In recent days, we have published some images of our rear fairings on social media and responded clearly to questions about them: the feedback has been gratifying!
Today, we want to write about them here, keeping in mind the points that have proven to be of greatest interest regarding function and “compatibility.”
We wanted and designed them to protect from water and dirt small loads, the typical things that on other motorcycles are carried under the seat:
tools, first aid kit, tire repair kit… compressor or tow ropes…
Consequently, they are not designed to be particularly sturdy: they must withstand those small everyday stresses, be stable and rigid enough to be able to put them on and take them off without difficulty.
For this reason, we decided to make them using FDM printing rather than SLS (which would have offered greater mechanical stability but at a much higher cost) and to forego aluminum reinforcements: already designed but ultimately heavy, expensive, bulky, and not useful for our actual purposes.
In short, we made the typical decisions weighing cost against intended function.
Then, of course, there were points on which we were not willing to compromise: they had to be attractive and not too “invasive,” i.e., they had to follow the beautiful lines of this motorcycle;
they had to be spacious enough for our purposes but not interfere with riding, especially when standing, and not interfere with a passenger.
Plus our cornerstone: the modification must always be 100% convertible.
You can admire the result of this process in the photos we provide in our gallery:
two different shapes with consequent differences in volume and visual impact; for the first time, we ordered coloured parts and are very happy with our choices: for my Evocative Tagelmust in glossy white, I already have an idea for some stickers, while giamaica opted for a semi-matte black for his Martian Red: two colors, two finishes make for four options!
For ease of use, we opted for a quick-release system: elegant buttons that are easy and quick to use, but which lock the fairings securely and safely in place. The speed of assembly/disassembly (we’re talking about 1-2 seconds!) has made ugly and complex solutions for reaching the seat key unnecessary.
Their mounting screws replace the original ones and can be changed in 5 minutes, allowing for quick conversion back to the original state… or alternate mounting of our side racks.
And here we come to a frequently asked question: are they designed to be used with soft bag systems instead of support frames?
No!
From everything we have written above, it is clear: they are an alternative solution to large bags, for short trips or everyday use:
on long trips, their contents can easily be stored in one of the large bags that you would take with you anyway, well protected from the elements, heavy mechanical stress, and dirt.
And our ingenious front rack system is still there, ready to carry whatever you need!
Not to mention that the bags would still sit wider: between 4 and 6 cm broader, which is not insignificant.
Should we ever change our minds, we have the plans for aluminum reinforcements, and it would be more a question of cost than time to put them to the test.
It is still the middle of winter here: the roads are icy and snowy, city traffic is crazy, temperatures are freezing, so practical tests will take place in the near future. For now, we have verified the accuracy of the design and the simplicity of assembly.
We are evaluating whether it is possible to secure the load inside the fairings or whether it is better to do so on the original ones, as initially planned.
This is why prototypes exist:
to test different possibilities during functional testing… knowing that if it goes wrong, the test becomes even more expensive than it already is!
So keep following us, because as you can see, it’s worth it!