The XS fairing now has a brother ! Shown here as a pre production model being tested, this latest version retains the highly sucessful 'sliding screen' and Carbon dashboard options available with the XS, but loses the 'beak', in favour of a conventional front fender. Lighting gets addressed with the option of either driving or fog lights, both with HID options. Lower production cost and cheaper shipping (over the XS ) will result in a price around $ 230. The new fairing should be available by end of April. www.britanniacomposites.com Comments and opinions welcomed as ever !
didn't think it was possible to add that much ugly to a KLR... but i was wrong. perhaps something that works with round headlight conversions, either single, or preferably, dual round headlights.
I agree. Maybe take a cue from the ULY lights. I liked the first fairing you did, but this one...just not sure.
Yeah, I don't actually like it as much as the other one, but the XS is more expensive to produce ( because of the Kevlar in the beak) and we wanted to offer an option that retained the other benefits of the sliding screen and dash settups on a cheaper platform. There are twin headlight versions of both this and the XS coming through, although these may well get diverted to KTM/Husky 610 variations where the demand is much stronger. Still, all comments good and not so good are great feedback - thanks Here's another view, if your eyes can take it !!
I like this one more than the beak one. The aux. light option is cool. Two round lights would make me more of a believer. Hid ballast mounts built in would be nice feature.
Are the depressions in the side of the fairing functional? I think it's pretty cool looking so far. I too am leaning towards the round headlight persuasion, but i think what you've made is a cool improvement over stock. Keep up the creative work... I think you're definitely on the right track with the cheaper mindset.
The depressions in the sides are a feature of the XS version and came about for two reasons, first, it's where the indicators mount and second, the whole thing took on a very 'bulbous', 'fat' look when I tried to make them less dramatic. No function other than that. Actually, re looking at the pictures and then looking at the bike, I don't think the pics are doing it any favours !! It looks much better for real and the 'filler' finish doesn't help either.
The comments about the round or twin headlights is interesting. The twin headlight version will follow on quickly and is very straightforward to do. I really didn't think this would be of great appeal, so it just goes to show the value of sharing thoughts on here !! Thanks !
Will do, the Husky variation is easier to organise because I own one. It's also the bike that most needs something to ease the highway miles a bit and with that OEM headlight !! Fantastic bike ! Do you think 610 guy's would pefer a small, steering based unit, or a frame mounted version like the KLR ?
FWIW, i like the looks of Ganshert's (SP?) fairing that he did made one of... pix are on here somewhere. looks kinda like a KTM 640 ADV fairing. the factory headlight on the '87 to '07 KLR is 20+ year old tech... much better reflectors seem to be available in either round or rectangular shapes. the yellow/green paint on the faring above only seems to heighten the froglike apearance IMHO. and the combination of square and round lenses is, umm really bad. now... i understand that keeping the factory subframe and headlight is the simplest answer to the problem, but i've gotta say that the KLRs with either the Buell or Ruckus headlights look sooooo much better. well, that's just my opinion, however, i have been working in the graphic design/visual arts arena for over twenty years... so i know a little about visual appeal and industrial design. not telling you what to make... only telling you what i'm looking for, which could translate to what i'd buy, IF it were available. the Simpson Detour fairing looks good, but a bit bulky. someone posted pix of one of the Honda rally bike fairings with twin round headlights, looked good, but a bit low. seems next to impossible to find one of those tho. the idea of the adjustable height is good, but i'd rather see the front be smooth, with the knobs on the back or sides. a space for a white LED "city light" would be nice too.
I have to admit that the dual headlights do look better, and offer better lighting for the night ride. I personally like the beak better for stablity but the cheaper option will work better for the typical KLR rider. Do you know the cheapest thing about the KLR ? The rider
I like the idea of the twin headlights for the KLR!! I am already planning next winters farkeling, and this would be on my list!
Fitting the stock headlight does keep the price down ... Let's see one painted .... I think the reactions would be more positive. Any plans for the DR650 ?? Larry
There is no problem producing both options. We'll work on them both this week. There are plans for the DR 650, TE 610, XR650L and 620/640 KTM's. All of these will have the same twin headlight setup including an HID option. The 'work' is in the mounting frames, not the fairing bit. We are negotiating wholesale purchases of the lighting system and to gain economy of scale, we'll try to use the same lights across the range. It'll keep the costs down. Thanks everybody for you're inputs.
+1... Just in case you're doing serious marketing research - I thought I'd be honest. I mean, the KLR is not a pretty bike, no one's laying on the chrome and entering them into beauty contests. But, okay, if you throw some mud on them, they kind of have a utilitarian, oh, I don't know, not Rambo tough...more like a coal-miner tough look. But, you know, in my opinion, there's no amount of mud that's going to redeem a bike with that faring. Just so you get me into the right demographic category, I should say that I don't particularly like your beak fairing either (okay, to be honest, I think it's ugly too), and I think dual odd-sized headlight systems are ugly, and I think super-motards are just silly-looking, and, for that matter, the '08 KLRs look dumb too. Sigh, I guess I'm getting old. It's a good thing KLRs last so long, it's going to be years and years before bike fashion comes back around to something I'd spend money on. David...
Well sir, IMO its kinda odd looking, but my hat's off to you for fabricating your stuff--I admire that effort! Keep at it and you'll eventually strike gold.