How much difference does a fairing make on a bike?

[Bonez]

Fairings not a good idea for a learner, cost heaps to fix.

Now are you talking about full fairings, half fairings, 3/4 or bikini fairings?

[jaybee]

yeah i would luv a lil givi screen to block the wind, my father n law is the opsosite has a Goldwing GL1800, and put vents in his screen to let wind in as the wings fairings block any air at all

[Ixion]

Now are you talking about full fairings, half fairings, 3/4 or bikini fairings?

The more the fairing the more the cost.

[Edbear]

lots........

Wot he said!

[imdying]

I have this unique to KB learning technique that involves not crashing, its fuckin ingenious I should write a book on it or something!

*cough* Proverbs 16:18 *cough*

[Dak]

Depends on your build and height a lot also, I'm a 6' 2" fat bastard and it doesn't matter if it has a fairing or no fairing. To me most of the bikes I rode with fairings were more annoying as I got buffeted around more than a bike with no fairing, dats why I bought the CB1300.

[Gremlin]

I have found a fairing to be very useful for cutting through the wind... and it can protect you from the rain a little, if you tuck your legs in tight.

I had a cruiser for a week, while my bike was in service, and doing anything over 110 ish was bloody hard work. Felt like you were hanging on with the bars.

[Edbear]

*cough* Proverbs 16:18 *cough*

LOL!!!! Ride humble, folks!

[dnos]

i think i will definitely get a faired bike when i upgrade. Anything over 120 and i am trying to lie on the tank to get out of the wind. I find around 100 is fine on the little bandit which is good for my learning stages - stops me going too fast.
I have ridden a couple of faired bikes and there is a big difference - just got too find one that suits you/ feels good to sit on.

[scumdog]

I have found a fairing to be very useful for cutting through the wind... and it can protect you from the rain a little, if you tuck your legs in tight.

I had a cruiser for a week, while my bike was in service, and doing anything over 110 ish was bloody hard work. Felt like you were hanging on with the bars.

That's one aspect of a naked bike that is good - you tend to notice the speed you're travelling at, lessens the chance of a ticket when you didn't realise you were speeding.

[McJim]

I wish Honda had made the VTR with Full Fairing, Clip ons and 6 gears...OR that Hyosung had seen fit to add a few HP to their GT250R.

I do a lot of open road stuff on the VTR and I do sometimes wish I had got a GT250R because of the fairing. The missus' bike is fully faired and is much nicer at speed than the VTR with a Givi Screen. The Givi Screen adds about 10kph to the top speed compared to the naked bike and is just big enough to get my head behind (with my arse on the pillion seat and my chin on the speedo!)

[terbang]

Warmer, quieter, drier and less fatiguing on a trip when you have a faired bike.

[Dai]

I seem to remember discussion as to this topic from the mid 70's (when faired bikes were relatively uncommon on road bikes), through the 80's and now into the next millenium.

From what I remeber from the early days it was discovered that a fairing was of little practical use for most road bikes under the speed of 60mph (95-100 KPH).

As bikes became more and more powerful and technology improved in the field of aerodynamics bikes appeared with fairings.

This also came about from those of us who wished to emulate the look of the current racing motorcycles of the time. It looked "cool" to have a bike that "looked" fast.

My 2 cents worth anyway.

[XP@]

It depends a lot on you and the bike...

Some rider + bike setups have the airflow coming over the screen and hitting you in the face, this is NOT good.

A naked bike and you will be taking the brunt on your chest.
With a big screen and it should go over your head.
Inbetween can get a bit tiring.

If you are going to ride in all weather then think about test riding a few km's in the rain.

[Pwalo]

FWIW the Givi fairing makes a difference on my bike. It's not too high so my helmet doesn't get too much buffeting. It's quite suprising how much rain and wind such a small piece of plastic can deflect.