My bike is a 1999 Honda CBR600F4. The plastic fairings were getting a bit old. Lots of cracks had appeared over time, and every now and then I used to take the fairings off and get them plastic welded to prevent them turning into big cracks. But eventually one of the welds itself started to crack, so I decided it was time to replace the fairings.
Money was an issue. I eventually came across www.fairingsolutions.co.nz. The product was sourced from China, which made me a little concerned, but they did have a local presence (and one in Australia), including a local phone number.
My mechanical skills are low, but I have removed the fairings from my bike several times and I feel skilled enough to undertake the task. The web site did say a reasonably level of mechanical skill was required.
The landed insured cost for the fairings for my bike was about $800. The fairings are painted and logo'd. It said the delivery time was 3 to 4 weeks. It sounded reasonable, so I placed my order.
I felt reassured by their ordering system which sent me confirmation emails, and a link to a web site where I could track the progress of my order.
About 2 weeks into the order I shifted, and I had to notify them of a change in shipping address. I sent them an email and got no response after 5 days, so sent them another email. I got no response, so rang the number on the web site. I didn't manage to get hold of anyone but left a message. Reassuring they got back to me to say the address had been updated.
I kept checking the web portal for updates. After 3 weeks and no updates I thought I'd email asking for an update. I got no response after 3 days and sent another email. 3 days later the goods turned up. It had taken about 4 weeks to get the goods – which is what they said it would take. I still never got a response to my emails.
So overall I would rate their communication as poor. They were very slow to respond to emails, and I feel if I hadn't of phoned them that perhaps I would not have got a response at all.
The web site has a warning to notify them within 48 hours of any damage during shipping, so I decided to check the fairings that night. The box was quite big, and the contents look very well packed. Everything looked in good order. The manufacturing of the goods looked good.
Some of the colours were immediately noticeably different from the current fairings, but hey, I was replacing just about everything. And I'd have to live with the colour difference with the tank (about the only painted part not being replaced).
Included in the packaging was a screen. The web site made mention that a screen was not included, so 1 bonus point there. The web site also said the fairing fittings were not included. There was a small bag of assorted bolts and parts, so 1 bonus point there.
HOWEVER, the screen had a lot of scratches on it - and if I had been expecting a screen I would not have been happy with it. I would not want to fit a new screen with scratches all over it.
Also the paint finish of the goods was pretty average. There were lots of little marks. It looks to be like perhaps the paint had been handled before it was properly dry. Or perhaps someone had been rough after they were painted. You don't noticed the marks from 1m away, but you do notice them when you taking them out of the box inspecting the damage.
I didn't set to work putting the fairings on till the weekend. It probably took me 4 hours to strip the old fairings, and remove headlight, indicators, and all the little fastenings off the fairings and attach them to the new fairings.
Reassembly was a tad trickier. While the old fairings looked identical to the new fairings side by side, it was obvious putting the new fairings on that they were slightly out. The front wheel guard was what I would describe as a "force fit". I got the impression the fairing was too wide by the width of the paint - as I end up scraping a small amount off too be able to get them to fit in (I would now describe it as a very tight fit). But I think a tighter fit is better than a looser fit.
The fairings were drilled with holes everywhere that a hole was needed, but it looked like they used a single drill bit for the whole lot (this is probably an exaggeration but it felt like that). So I had to drill some holes out to a larger diameters, but this was a minor thing.
Some of the fittings that have bolts in them had to go into moulded plastic holes, so I had to run a tap and die into the plastic mouldings it to make a thread for the bolts.
While the existing fairings all fitted together flush the new ones have several small gaps. Some of it could be my fitting, but some of it is definitely due to the manufacturing.
While the old fairings sat nicely on the bike and the fasteners just held them in place I had to force and flex the new fairings into place and quickly put the fasteners in. I wouldn't want to take the fairings of again (which I'll have to partly for the next oil change ...) because I'm scared they might fling themselves off.
So overall I think there communication was below average. The manufacturing of the plastic parts looks initially good but lots of the parts where out by small amounts, and the finish could have been better.
Overall I would use them again for an old second hand bike like mine – where an average fitting with an average finish was okay. I wouldn’t use them on a newer bike or if I wanted a well presented result.
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Originally Posted by p.dath
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