[Hobbit on a Honda]

Proud new owner of an 83 Silverwing 650. I've never ridden a bike with a fairing before, man, this sucker is hot.



The heat coming up off the motor is unbearable. Maybe in the fall it will feel good, but on 90+ days it's misery.



Will removing the lowers help at all? Are there any secret cooling tips?



I like the bike but I'm not so sure about the fairing, may be doing some kind of naked GL thing.

 

[GLsouris]

I have to agree that they are hot on a hot day, but on a cool morning or in a rain they are great. It can't hurt to remove the lowers, I may try that myself.

 

[Dana_h_acdc]

I took the windshield off of my Vetter windjammer and it is like night and day. I've never been so comfortable in the upper 80's or 90's. When it gets cold out is going straight back on!



Also make sure you have a helmet with a face shield with no windsheild.... I almost ate a locust at 55mph last week... it might have broke my nose or took my eye out! The face shield may have saved my life even.

 

[jayhanig]

I took the windshield off of my Vetter windjammer and it is like night and day. I've never been so comfortable in the upper 80's or 90's. When it gets cold out is going straight back on!



Also make sure you have a helmet with a face shield with no windsheild.... I almost ate a locust at 55mph last week... it might have broke my nose or took my eye out! The face shield may have saved my life even.

I completely agree. I ride behind a windshield with my visor cracked open because it's a little stuffy if I don't. OTOH, when I've removed the windshield I've had to be concerned with all the crap that flies into me. At least then I've got enough breeze blowing to make up for closing the visor. But every bug I clean off the visor is one that would have hit me smack in the face at 65 MPH.

 

[Blindstitch]

Some Vetter windshields have vents. It cant be hard to make adaptable vents for a honda windshield. But I have also thought about a fan hooked up with ducting just like in the comfort of your car. Cant be that hard to make.

 

[Cruiser]

You can still get the Vetter pop-up vents from Craig Vetter at http://www.craigvetter.com. You could then

have two holes drilled into your windshield and get some air flow that way. I actually had a Windjammer SS

on my CX500 I had 30 years ago and worked pretty well, way better than the vents on the Honda fairing on my

GL650.

 

[richnct]

I have ridden behind a GL fairing for years and do not find it so bad in hot weather. The recent ride out to VMD and back were both on very hot days, mostly SuperSlab, and 600 miles each way. An improvement I did make this year was to add an adjustable wind deflector on each side of the fairing, They can be opened out to scoop a lot of air from outside the fairing sides onto me, or "closed" and cause less than normal. Mine were aquired used on a parts bike, but I'm told that JC Whitney sell them. Tinted orange plastic, chrome brackets, maybe 6 x 8"? Come to P'Amish'10 and see them! Also, the small air vents in the GL fairings help a little. But when the temps are high and the asphalt is hot, riding a bike is not a chilling experience. The hot dry high velocity windstream will wear you down in short order without a fairing, on longer rides.

 

[Dana_h_acdc]

Mine has the vents but it wasn't cutting the heat.period. It was still really hot with the holes wide open without the round "thingers" in it. No windshield=AHHHHhhhhhh fresh air!



BTW www.craigvetter.com doesn't work anymore

edit there was an extra period in the website

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

Don't remove the lowers ... they are there to direct the air to where it is needed and to help keep you dry.



The air is directed through the radiator with them.



I find the GL500 much warmer than my previous GL650s. I don't know if it is because of the mechanical fan or not, but it feels warmer to me.

 

[marshallf3]

I don't know why I read this, it's hit 103* F here for the past two days in a row and we're expecting the same tomorrow. It's starting to look like I'm going to do the paint job myself and apply whatever money I save towards getting my car AC fixed.

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

I ride behind a windshield with my visor cracked open because it's a little stuffy if I don't. OTOH, when I've removed the windshield I've had to be concerned with all the crap that flies into me.

I ride with a little Spitfire windshield, mostly to take the wind off my chest. I always wear safety glasses under my visor, so I can open it when I get warm - a tinted pair during the day, and a clear pair at night.



R

 

[Cobram]

Mine has the vents but it wasn't cutting the heat.period. It was still really hot with the holes wide open without the round "thingers" in it. No windshield=AHHHHhhhhhh fresh air!

Oh, I'll keep mine. It would have been a real fun ride back from NH last week, torrential downpours out of nowhere for the last hour or so of the journey. Just hunkered down behind the Vindicator, slipped the feet over the rear pegs and was dry as long as she was moving. Heat never bothered me with the fairing, just when in stop/go traffic, where no fairing wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Only thing Vetter could have done to improve the fairing was to add a windscreen wiper, when you position your eyes to see above the screen, the top of your helmet gets pelted with precipitation, can get pretty loud after a while.



Doesn't it look kinda goofy without the windscreen?

 

[DakotaMK]

I have an 82 GL500- fairing and windshield. When I was getting ready to shoot the bike black I had removed the fairing and (just because I hear some of you guys rave about not having one.. lol) I had to take it out for a ride. In the Joliet area, where I'm from, I don't think it would've been such a big difference. Out here in Ottawa, you hit some open fields and that wind slams into you....aaaaaaand I don't think I'll part with my fairing ever! I'll deal with some heat vs being pushed around like that!!

 

[radar]

It does get hot. Imo there are more benefits to having the fairing. I commute an hour each way and I can tell you that I wouldn`t be without one. I did get a pair of vented riding pants and that seemed to help somewhat

 

[Dana_h_acdc]

yeah looks real goofy without the windshield on there and the little round "port hole" protectors are broken or they would be on the shelf with the windshield

 

[Ronster]

Drilled my windshield & installed these vents....makes a difference for me... less expensive than the vetter sourced.



http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/snapvents.php

SNAP VENT F325A 3-1/4" 05-04088 $13.75

 

[Bri-Guy-GA]

Proud new owner of an 83 Silverwing 650. I've never ridden a bike with a fairing before, man, this sucker is hot.



The heat coming up off the motor is unbearable. Maybe in the fall it will feel good, but on 90+ days it's misery.



Will removing the lowers help at all? Are there any secret cooling tips?



I like the bike but I'm not so sure about the fairing, may be doing some kind of naked GL thing.

Hobbit try to lower the windscreen as far down it will go or get a shorter one. The one on my GL500 comes to about my chin so I get decent airflow to my head. Chest area does get a bit toasty though.

 

[Cobram]

Drilled my windshield & installed these vents....makes a difference for me... less expensive than the vetter sourced.



http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/snapvents.php

SNAP VENT F325A 3-1/4" 05-04088 $13.75

Nice one, Ronster. I have a windscreen I was going to install with the original Vetter "tubes" in it, but these look like they'll work even better. Won't have the hassle of changing the gasket and dealing with the broken plastic hardware either.

 

[richnct]

Those vent caps look to me exactly like the ones on my previous Vetter WindJammer fairings. Probably the real source of them, or closer. Good find!

 

[richnct]

delete duplicate post