slipped into much more easily before the fairing. The rain was falling an hour later when I set off for home. Weather protection from the fairing is good but I still need to put the waterproofs on.  I caught occaisional whiffs of woodsmoke drifting across the motorway, from more bonfires that were now burning. The rain became torrential as I entered Yorkshire, but the firework displays continued regardless. 'focus on riding and stop gorping at the starbursts'. I was saying to myself.
I fitted the fairing to make riding more comfortable in the English/ North European climate and I certainly haven't been disappointed. Todays run was a good trial in British weather and I arrived home after 220 miles so much more comfortable than I would've in prefairing days. plenty of minor adjustments still to be done though.

[aussie]

Looking good larst! I'm sort of assuming that you had the fairing painted - or was it just blind luck that it came in the same colour as the bike?

How would you overcome the noise? Put on the stock windshield? Wouldn't it then have the issue of buffetting?

[Justin B.]

It turned out great!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[nhmaf]

Very Good Job, Lars !!

 [smiley=thumbsup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif]