Talk to me about fairings

[daveinlim]

I'm looking at changing my bike at some point this year. I've only ever ridden naked bikes.  I ride all year round as I commute into London. I'm moving a little further out so my commute will be longer and also have some motorway miles. 

 

With a longer journey and faster roads should I consider a bike with a bit more plastic. 

For example the Honda's cb650r Vs CBR 650r. Same engine, suspension etc, some differences in seating position due to handle bars.

 

Would the CBR be more comfortable in winter as it's has more protection. Or given that over half my journey is still going to be in traffic, going slow or filtering will the extra bodywork on the CBR make any difference at all. 

 

 

 

[Stu]

You will be shocked how much difference fairing can make but not every bike with fairing is brilliant! 

 

For example I have always ridden sports bikes up until 8 years ago. The fairing on sports bikes was good but to keep everything off you had to be tucked right in with your head down! if you sat up a little then the screen directed the air straight to your chest or with a double bubble screen straight to your head. My hands always suffered in cold weather as there was no protection at all. 

 

The FJR with electric adjustable screen was better and with a larger screen speeds of 90+ with the visor wide open proved the fairing and screen did a great job and kept most of the wind off. The mirrors are designed in such a way that it deflected the wind off your hands but you could still feel the cold! Heated grips helped 

 

The R1200rt on the other hand is like being in a car  coldest I have seen is 3°c out and heated grips on setting 3 with summer gloves and my hands where still melting  the heated seats made a great difference too but the fairing is great at deflecting the air flow 

 

coming from naked you will see a big difference in the smallest of fairing and I would recommend hand guards for winter 

[Steve_M]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

You will be shocked how much difference fairing can make but not every bike with fairing is brilliant! 

 

For example I have always ridden sports bikes up until 8 years ago. The fairing on sports bikes was good but to keep everything off you had to be tucked right in with your head down! if you sat up a little then the screen directed the air straight to your chest or with a double bubble screen straight to your head. My hands always suffered in cold weather as there was no protection at all. 

 

The FJR with electric adjustable screen was better and with a larger screen speeds of 90+ with the visor wide open proved the fairing and screen did a great job and kept most of the wind off. The mirrors are designed in such a way that it deflected the wind off your hands but you could still feel the cold! Heated grips helped 

 

The R1200rt on the other hand is like being in a car  coldest I have seen is 3°c out and heated grips on setting 3 with summer gloves and my hands where still melting  the heated seats made a great difference too but the fairing is great at deflecting the air flow 

 

coming from naked you will see a big difference in the smallest of fairing and I would recommend hand guards for winter 

This…

 

Though size of fairing is a factor, I was quite surprised how effective the relatively smalls(er) fairing of the R1200GS is after the FJR1300.

I also used a MRA Vario on my Triumph Tiger 1050. It made a huge difference. You might like to consider that should your chosen bike needs a little more fairing.

 

[husoi]

My Pan European is fully faired and it's excellent for touring.

The shadow is naked and I even removed the windshield. It's good for the shorter trips and lower speeds.

 

You should try one before following anybody's advice, as sound as the advice is it's not your personal experience.

[MikeHorton]

What about this? 

[daveinlim]

41 minutes ago, MikeHorton said:

What about this? 

 

Now you're talking. I could fit a lot of baggage in there too

[daveinlim]

5 hours ago, husoi said:

My Pan European is fully faired and it's excellent for touring.

The shadow is naked and I even removed the windshield. It's good for the shorter trips and lower speeds.

 

You should try one before following anybody's advice, as sound as the advice is it's not your personal experience.

I'll definitely be test riding a lot of options.  Wont be any more exciting than some sort of reliable 650 though. 

[onesea]

I have done naked FZ6,

Fully faired Triumph Trophy,

And 1/2 faired TDM

 

Every one varies however I find TDM and Trophy compatible,  

The FZ6 was horrible in cold weather, I would not go back to naked bikes unless the weather improves significantly.

the Trophy I tried taller screens and shorter, I prefer shorter all year. However both the trophy and TDM have flips on the screens which make a big difference.