Fabricating a Fairing

[Gbrebes]

Good Evening All,

I have kicked around the idea of building my own metal fairing to go with my vintage looking bike. I finally decided to start o e and I will hopefully be finished before the next SoCal Motorized Bicycle Race in March.

I have been looking at a lot of pictures of vintage fairings, mostly from the 50’s - 70’s. I started out with some sketches, then moved onto a paper model of the frame I plan to make to then skin in thin sheet metal. After I got the rough dimensions in paper, I made a model of the frame with hanger wire. I have since moved onto making the actual frame with 1/2” x 1/8” metal strips.

I’ll post more photos as I get more done.

Thanks for looking,

Gilbert

 

[Gbrebes]

More photos, some of my bike with new clubman bars to fit the fairing. And some of the wire hanger frame

 

[CrazyDan]

I've been bouncing around this same idea for quite a while as well. You can do a mockup with cardboard on that wire frame to test fitment before fully making the shroud. It should help a tad accelerating over 30 mph and allow for lower gear ratios for higher top speeds using the same hp as before. Will be watching this.

 

[curtisfox]

Got to KOOOOOOOOOOOL also got to watch this............Curt

 

[Gbrebes]

Here’s some pics of what I’m going for, influence-wise.

 

[Gbrebes]

And here’s some pictures of the actual frame. It’s going faster than I thought.

Sorry for the cluttered backgrounds in my pictures.

 

[curtisfox]

"cluttered background" Looks like my place after i sold my lake place, and had to move it all here at home. LOL

Looks good so far, are you going with a windshield also?..................Curt

 

[Gbrebes]

Yes Curt, I want to also make a windshield out of plexiglass. Not sure I will be able to bend and curve it the way I am envisioning.

 

[dogcatcher]

This is a little late to the party, but his constructions techniques might give you some ideas.
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/led-sled-sidecar-project.26096/

 

[Gbrebes]

Hi dogcatcher,

I considered using fiberglass, it’s what fairings are usually made of, lightweight and all. But it’s so messy, smelly, and ultimately would take me so much longer to build, plus my bike has a kind of bare metal theme going, so I figured a bare sheet metal look would work best. It’s gling to be pretty heavy though.

Gilbert

 

[Ludwig II]

You might consider looking at this for the screen. I don't know if it's cast or extruded sheet you'd be using.

IMPORTANT: some perspex is hygroscopic, and the sheet may need a day or two airing in an oven of some sort around 70C. Check with the supplier for recommendations, see 1.2.1 in this link:

https://www.theplasticshop.co.uk/plastic_technical_data_sheets/perspex-design-guide.pdf

If you can work out what shape you want, you can even use self coloured acrylic capped ABS sections to form the fairing, and the ABS will almost definitely need drying if it's been stored.

 

[Ludwig II]

An important part of the equation, the heating for the sheet, you can sclle down I suppose if this is too big:

https://hackaday.io/project/112181-...ej_FFeMKXMYg5cAPiJjjNIXeZlSBg6QODyOOAbDYgtlv8

Note also, if you use polycarbonate instead of acrylic, it most definitely is hyroscopic, and it's workable range is much narrower than acrylic.

 

[bairdco]

Whatever you end up with, make sure it can't decapitate you in case of a crash. Pretty sure that's why they don't make metal dustbin fairings anymore...

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

Whatever you end up with, make sure it can't decapitate you in case of a crash.
Pretty sure that's why they don't make metal dustbin fairings anymore...

Do not be a bummer baird . . . .
The top part of the fairing is acrylic just like pretty much any motorcycle fairing.

ok -dustbin fairings that enclosed the front wheel were banned from race use in the late 50's (or early 60's), officially due to "safety" reasons, they can be odd in sidewinds.

Gilberts is not a dustbin fairing and really the same as Bill Keltons YSR fairing.

 

[Gbrebes]

Whatever you end up with, make sure it can't decapitate you in case of a crash. Pretty sure that's why they don't make metal dustbin fairings anymore...

That’s a really good point Baird. The upper frame arms (over the handlebars) do kind of look like twin katana blades. I will have to look into rolling the edges of the sheet metal with a large radius to make it less slicey. I also need to look into steering stops, I already squished my thumb on the gas tank holding the handlebars.
I’m pretty sure they outlawed dustbins due to crashes in crosswinds, kind of like a sail. I seriously considered making a dustbin though, they just look so cool.


Gilbert

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

 

[bairdco]

Not trying to be a downer. Just something to take into consideration. I dig the full fairing look. I've been looking into old-time fairings for my 60's Testi 50cc bike.

 

[bairdco]

Oh yeah, I forgot. No one here knows about my 1964 Testi Weekend Cross with the minarelli P4 four speed engine...

 

[Gbrebes]

Dang Bto!!! That’s a sweet vintage bike, with the rear suspension and 4 speeds and everything. Too bad it’s 2 stroke, ha ha ha. But seriously, that’s a really nice find, I hope you get it on the road..


Had a set back on the fairing tonight,not enough clearance around the forks, have to re-do the lower frame ribs. Also need to make the light bezel stronger/thicker. It kind of holds the whole thing together, and with my bending and correcting the fit as o go, the bezel keeps getting distorted. I’m going to use 1/8” plate.

A little backwards progress, but I can see the final product a little better.

 

[Ludwig II]

I did a moped race on a Fantic with a 4 speed Minarelli. It had 1,000,000 rpm and no power and would occasionally jam in 3rd, so you had to stop and rock it back and forth until the gear pedal moved again. The rearward weight bias meant you could drift the back end through the one right hander, I liked that part.

Dustbin fairings, another possible reason for crashes happening was the drum brakes of the time fading because of lack of cooling; this is of particular interest to a rider when he suddenly finds he has another 20mph available compared to before.