Installed New Rifle Fairing, Had an Interesting Ride, Towed Home!! (pics)

[Efreeman55]

Fitted my new Rifle fairing to my CB-1 and went out for a good, long run Saturday.  Fairing definitely changes the character of the bike with less engine noise and wind pressure at speed.  I found myself easily going 10-15 mph faster than I usually ride as the sensation of speed was less with the fairing.  Wind noise has a different character now, less of a smooth flow around the helmet and more of a slight turbulence.  No helmet shake or buffeting though, just a different feeling/sound.

Rode around the local mountains for about 150 miles and then headed up to Semiahmoo Resort for some pics with the ocean in the blackground.  Took some photos and then discovered my electrical system was totally dead!!  Absolutely nothing when the key was turned on.  Checked all the fuses, connections, etc. and everything was fine.  Shorted the battery connections with a wrench and had nothing, not even a small spark.  Seems the used battery that came with the bike when I bought it several months ago just up and died during the riding.  No other signs of charging system problems, engine was running perfectly until I turned it off the last time.

Used my AAA Premium membership for the first time to get a lift back to my garage.  Nice guy and a neat way of carrying a bike on the flatbed.  New battery is on order so I should be up and running by the weekend.   Finished the weekend on my GB500 which has been a bit neglected since I added the CB-1 to my small collection.

Eric

[Daveontheedge]

That's rough! Stupid electricity....

I agree with the rifle fairing bit. I had one on mine until I changed my headlights. Made a huge difference on the highways and really cut down on the buffeting. I found in an upright position the wind would just clip the top half of my lid, but if I tucked in I was just about completely protected.

[Drewski]

Eric,

     if you still have the OEM "finless" reg/rec fitted, I would double check it's working correctly at tickover and higher revs. Does the battery have any signs of "balooning" from over charging?

[Efreeman55]

Eric,

     if you still have the OEM "finless" reg/rec fitted, I would double check it's working correctly at tickover and higher revs. Does the battery have any signs of "balooning" from over charging?

Hi Drewski

No, the battery looks completely normal, no swelling or other abnormalities.  I checked the voltage of the charging system when I first received the bike, about 3 months ago and it was fine throughout the rev range.  Of course, that could have changed recently since I've been riding the bike a lot.  I'll check the reg/rec and voltage again when I install the new battery.

Eric

[Drewski]

i've just bought something similar to one of these for my VFR which has had intermitent charging problems, so I can keep an eye on things on the move. Lets hope it's just the battery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Battery-level-Charge-monitor-Suzuki-Kawasaki-/200537742926?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2eb0fb1e4e

[rigwit]

Same thing happened to me, on ride back after bought, 40 miles bike started to backfire then dead, high pitch whinning from cdi unit, only lights that would come on with ignition were,-sidestand-oil warning.

Got it back home,via  seller recovering me, jerry rigged a larger battery on it and it fired up ok, checked charging rate and was 17-18v, least as i initialy thought from screaming noise the cdi unit would be shot, so was left with 2 main probs to check, but as was getting dark, had to wait till next day.

Checked alternator and phase to phase were 5 ohm so that left  reg/rectifier as shot,  a good 14-20 different honda,s use same reg/rectifier, trip to breakers---new battery and away we go.

Done some runs, and seems that an inicated rpm of 9,500 limmiter is kicking in, but could be fuel related, as bike has not  realy been used b4 i got it.

Has anyone else heard cdi unit screaming?, some about, pluss as engine is nc23 then, cb400rr- nc29-nc30 cdi,s should also work if it does point to be that problem.

Also just to say, hi to all as a new user.

[MitchZ]

So now that you've had the Rifle fairing for several months, how do you like it? Which model do you have? Did you buy directly from rifle and if so did you have them paint it?

[Efreeman55]

I bought the fairing directly from Rifle and paid the extra $90 or so to have them paint it.  I do most of my own painting but just didn't want to mess with all the prep work for such a small part.  The Rifle paint job is excellent and matches perfectly, I figure it was money well spent.

Overall impression is that the fairing does a good job of deflecting wind but actually increases the wind noise around the helmet.  No buffetting of the helmet, just a more fluttery-sounding wind noise compared to no fairing.  I found the noise to be quite annoying so I bought the taller windshield from Rifle to give it a try.  Turns out it made the problem worse!

I did some experimenting while riding and found that if I sat up very straight, the wind noise decreased!  So, I took the original, stock Rifle windshield and cut off 2" from the top.  Definitely cut down the wind noise but it still has a bit.  For now, I'm happy the way it is.  At highway speeds there is a lot less wind on you and it's easy to carry more speed comfortably than without the fairing.

I'm about 5'10" with a 30" inseam to give some perspective.

Eric

[MitchZ]

Thanks for that great review of the fairing. On a label on the bike it states not to attach a large fairing to the forks or handle bars. Is this where you attached your fairing? Do you think added or subtracted to the enjoyment of riding on the highway?

[Daveontheedge]

I had one as well on my bike originally and it mounts to either side of the headlight and has two brackets that attach to the handlebars. Very easy to install or remove. For me on the highway it made a huge difference, I am about 5'10" as well with a 32" inseam. I found it really kept the wind off my chest and directed it up so it would just clip the top of my lid. I also had the tall version windscreen.

I have mine for sale if anyone is interested. It is black with a one inch scratch on one side, email me if you want pics.

[Efreeman55]

The Rifle fairing attaches to the headlight mounting bolts and to a bracket you connect to the upper tree pinch clamp bolt.  Takes a while to get everything to fit properly: plan on doing lots of cussing while trying to get your fingers and the parts in the tight spaces!!  Once everything is tightened, the fairing is very solid and doesn't move at all.

The fairing has made highway speeds quite a bit easier to take and I find myself cruising about 10 mph higher than I used to simply because it's more comfortable.

Jury is out on the looks but I'm beginning to like the fairing.

Eric

[MitchZ]

I really like the look of your fairing