The Fairing MOdyssey III

Here are the day's brainstorming. Thinking about adding some sort of windshield/spoiler that will adjust up and down. Got the idea from something Touratech makes. It will probably be made of acrylic for its clarity and ability to form angles. Also the last drawing shows a lexan windshield addition to the KLX fairing.



I've been reading up on Hondo's KLRWorld.com Forums, The Patman's reviews and posts about the TrailTech Vapor Speedo...the eventual goal will be to replace the ol' skool no-kool stock with this modern unit. TrailTech has done a great thing for the KLR crowd by making a kit specific to the bike...The Patman is owed a great thanks!

Adjustable windshield template...still needs a little more work though. The planned angles will increase the rigidity of the acrylic and compliments the overall Face-lift.
yummm!

My Fairing MOdessey II

That last one was on FIRE!
(drum roll)

Here is the day's progress.


Thought I'd get rid of the Triceritops' hood...








kinda looks different on the bike itself.

I will be using Lexan, acrylic, and Polypropylene for material. I really find them easy to work with.

Here's how I got started on modifying the front subframe:

I removed the top bolt of the stock front subframe that attaches it to the steerer-tube mounting tab.


Then I added a few bit of steel here and a few bits of bolts there. Throw in some aluminum tubing and angles and what I got was an improvised subframe to hold everything together.

After this face lift, I will know for sure what angles and shape I like and will fab a more structurally sound piece.

And So My Fairing MOdyssey Continues...

Okay. Sometime ago I decided I needed to increase the overall frontal visibility of the KLR after I got hit by an on coming Tonka truck that drove into my lane. So this is what I came up with:




Naturally with all the offroad nav stuff that I was using the KLR for at the time (and still do) I figured, "hey, I can add instruments and such behind the fairing too!" Which ended up looking like this:



And then turned into some'in like this:



hen at some point, I decided I needed (err, uh... wanted) an additional lamp. So guess what?





Shortly after, I went thru the process of designing and making a dash as well.

I made it out of Lexan Polycarbonate.








I feel that this stuff is excellent to work with.


So, things have been working great.

People see me a little better.

The proto front-subframe is where I want it and is ready for the next step in its evolution.

The PelicanCase map-scroller works,

The aux lamp is bright,

And the dash is just hunky dory, I tell ya.

Life is good.


The KLR is good.


And! The KLR I must say is a sight!





Notice somethin'?


They are all ass shots or from the side.

I realized today that I have actually made the KLR650A Uglier.

yes, appearantly it is indeed possible.


To me it resembles one of those sentinel carpenter ants that wreak havoc in those cheezy sci-fi flics from the 70s and 80s

To sum it up, I am ashamed to be ashamed of the appearence of this wonderful machine.

So I have now decided to turn the next chapter in this story:

The Journey to Face-Lift Island.

I figure at this point, there is nothing to lose and only every opportunity to let go in creativity.

Notice how the fairing has been tilted forward?

This was a side effect of making room for Navigation equipment. Hey, it works, but gives the the Ride a funny and "off" look.

The design objectives for Project Face-Lift are:

1. Unbridled creativity
2. Use as much of the existing lines of the the KLR stock fairing
3. Improve lighting desires while I'm at it
4. Really have fun


so here's what I've got cookin' so far!!

Old......................New



The original effort of logging this project is hosted on KLRWorld.com forums, probably the most well done KLR specific public forums currently on-line, really professional and on topic. Please Check out the discussion here!