airtech top fairing

AHAMAY · Post by **AHAMAY** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:01 pm

Hi, Has anyone fitted a airtech top fairing? I am looking to buy one and am looking for feedback. Thanks.

Post by **FZRDude** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:33 pm

Purchased and actually put on the bike? Ummm I haven't, sort of. I had a upper from them for my FZ750 and it was crap. That was 16-some-odd years ago.

I recently bought a hugger from them and was pleasently suprised at the quality of the part I rcv'd. Seems to be holding up very well for over a year now.

All of their parts come un-painted and with no holes for mounting. You have to drill your own holes.

AHAMAY · Post by **AHAMAY** » Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:44 pm

Thanks for the reply dude.

Post by **jjs777** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:28 am

I bought two of the airtech front cowls for my 90 fzr1000's

one of them is the one headlight model and the other resembles oem

all I can say is...once your done buying one...and painting it - ur just about into it for what you buy the oem for...all stickers included and the paint matches oem

the quality of the oem is better than that of airtech (airtech will easily break)

I also bought the oem front cowl...actually only sticker it didnt have was the yamaha emblem...but otherwise excellent quality and for under $300 a bargain compared to nearly $200 for airtech (not counting painiting etc)

then thers the dang holes you have to drill for airtech !!!

Mad Hatter · Post by **Mad Hatter** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:01 am

So, can you paint the oem pieces and have it last?

Post by **FZRDude** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:26 am

Painting OEM plastic isn't allowed.....

Mad Hatter · Post by **Mad Hatter** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:41 am

I see, guess I am stuck with the Airtech then. The Airtech pieces I have don't fit all that bad and feel pretty strudy. Of course they are damaged from the previous owners MisHap (there she is) but they don't look to be all that bad to fit providing you have patience and a sharp step bit. I like the fact that I can take the upper cowling off without removing anything else.

I have the stock pieces, and the oem cowl split on me while it was on the bike. It felt old and brittle, but at $400 to replace it from the dealer or BikeBandit, I guess I will go back with the Airtech piece.

silver · Post by **silver** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:19 pm

So what is the problem with painting the OEM fairing ? And are there any difficulties in painting the other OEM parts ? Unfortunately the paint that was slathered on my bike by the previous ower is chipping off around all of the mounting holes.

Post by **FZRDude** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 1:00 pm

Dude, you can paint just about anything you like.... Including OEM Plastics.....

silver · Post by **silver** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:03 pm

Of course you can paint anything but is it going to stick and stay stuck ? Is it going to crack and pop off when you pull the fairing off for maintainence ? Hey Barney ! Help !

Mad Hatter · Post by **Mad Hatter** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:04 pm

silver wrote:So what is the problem with painting the OEM fairing ? And are there any difficulties in painting the other OEM parts ? Unfortunately the paint that was slathered on my bike by the previous ower is chipping off around all of the mounting holes.

I think it has more to do with sacrilege than anything else.

silver · Post by **silver** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:53 pm

Mad Hatter wrote:I think it has more to do with sacrilege than anything else.

Modification for the improvement of performance and or appearance ain't sacrilegious, it's a pursuit of excellence.

RUFtech · Post by **RUFtech** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:23 pm

silver wrote:
Mad Hatter wrote:I think it has more to do with sacrilege than anything else.
Modification for the improvement of performance and or appearance ain't sacrilegious, it's a pursuit of excellence.

Amen Brother!!! And it is still crack and chip free.

gane · Post by **gane** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:01 pm

have air tech upper and seat on my 88. and lockhart full lowers on my 7-10. my experiance is fibre glass while lighter than plastic flexes more and paint spiderwebs. and mount points fray. if sticking to oe paint scheme would rec. stock for longgevity. if custom would go w/plastic (either oe, or if maier makes repacement in abs ) it's a bitter pill to shell out $$'s in paint to have it craze in a season or two. if you can keep it off the ground, oe is cheaper in the long run than race glass. in my case parts are still avail. new, but replacing just lowers and v section would cost more than bike blue's for. no wonder so many riders are opting for "fighter s". stock plastic accepts paint well.If proper paint & application is done, but broken bits and/or mount points fail regularly. luck G

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:05 pm

silver wrote:

Of course you can paint anything but is it going to stick and stay stuck ? Is it going to crack and pop off when you pull the fairing off for maintainence ? Hey Barney ! Help !

You can have a paint job that will last when painting OEM plastics (see my thumbnails). It's held up good so far. I have a few nicks, mainly from mishandling the tank last winter for a carb clean-up. I've pulled the fairings a few times and the areas around the mounting holes have held up fine.

Mainly the biggest factor in the paint holding up is going to be 1) the number of coats of paint, 2) the number of coats of clear, and 3) the quality of prep work done. The best paint in the world will still look like crap if you don't get the base layer right

jimcos3 · Post by **jimcos3** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 1:26 pm

I have had suprisingly good results repairing my old ABS bodywork. I was going to mount my Airtech bodywork but the drilling, painting, etc. was going to be a ton of work so I tried repairing my stock plastic with ABS cement. If you just have cracks, use a knife to create a v-groove on both sides and fill the crack with ABS cement. It will bond really well to the raw plastic (not to the painted surfaces). I then clamped it to make sure the parts stayed in line. In 24 hours it was as strong as if it never broke. Sanding the area or using a razor blade as a scraper should get it nice and smooth (it will probably still need some light filler and paint prep by someone talented but thet would happen anyway if you were going to paint it). I had such good results with my YZF bodywork that I was ambitious enough to try to repair my $300 EXUP's body work. It's not pretty (yet) but it is holding stong. I used some crashed panels as doner plastic to patch in all the missing pieces. I'll send some photos (if FZRDude can help me post them) to show you what I mean.

silver · Post by **silver** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:44 pm

Awesome ! I'll pickup some over the weekend as I have exactly the same problem where the fairing on mine has cracked off during a tip-over.

ah_ace · Post by **ah_ace** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:52 pm

very helpful jim thanks. My 'ace fell over in the garage last week and broke off the end of the top fairing - ugh

. Any preferred brand of abs cement?

anthony

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:51 pm

Not trying to burst any bubbles, but you have to be careful with the super glue trick depending on the size of the repair. If it's in a high stress area (for mounting bolts/attachment points) it could weaken over time and re-break on you again. We had to graft a rather large area of realestate to my cowl. Guy ended up cutting about 3 inches off the the lower left side of the cowl and grafting a piece from another cowl on to it. He had to put fiberglass on the other side for reinforcement. Good thing is you can pick up the glass/resin packs at any auto parts store.

jimcos3 · Post by **jimcos3** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:16 pm

The ABS cement I used was just the normal stuff available at Home Depot. As far as the strenght of the bond, I tried plastic epoxy and a few other types of "super glues" with very poor results. The ABS cement seems to melt (almost like a solvent) the ABS plastic before it hardens. If you have ever tried to take apart any old plumbing waste lines or vents you will see that they rarely break at the glue joint. The piece I bonded to the fairing upper (the new graft at the windshield wing) will flex and move like there was no joint at all. I was really surprised at how well it worked. I also have some old plastic repaired with fiberglass. It didn't work nearly as well and was thicker to get the same result (it also didn't flex as well and cracked pretty quickly). Grab a jar of the ABS cement for $2 and give it a try on some scrap body work. Just be sure to prep the joint so you can get a little of the cement into it. I think you will be as surprised as I was.