Plexi Fairing 3 on 80 SG Special

[Bonz]

Hey, need some guys to chime in here that have a Plexifairing 3 on their Specials. I want to put one on my bike, and cannot get a consensus from any place that sells them as to whether it will fit an 80 SG Special.

From a thread last year that I was part of, I can see it looks like it WILL fit the Special just fine, but want to hear it first hand again now that I am ready to buy the Plexifairing 3.

Heck, one place even said "there is no Plexifairing 3 that will fit the special, and the 2 will fit the XS1100 ST". I don't trust that one bit as I don't know of any "ST" model XS1100.... Maybe the customer service rep hit the wrong key in his email, and meant that the 2 will fit the SG, as the "g" and "t" are close together on the keyboard.

Anyway, let's hear it from the real experts out there as to whether there is a definitve fit for the Plexifairing 3. Please note that it could be somewhat possible to to confuse the Plexifairing 3 for the Plexifaring 2, so make sure you are talking about the 3.

Thanks in advance.

[Bonz]

Bought one!

Can't wait around all day on you boys , so I went ahead and ordered a Plexifairing 3 for my 80 SG. Double checked National Cycle's application chart, and it's a clear fit for the 79-81 Special.

National Cycle part # N8613, Motorcycle On Line part #552613

FWIW, Motorcycle online store has it for 10% off right now, for a few more days at least. $188.96 total, free shipping.

[CatatonicBug]

Yeah, that's a commonly-used windshield for these bikes. It's just a larger version (has a "lowers" section that hangs down below the turn signals) of the Plexistar 2 that I had on mine for a while. Good shield IMO.

[Bonz]

Yeah, I'm already liking it and it hasn't even arrived yet. Also have an FD conversion ready to go, so between the Plexi 3 and the more relaxed cruising at today's higher speeds the FD will give me, I'm looking forward to the riding season to get in full swing.

I see your XJ has the FD conversion... assuming the XJ and XS have the same rear end and are both similarly high revving on the highway, what rpm reduction in top gear at highway speed do you see in real use?

[CatatonicBug]

I see your XJ has the FD conversion... assuming the XJ and XS have the same rear end and are both similarly high revving on the highway, what rpm reduction in top gear at highway speed do you see in real use?

I don't have an XJ, but I believe the gearing is the same. The main difference I saw with the FD swap is a drop of about 800RPMs at 70MPH.

[Bonz]

Sorry bout that, I meant to type XS, but my fingers typed XJ.

Thanks for the info on the RPM decrease, that is a substantial drop. What gas mileage improvement if any did you see, and do you find yourself shifting down a gear at all in the grand scheme of things when you are out on the highway? How is it pulling away from a stop, any noticeable difference in terms of working the clutch to pull away?

Also, what did your dyno jet kit do for you, better response, more oomph, etc that could be accomplished otherwise by playing around with the jetting in and of itself?

Thanks!

[CatatonicBug]

I did the FD swap and the Dynojet kit right about the same time, so I don't know for sure which one did more, but I did notice a subtantial increase in fuel economy, as long as I take it easy on the throttle. I went from 28-32mpg, up to 38-40mpg. YMMV, of course. I DID notice an instant increase in throttle response with the Dynojet kit though. The difference between the OEM jets and the Dynojet jets is related to the shape of the ports in them. I'm no scientist, but there is something about how the air and fuel flows through them that definitely helps performance over the OEM jets (of any size).

I noticed no difference at all with acceleration, but then I'm not a wheelie-popper or a speed demon. It has plenty of pep off the line for my riding style. I do notice at times that I catch myself in 4th gear on the freeway.

[Bonz]

Thanks CatBug... I think we are one in the same in terms of how we ride the bike.

I went from stock 110 mains down to 107.5 (Mikuni jets) just for grins out here at 7000 feet elevation, and see not one drop, literally, of fuel savings. Runs the same as it did with the 110's. Most of part throttle running isn't bringing in the mains to a large extent anyway, so I wasn't too surprised.

I get 36 mpg in about any kind of riding, including up and down the interstate when I commute on the XS at 75 mph (about 5200-5300 rpm) so the FD swap should take me up to the low 40's, at least that's what I have in the back of my mind.

Thanks for your info, have a good one!

[cywelchjr]

I don't have dynajets, but I did the FD swap, and additionally have a standard with with it's bigger rear wheel has a higher final drive ratio anyways. I find now after running with it for a couple of months, I don't even notice the difference, other than I run lower gears for a give speed, and lower RPM's on the highway. Frankly, the gearing actually feels more like what the bike was really designed for.

[Bonz]

Yeah totally agree with you about "what the bike was really designed for". The lone goal was to get the bike into the 11's in the 1/4, which they did really well. As well, the speed limits were 55 mph back then and to have the bike turning basically 4k rpm at 60 mph made good sense.

I look forward to having more gear choice, per se, after the final drive swap. It will suit my riding style very well.

