Doctor Glass Race Fairings

At Doctor Glass we have fitted many sets of race fairings, including our own and other manufacturer’s products. Over the years we have come across a variety of different problems and solutions. In this fitment guide we touch on the main points of properly fitting fairings as well as showing you some of the tricks used to create a good job and help you get around some of the problems that can arise when fitting aftermarket race fairing to your bike.

We have listed below in point form the order that you should tackle the job, as well as describing some of the more tricky tasks and the best way to handle them.

Firstly, there is a proper order to things. You’ll want to fit the fairings before you paint them, then take them off for paint and re-fit.

It takes us around 4 hours in the shop with all the tools and the know-how, so allow yourself 6 hours or more to finish the job.

Make sure you have the bike clean and set up on stands or a work bench with plenty of room to move around.

Make sure your hands and tools are clean as the raw gelcoat will easily stain if it comes in contact with oil or grease, which will make it harder to paint later.

You will need the correct tools. A compressor and a die grinder is a must for cleaning up rough areas and drilling holes etc. Some sand paper - 180 dry for rubbing down molding seams and some 320 dry for cleaning up edges and finishing off for paint (keep in mind that your spray painter will be able to take care of most of this when prepping). Plus all the usual workshop tools – make sure all drill bits are sharp and ready for use etc.

TIP: Alloy Riv-nuts are perfect to use on race fairings (see pic) if you can afford them (google rivnut). They are similar to a rivet except they have a captive nut inside them and are very handy for fixing lower tails to upper tails and sometimes even frame mounting. It's having these sorts of options available to us in the shop that helps us get the job looking really good. If you can’t use rivnuts, a rubber well-nut will also do the job in a situation where you need a captive nut.

When fitting race fairings you need to be patient. Sometimes you'll find bolt marks etc that don't line up and often it's simply a matter of taking a quick breather then getting back into it and you'll find it will be something simple like the fairing not mounted correctly etc. Or sometimes the fairings may have warped a little during shipping, this is not a problem, it's just a matter of bending them back into shape and fitting them to the bike in the correct position. Once the bike has been through a couple of heat cycles the fairings will re-set to that position. You need to keep in mind that race fairings do not fit as well as factory plastics, so you may find areas were there are small inconsistencies, but this is quite normal and not usually noticeable once the paint and stickers are on. If you check out other race bikes at the track you'll be surprised how good they look from a distance but upon closer inspection the fibreglass fairings rarely look as neat as street fairings.

Start with the tank cover (if you have one), then seat support, ducktail, ducktail lower, upper fairing, lower fairing and finally the windscreen. You will need to be prepared to remove and refit panels a number of times to confirm correct fitting – be patient.

TIP: Get a spare 6mm and 5mm bolt, cut the head off and use a grinder to taper the bolt head end to a point (see pic). These (taper bolts) are used to screw into mount points (almost flush – see pic) so that you can accurately mark on the underside of the fibreglass panel where the mounting hole needs to be drilled. You can do this by simply pushing the panel into the pointy end of the taper bolt and giving a light tap with your hand or rubber mallet, or if that does not work you can use a small dab of grease on the end of the bolt to mark the panel.

You will need to use the original factory bolts to mount the fairing to the frame of the bike.

Keep in mind that sometimes mounting points on bikes will be not perfectly aligned. If your bike has been in any kind of crash, it will be likely that things such as subframe, radiator or other mount points will be not exactly aligned. If this is the case then you may need to straighten them before fitting the glass.

Sometimes you may need to grind areas of the fairing so that they fit around corners/over edges or if there are parts on the fairing that you do not require. If this is the case do not panic! Fibreglass is very easy to work with and can be easily shaped using a die grinder, electric grinder or even a hand file. If you need to remove a section of panel, simply mark what you need to remove with a marker pen and grind off then finish the ground edge off with some sandpaper.

When fitting upper and lower fairings sometimes you will find that a mount point will not line up exactly to the area on the fairing that has the recessed to mark where the hole should be drilled. If this happens do not panic! Sometimes previous accidents can cause alignments to go out, but it is not a problem. You can simply drill the hole in the appropriate position or you may need to space the fairing out a little from the frame with some spacers. Check the pic to see how we have dealt with it exact situation on the upper fairing of our CBR1000.

Dzus Fasteners are great for connecting upper and lower fairings; however you need to be careful. Dzus Fasteners come in different shaft lengths and will you’ll need the correct length for them to work properly. The Dzus Fasteners supplied with Doctor Glass fairing kits have 10mm shafts and are suitable for most applications so long as the fibreglass being connected is not too thick. If the glass is too thick, such as in situations where carbon bordering has been chosen as an option, you may need to sand or grind the contact points between the fairings so that they reach the correct thickness for the Dzus Fastener to function correctly. Rivnuts also work as an excellent replacement for Dzus Fasteners if available.

When mounting the windscreen for the first time it’s best to do with the upper fairing off the bike. Get someone to hold the screen in position then mark any holes in the fairing or screen that need to be drilled. Some wind screens come pre-drilled, sometimes you will need to drill yourself. If you need to drill holes in the screen make sure you put tape over the area first (both sides), then use the drill in reverse at a very high speed and don't push too hard our you'll crack the Perspex.

Some fairings will have molding seams that will need to be removed (see pic). You can either do this yourself with some 180 then 320 grade sandpaper (it’s not hard) or ask your painter to clean them up for you. It shouldn’t cost you much more as it’s a very simple job that they do every day.

Another point that is worth making is that it’s important to try to keep contaminants such as oil, grease and especially silicon off the unpainted fairings as this will make them much harder to paint.

We have covered as many important points in this fitment guide as we think valid, but if you have something you think we should add then please feel free to contact us at sale@roostindustries.com

This Fairing Fitment Guide has been written in order to help Doctor Glass customers, as well as other riders, through the process of installing race fairings to their bike. Please visit www.doctorglass.com.au and click the Fitment Guide link to view full size pictures showing even more handy solutions for fairing fitment.

If in doubt, consult a professional! If you do not have the tools or the skills it’s always a better option to pay a professional to do the job for you. Dynoverks in Boronia Victoria is the official Doctor Glass fitment centre and will get the job done right the first time as well as being able to offer you a range of paintwork schemes. Please go to www.dynoverks.com.au or call them on 03 9887 1655 for more info.