Custom Fighters - Custom Streetfighter Motorcycle Forum banner

I officially give up on my Demon fairing...

5K views 41 replies 6 participants last post by  fotocycle 
#1 ·
As much as I've grown to like it, I am giving up on my Demon fairing :mad:

[long rant]

First, the little 25W bulbs it came with blew up after the first hard rain, because the plastic lenses that go over them didn't seal properly and let all the water in. Fixed that with RTV, but...

... Finding replacement bulbs was a real bitch. Locally, there was nothing, so I had to order more from the company where I bought the fairing. That was $30 in bulbs, because I wanted to upgrade to the 35W halogens...

... In the meantime, I rigged up an H4 bulb to the housing behind the fairing so that I would have lights (bike is a daily rider)...

... And that melted the housing in a few days, while waiting for the bulbs. So I called up the company and asked for any defective Demon fairings they could sell me for cheap, so I could use the housing from one of those. They were really cool about it and sold me a black one with a scratched flyscreen for $20. Once everything arrived, I put it all together using the red one on the Bandit, and was happy...

.... Until the electric contacts on the new bulbs melted away, and the lights went out. That's when I bought some 2" 55W Pilot driving lights, and a buddy and I epoxied them to the back of the fairing after ripping out the original bulb housing. And all was well...

.... Until today, when the only one that was working (the epoxy couldn't seem to hold the other one straight) died as well.

I just ordered the wave headlight (in chrome, blech!) and to hell with the Demon fairing. The look will change but reliability and good lights are the most important thing. I'll use the remaining Pilot light as auxilliary for when I go ride the foggy mountains in GA and NC in a few weeks. I'll make a quick-release mount for it on the forks somewhere.

[/long rant]
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Some do come with better bulbs, but then they cost in the hundreds. I have the black spare on eBay, I put it up there after doing away with the factory-supplied bulbs on mine so it's complete. You're more than welcome to bid on it if you don't use your bike all the time, it would be fine on fair-weather days. Or come up with a solution to the lights.

And I think the bulbs blew out in the first week or two, when I had to ride through the heavy downpour.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, there are other options, and other versions of the same fairing as well, but screw it. I want simple, good, and cheap - I should have done something like the wave headlight from the get-go.

It'll be here tomorrow. Now I just gotta figure out how/where to mount it. The lower the better, but the steering stop on the headstock is in the way, and I'll have to relocate the horn again. No big, though.
 
#9 ·
haelo, the trouble with my bike is that it's a commuter - I haven't had a car for about 4 years now - so I can't do anything too drastic anyway. Whatever mod I do, has to be done that same day or it goes back the way it was. I'd like to do a number on that subframe and the motor, but I have to keep it simple for now anyway.

By the way, I was just admiring your 'fighter last night in the Buildoff threads, but I saw something about you wanting to sell it today???? Say it ain't so! I gotta look for that thread again.



Motorgasm73 said:
Can I see pics of what fairing you are talking about??


rdannar, like I replied to haelo, it's gotta be simple. My budget is a little tight, but time is more precious than gold right now. Now, what am I willing to do? If I had a ZX-10R and could mod the Bandit at leisure... you name it, and I'd consider it!
 
#10 ·
Go to the hardware store and find conduit clamps that will squeeze on your forks. Buy rubber gasket material to keep them from scratching the forks and to fill in the space if they're a little too big. Get washers so the clamp can be tightened down without bending the tabs.

Buy a set of PIAA 510 driving lights (not fog lights). Couple hours and they're on.
 
#12 ·
Well, the clump of wires is already taken care of, so hiding the new wires won't be a big deal. The trouble wth driving lights or foglights is that the beam is not quite right, at least, it just doesn't match a proper headlight no matter how you aim them. That was my experience with the Pilots. They're meant for auxilliary lighting on cars anyway.

I think the Wave light seems to be made as a main light, so hopefully, this won't be a problem.

Now, I can't afford PIAA lights (not at the prices I've seen), but thanks for the conduit idea, haelo! I would never have thought of that.
 