My other bike is a 2001 Kawasaki ZRX 1200, and I've added a tooth to the front sprocket so I'm sitting at about 4100 rpm at a GPS measured 75 mph. Shifting is more or less optional, with 85 ft/lb max torque at 7000 rpm, and 74+ft/lbs from 2750 rpm upwards until it falls below 70 ft/lbs above 9000 rpm (from dyno charts, the real thing).

Now that is a powerband, and even with the taller gearing it flat scoots in roll-on in 5th gear, or any gear for that matter. I geared it taller because I wanted a few hundred less rpm on the interstate, and overall, it makes 4th gear perfect for 3500 rpm cruising the leisurely back roads at about 60 mph.

[Bonz]

I've posted this in another thread as well, but wanted to put it out there in a couple places in case it's helpful to others.

Got my Plexifairing 3 installed, thought I'd post up what I can that might be helpful.

It was a very easy process to install it, however I will 100% concur with other posts that the instructions are horrible, but like it has also been said, it's not hard to figure out. As well, I went back to a thread or two on the forum and looked at some pics that were already posted of how the Plexi 3 looks when installed, and that really helped as well in terms of seeing the completed look, and giving me ideas for how to set mine up as far as postion of upper braces, location for approx area to mount the lower attachments on the fork tubes.

Since I installed it a week and a half ago, I've been fine-tuning it to get everything symmetrical in terms of the angles of the upper braces, small adjustments the lower mounts on the fork tubes, etc. It was very close to being just fine initially, but after a ride or two, I pick up on the fine tuning that can be done to make it "just right" and I'm picky about that stuff anyway.

The main thing I learned from years of windscreens on other bikes is that a small gap between the screen cut out and the headlight shell is a good thing, as it allows air to come in behind the screen which allows for smoother flow over the top and in my experience, less back pressure on the rider if back pressure is present with the screen mounted with the gap sealed between the cutout and headlight shell. I tried the gap set wider as well, and got some funky wind noises in my particular helmet, so I went to a small gap and it was a good middle ground.

However, the icing on the cake is the Laminar Lip spoiler that I have from my Honda ST 1300. I mounted it on the Plexi 3 screen, played with the positioning of it, and found the perfect setting, that cuts out most all of the wind noise and makes it into one of the best bikes I've ever had in terms of wind protection combined with smooth air all around, and minimal wind noise. I wear earplugs when riding, and it is a pretty quiet ride with just a light wind noise, and occasional louder noise when I hit a wind gust or get dirty air around semi trucks or following larger cars/SUV's. Not 100% elimination of the wind noise, but many times better than just the Plexi 3 itself.

Basically, the wind hits me from mid-shin down and just at the top of my helmet, and just a bit of breeze on the outer fingers of each hand on the grips. Much less wind on the hands to keep them happy when it's cool, like today riding into work with just leather gloves (no insualtion in the gloves) and 39 degree sunny temps when I left the house. Very little wind on my arms as well and with the Laminar Lip in place, I can ride with my face shield open with a very comfortable amount of air hitting my face, even at 75 mph. Your results may vary...

The caveat I'll throw in is I am 6'11" tall (yes, really tall) and so I face unique challenges in getting windscreens to do what I need them to do for wind noise, etc. If I duck my head down even 3 or 4 inches with just the Plexi 3 in place, my head is in a nice quiet pocket of air, so for 99% of all people the Plexi 3 alone should be great.

[Bonz]

FWIW, until I can set up a photobucket account (I try and it tells me to enter a code in "the box" and there is no code and no box, so I'm stuck for now until someone at photobucket answers my cry for help/explanation as to my problem), I won't get any pics up. I'll post some as soon as I get it figured out.

[Bonz]

Plexifairing 3 pics!

Here's my 80 SG last summer, before the 'screen, taken with a good camera...



Here are two pics with the Plexi 3 installed, taken with lower quality camera phone. Note the Laminar Lip I installed (from my ST 1300) that significantly cuts wind noise at mid-highway speeds. Totally worth doing the Plexi 3, and the Laminar Lip made it that much better. I'm very tall, so I can see over the top, shorter riders will not, especially with the Lip installed. My feeling is that normal height riders will be just fine with the Plexi 3 and no Lip, by ducking down a bit I'm sitting is calm air. I only tried the Lip because I already had it, and it does make a big difference for me in terms of wind noise, and calming the air so it doesn't buffet at all.

[Mendizale]

Can't wait around all day on you boys , so I went ahead and ordered a Plexifairing 3 for my 80 SG. Double checked National Cycle's application chart, and it's a clear fit for the 79-81 Special.

National Cycle part # N8613, Motorcycle On Line part #552613

FWIW, Motorcycle online store has it for 10% off right now, for a few more days at least. $188.96 total, free shipping.

Hey, I notice they have several heights and widths available. Do they all fit XS11s?