Honda CBX550f fairing

[Spazman727]

Hey,
Does anyone know how hard it is to take off the fairing of a CBX550?
I'm getting one next week (hopefully, pending mechanics check) and
a) the fairing kicks wind right into my visor opening, its as if it was designed so I couldn't use it with my visor open, and
b) I think they look way better without the silly little fairing.

I've tried searching online and all I can find is that there was one made with a fairing (I'm assuming that's the f suffix?) and one without, nothing about how one would go about taking it off. I don't get the bike till next week so I haven't really had a chance to look at how I would do it on this particular one.
Any advice would be great.

Cheers

[FJRider]

Post a pic. Give us a look at it.

[Spazman727]

I don't have a picture of the fairing attachment, and can't find one online.

This is a photo of it with the fairing
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gal...20CBX550F2.jpg

and this is one of one without
http://www.werkstathandbuch.com/201-...tthandbuch.jpg

Thanks

[F5 Dave]

Silly little fairing?? They are pretty soddin big really, if its a std one. Think the indicator mounts will give you the most grief, the unfaired are on the fork legs & maybe the faired are on the fairing, but its been too long (its been a long time since the 80s), but yes the unfaired ones look much better.

Not sure what lives behind headlight of faired one. May need the black plastic shell & rim/mount. Oh yeah mirrors were on stalks on bars.

The camchain tensioners have a live span of about 20,000k, 40 if yer lucky, or maybe the later ones got better, think I replaced mine twice, but it had almost 90 when I sold it.

edit I see you have posted pics. Yeah I pretty much nailed it. The bottom of the tripple clamp had some plastic bit & indicators were mounted & covered by plastic.

[Spazman727]

Silly little fairing??

edit I see you have posted pics. Yeah I pretty much nailed it. The bottom of the tripple clamp had some plastic bit & indicators were mounted & covered by plastic.

Ok, sweet, I think I can handle re doing the indicators and mirrors.

Thanks heaps, Man I'm excited about getting my new bike.

[FJRider]

I would suggest you take the (clear) fairing blade off and shorten it back to the bend turns upwards. Not a difficult job.

There are places that do aftermarket screens to that may suit.

[ellipsis]

....a bit of work to do once you have cleared the fairing off the bike...my girl has one...the fairing edge digs into my knee, which is fucking annoying, but probably fortunate for my wife and the bike or I would want to ride it all the time...best fun little bike I've ridden in years...if you disregard the headshake if you dont keep the tyre pressures up to it...a primary chain that competes with the Goldwing in rattley decibels...mirrors that are about as much use as a chocolate teapot...as are the 'fairings'...a big cult item in the land of the rising sun at the moment...the cbx400 especially...

[F5 Dave]

Primary chain rattle is complemented with clutch cush rattle I think. Gets worse if carbs aren't balanced. As does cam chain.

Headshake is nothing to be worried about, sort of. There is a latter mod for under the steering head bearings with a rubber disk, never seen anything like it before. But the most important thing is matched tyres of the correct size. They like certain tyre types, my recommendations are waay too old, but as soon as that rear tyre gets a decent flat section the wobble starts (decelerate from 50 & take hands off bars & by 40 the bars will wobble alarmingly). But never a real life problem.

Learn how to take the front wheel off. With practise it is pretty quick & not anywhere as near bad as some people make out, but there is a knack.

[ellipsis]

...and if the ignitor/cdi becomes a problem, they can be hard to come by...thats why I jumped on the two that came my way...they look pretty scarily complex when you look at them but I have had to do a few things on her bike...and if I can do it, anyone could..thanks to help from here...

[F5 Dave]

you should find Electrix in uk or someone do aftermarket ignitors


oh yeah these guys used to make cam chain tensioners for CBXs. Worth an enquiry if you need a tensioner. website is pretty basic.

http://www.galeacamchainservices.co.uk/

[Spazman727]

Wow, sounds like these have lots of problems. Have I made a big mistake?

[ellipsis]

Wow, sounds like these have lots of problems. Have I made a big mistake?

.....no.....

[FJRider]

.....no.....

I agree ... but I might suggest you not spend too much time (and money) on it, that doesn't involve riding it. Just keep it legal and safe. Use the extra weight and power to learn, have fun, and gain experience.

Then move on.

Also ... remember ... the longer your visor is open, the more chance a Bee, Wasp, or a bloody great moth enters the gap. (or a stone from a passing car.... even at low speeds they hurt)

Little niggles you can live with. Fun can still be had.

[F5 Dave]

No. They are great little bikes. I mean all 30yr old bikes will have issues. Some of the era had issues when new, Honda really it was their cam chain tensioners. Suzuki it was their electrics. But keep on top of it & they are fine for years.

[quickbuck]

Headshake is nothing to be worried about, sort of. There is a latter mod for under the steering head bearings with a rubber disk, never seen anything like it before. But the most important thing is matched tyres of the correct size. They like certain tyre types, my recommendations are waay too old, but as soon as that rear tyre gets a decent flat section the wobble starts (decelerate from 50 & take hands off bars & by 40 the bars will wobble alarmingly).

Interesting... I had a Honda of roughly the same era once... (won't mention it, as the thread will loose a middle cylinder or somehting), it did the same thing when one of the tyres got down in tread...
I asked my brother about it, and he said, "don't take yor hands off the bars then".
Wasn't really the solution I was after, but as soon as I put new rubber on it, the wobbles went away.

As for the CBX550, not really a lemon at all.
We just have 30 years of insight into them now....

And yes, some bikes had issues when new... like the one I had.
Loads of fun though...