DR Windshields, Deflectors, Fairings, Bugslappers

I've officially named it "The Bama Fairing", although it's pretty much, just a screen, but I do like the sound of the Stewart Screen!

Macdesign, I originally started out trying to make something like what you've got out of fiberglass used for orthapedic casts. Originally, I wanted to make a fairing that would fit around the headlight, use the same bolt holes, and completely replace the number plate. Basically making a stock number plate, only taller, out of fiberglass. Something like the fairing on a KTM 640 Adventure. I wanted to make a mold that I could re-use to duplicate the fairing over again by just laying fiberglass over it and coating it with epoxy. Obviously, I didn't have the skill you've got with fiberglass, and chose the cheap and easy garbage can approach. But, I believe if you (someone) could actually duplicate the stock plate and just extend it up a few inches, you'd have a great fairing design you could easily duplicate, possibly mass produce, and easily sell. I'd definitely be interested.

With a $9.00 trash can, a bit of patience, and a heat gun, I was able to get this on my XR:



Thanks for the inspiration!

now that springs sprung i just want to reiterate the geniousness that is lstewart and his Bama fairing:
mine has lasted me 3 years now, been on 3 DR's, a drz400 and a wr250. it is currently back on a DRZ400sm
it has been sharpied black, stripped and sharpied blue, stripped again and now has 7 coats of blue laquer to match those snazzy SM rims.
attached with velcro, it offers no resistance whatsover if you want to fly over the handle bars.......don't ask

all cheer lstewart !!!

I GOT THIS FAIRING FROM RALLY RAID UK ABOUT TWO YAERS AGO. IT COST ABOT $160 WITH SHIPPIN.
VERY EASY TO INSTALL, JUST HAD TO DRILL 2 HOLES FOR MOUNTING AND CUT HEAD LAMPHOLE.

IM SORRY I AM A IDIOT , I CAN NOT PHOTES TOLOAD UPFROM PHOT BUCKET.

Well .... I'm pretty pleased with the "BAMA FAIRING", bloody well done Mr.Stewart

I was keen to see where it sits in relation to the rider ....





In my case, as you see, it's about level with my chin .. and that's exactly where the breeze hits. At 100KPH (60MPH), the improvement over no fairing is amazing.



As stated by another inmate, white may have been better .... but Bunnings only had grey in the size bin I was after .... to me, it matters little.

I used double-sided adhesive tape for the installation, it's going nowhere.

Thanks heaps Istewart



cheers

I don't think Freds is international. I don't even think they're National, but in Moody, Alabama, they're a quarter mile from my house at the Moody Crossroads. Hwy411 and Moody Parkway, wherein I found these...




$4 for small white, $4.50, small black (all you need is 15"). And $6 for large (10 gal) white. Two windscreens for $6 plus velcro. I can get four screens of velcro from an $18 package. Roughly $10 per fairing. Cheap, easy, disposable. No permanent mods to the bike.Glad you guys are getting some use out of these things.

i was so excited to find this mod here... had been looking for a screen that looked good (quality and aesthetics -wise) and wouldn't break the bank for a long time. i ran to Home Depot and got the materials, couple hours later had the thing on my DR and it looks great... didn't have time to get on the highway to test it out yet, hopefully will do that today. i'm optimistic.

ended up costing me a bit more since I'm dealing with NYC prices and the only bin that would work at my ghetto Home Depot cost me $16... well, that comes out to about $20 for two screens, so I can hardly complain

will post pictures later.

kudos once more to lstewart for the genius it took to make this, and the generosity to share it with everyone.

Got all the materials to make the stewart screen, I made one then I found out that my local friend had an extra OEM Dakar Screen sitting in his garage. I went to Home Depot and picked up some bolts and directly bolted through my stock headlight cowl. It works great and leaves my helmet in smooth air.

Used Vespa screen just little modified to fitt my DR

Old Vespa wind deflector made short to suite DR650
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I spent the time to hard-mount my Laminar wind screen two days ago. it was, up til then, moutned with the velcro tabs. They worked well for holding it on, but short-changed the design in a number of ways that didn't seem to work for the soft-fairing of the DR650SE.