#13 ·
imo I have driven with my dual driving lights for almost a year, commuting an hour, with one way in the dark (at least at last years job). No problems with vision or aim for me. I just point one parrallel to the ground and the other aims a little towards the ground. The duals give me better vision than the single big round light that came factory with it.
 
#16 ·
rdannar said:
imo I have driven with my dual driving lights for almost a year, commuting an hour, with one way in the dark (at least at last years job). No problems with vision or aim for me. I just point one parrallel to the ground and the other aims a little towards the ground. The duals give me better vision than the single big round light that came factory with it.
Hmm. Maybe I just got crappy lights, but nothing has even compared to the factory headlight so far (faired '98 Bandit). I've compared the new lights to my friends' stock beams, and the ones I had fell short (literally).
 
#18 ·
My very first bike was a '79 GS550L, bugger never ran well enough for a n00b to ride, though, and I sold it. I keep wanting another UJM...

Anyway, even with good factory lighting on my Honda CBR F3, when I was up in the mountains last time I couldn't see too well at night, in the fog. So I didn't waste my money on the Pilots, I'll use one of them for that since I'm going up there again anyway. But as main lights, I don't like them much (especially now that one is not working, lol).
 
#20 ·
Motorgasm73 said:
I am kinda torn on that headlight assembly.. It kinda reminds me of this cross eyed chick I used to date! Makes me cringe!!!! :LolLolLolLol:
Cross-eyed chick? That reminds me of the time I went with my buddy to the camera store. The owner's wife worked there, and she was a skinny little thing but um, heavy up top. And cross-eyed. As we're leaving this tiny store, just barely out the door, my friend says to me in a casual tone, "Nice tits on that cross-eyed chick." :LolLolLolLol: I still wonder if she heard him, I didn't look back.

Well, it never ends, in regards to the headlight... Having no lights, I order the Wave with Next Day Air shipping ($44!!!!). Guess what? It arrived defective. :( I took it out of the box and the lamp inside the chrome housing was loose, seems one of the tabs that holds it in broke clean off. This sucks, because I planned to get rid of the nasty chrome housing and mount the lamp with a homemade bracket or even the fork mounts I have for the Demon fairing.

So now, I have to return the light (IF I get a refund for the shipping too) and find some OTHER way to put lights back on this thing.
 
#23 ·
rdannar said:
that sucks with the light, but on a side note, we use to have a chick that was X eyed hanging out in our apartment in college, we use to call her Surveillance Camera, cuz no matter where you were in the room, she could see you:LolLolLolLol:
LOL!!! Actually, I've seen some girls that were a little cross-eyed and were still real cute, all this talk reminds me of such an acquaintance that I'd love to have some fun with :ladysman:

Anyway, on to the light... I knew he wouldn't want to refund the shipping charge, can't blame him as that was my choice I guess. But otherwise he's being real helpful and will be exchanging the light for me. I'll rig up the working Piliot light I have left and go with that in the meantime. I think I'm going to mount the Wave light with new fork brackets, I cut mine to draw the Demon fairing in closer but they will be useless with the new light.
 
#24 ·
My temporary setup below - I took out the Demon fairing, cut out the Pilot driving light I had epoxied in, sanded it down and painted it flat black, and ziptied it to the idiot light panel to make it into a headlight while I wait for the Wave light and brackets to come in. The brackets won't be in till Thursday, someone must have screwed up and the delivery was rescheduled (does the great luck ever end?). In that order is also my new Viper exhaust. It's like Christmas in May, lol.

I ziptied the turn signal bulbs to the forks just to ride over to the bike shop and pick up new units, then off to Home Depot to buy some electrical clamps to mount them. They're on but I'll wait till the light is in and I have her looking all proper before shooting another pic.

I have to admit, it looks kinda cool like this, save for all the cables (and they're tucked in pretty neatly, under the tank).
 

Attachments

#26 ·
Hehe, you don't want that junk - that's one of the pair of Pilot driving lights I had in the fairing, and one of them burned out in about a week or so. The only reason this one is probably still working is because when I epoxied it, it would never dry in the same position I had it (I kept having to redo it in a hurry), and it ended up pointing the wrong way and so wasn't on when riding.

The bulbs are replaceable (if that's what happened to it), but I don't think it's worth putting a new one in.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top