I am not so sure the DR650's soft plastic fairing is up to it, but so far I have much less flexing going on at speed, and a noticeable wind-blocking effect that the Laminar should have had all along. (What I mean is that the widscreen may get pushed on more, now, but then again it may not now that I have the laminar airflow working and a lot less vacuum behind it.)

I spaced out the Laminar windscreen to allow the 'hole' to suck in air so that not as much of a vacuum would happen behind it. This is the way it was designed to be used, but at least on my application on the DR650 it wasn't really working - the hole was both too close to the stock fairing, and the windscreen would flatten out at speed making the hole close up.

So this is what I came up with. Interestingly enough, and for future reference to all of us guys who 'fix' things, some really perfectly sized rubber washers/spacers are 1955 Chevy Bel Air motor mounts... and from NAPA auto parts they are far, far cheaper than any smaller spacer I had looked at between there and two hardware stores. (The NAPA guy, who had worked at NAPA stores for decades, used the same motor mounts / rubber washers to space out and isolate his air conditioning unit from a roof of one of his houses, and has suggested them for other "spacing" projects others have needed throughout the years.)





I don't know whose theory works out better for windshields - that they should have a hole in them to allow air in that will get sped up by the suction and form an area of less turbulance, or that windscreens shouldn't have an air gap (as many of the home-made and the more race-oriented ones do) and, instead, they should be able to not bend back due to the low pressure behind them, thus being a total air block. But apparently my Laminar was made to have the air gap, and without it being accounted for - and without upper braces to hold the wind screen up (which Laminar winshields do not come with) - the windshield just flexes backward.

I haven't tested this set-up at 80 MPH or more yet, but up to 60 it is far more stable, and I can feel the breeze turbulance behind it on my chest without feeling the full wind-blast on the chest.

My Bama fairing on the TT has a gap and that makes it work as well, if not better, than the bigger Givi on the DR...

I like the LED's in your hand protectors. I only have the bark busters on mine, but if I ever add the plastic guards I'll probably do the same. For now, with Florida heat, I don't see why I'd need any extra hand guards blocking the wind (which helps to keep me cooler).

Seeing the MadsTad airflow diagram (I would prefer an actual motion of airsmoke flow than a written presentation if they have it). Theoretically, turbulence can be created or affected by such gaps underneath but I would also take into consideration other factors such as seat/rider height, distance of torso/head from the shield, curved or flat dimensions, smooth or bent tip, shield height, and position (how vertical it can get). For highway slabbers who occasionaly dips in the 90mph (like me :d) and a first gen fz1 user with a rifle 20 inch windshield, these factors do get critical.

With all the informative posts in this thread (big thank you to all who shared these variety of good windshield options ), made me rule out some ideas I had but still figure out which would really fit the new to me DR650. The research and experiment continues...

Funny post, hope he got what he wanted...

I've been running a SFB for some time now and I like it, However, I found it to be a bit to much in my face, so I decided to modify the headlight mounting on the bike to give me a bit more space in the dash area as well as move the fairing top out and forward. I have had it out for about a 100 mile test ride, road and dirt and it works great. I'm a shorter guy and was getting some buffeting in certain instances even though the SFB was mounted up off the fairing. in the dirt I can get all over the front wheel and the windscreen is not in my business.









bikes on the stand when set down brake line moves and there is a clear view of the vapor

Looks nice and clean ! Does it push the air over your head ?

Hey Thanks, In fact it does, prior to the relocation, the wind off the top of the screen would hit just under my visor it was pretty noisy, even riding with earplugs you could hear the wind . Now, the wind noise has been greatly reduced and I'm not exercising my neck muscles.

I know this is the windshield thread... but what crash guards / tank guards are those?? They look really nice.

If you bought them, where can I buy a set? If you made them, can you post more info and photos, so I can try to build a set too? Thanks!