Vetter wiring

[Cuda 69]

OK,gotta a couple silly questions for ya all.
1) So,I'm wiring the vetter up,and everything seems to be going as planed EXCEPT,not sure about headlight.Do I have to splice into the exsisting wiring out of the plug for the 3 wires,or do they make a plug that goes in with wires to plug into the fairing wires?I'm talking about the original plug to the original headlight,if that clears things up a bit.

2)I'm pretty sure of this answer,but, I know I have to relocate the horns,so I'm assuming I should relocate on the frame for the fairing? Also,Are there supposed to be some kind of rubber washers to mount the fairing or is it supposed to go directly plastic to frame mount? Thanks for any help. It's going on a 80 special.

[dpotter58]

1) let me look at the front of the bike tomorrow. If the plug is still there I'll send it with the trim.
2) use fender washers on top of the fairing, rubber washers between the fairing and the frame.
3)pm me your phone number and I'll call you tomorrow.

[Cuda 69]

K Duwayne,not necessary.to send plug if you need it.I was just wondering if they made one or if you need to splice it.and if you can get one,where?As I really don't want to start butchering wiring harness as you can understand.By the way,It looks great on the bike,very happy with the look.I can't wait to get a ride in to see how it handles. oh,one more question,how do you protect the wiring up front seeings there's not a headlight bucket to protect the wiring?

[CatatonicBug]

There should be a pigtail that comes with the fairing. Here's one. It has a black rubberized cover that bends right at the fairing plug. All the wires that come out of the pigtail connect directly to the bike's OEM plugs in the headlight bucket. One of those plugs is a 3-wire thing that connects to the OEM headlight plug.

As for mounting, some people like the idea of puting some kind of rubber isolator between the frame and the plastic, but I don't like that idea. Being plastic, I want to prevent it fron bending as much as possible, and adding isolators there will force the area around he holes to bend, encouraging cracks. I'm not saying that it WOULD crack, but the concept scares me. I mount mine straight to the frame. If the frame vibrates, the entire 4-bolt square vibrates with it as a unit instead of each bolt being allowed to react independently. YMMV.

[Cuda 69]

thanks Cat,I just thought with rubber in there it would deaden the vibration the same as rubber motormounts on an engine.therefore lessoning the chance for the vetter to get any stress cracks.BUT,hey ,what do I know?

[mikubuilder]

yeah, mine was mounted without any rubber washers, and yes, Vetter fairing came with it's own pigtail harness...

[BA80]

As for mounting, some people like the idea of puting some kind of rubber isolator between the frame and the plastic, but I don't like that idea. Being plastic, I want to prevent it fron bending as much as possible, and adding isolators there will force the area around he holes to bend, encouraging cracks. I'm not saying that it WOULD crack, but the concept scares me. I mount mine straight to the frame. If the frame vibrates, the entire 4-bolt square vibrates with it as a unit instead of each bolt being allowed to react independently. YMMV.

The guages are mounted with rubber insulators, the tank is mounted with rubber insulators, the seat is mounted with rubber insulators, all the lighting is mounted with rubber insulators, the engine is mounted with rubber insulators, exhaust and shocks too.

Why would the fairing, bags, or trunk be any different?

[tv5150]

Some Pics to Help

There's a vinyl bag (pic 4) that comes in the install kit that you put all the wiring in when you remove your headlight bucket and tie-up with the supplied cord. And there's neoprene washers (pics 1 & 5) that are used when mounting the fairing to the bracket. Hope these help, if you have any other questions, PM me and I'll check what the instructions say...

[tv5150]

Bag Picture

There's a vinyl bag (pic 4) that comes in the install kit that you put all the wiring in when you remove your headlight bucket and tie-up with the supplied cord. And there's neoprene washers (pics 1 & 5) that are used when mounting the fairing to the bracket. Hope these help, if you have any other questions, PM me and I'll check what the instructions say...

Here's the pic of the wiring harness after being "bagged" and tied-up
between the headlamp mounting "arms" with the supplied white plastic tie shown
in pic 4 above in the bag with the blue connectors

[CatatonicBug]

The guages are mounted with rubber insulators, the tank is mounted with rubber insulators, the seat is mounted with rubber insulators, all the lighting is mounted with rubber insulators, the engine is mounted with rubber insulators, exhaust and shocks too.

Why would the fairing, bags, or trunk be any different?

Because the fairing is PLASTIC. Yes, that spot on the fairing is a relatively thick piece of plastic, but it's still 30+ y/o ABS. All those other things you mention are metal mounting to metal. If you can reinforce the mounting flange on the fairing with a stiffener (metal strip), then I can see a potential benefit. However, if you tighten the screw head into the fairing plastic, and the only thing on the back side is a rubber isolator, it may deform the plastic. The potential for cracking around that hole is very real because of this deformation. I can see all 4 holes suddenly giving out all at the same time, and the fairing falling off the bike at 85mph!

[BA80]

That's why you use rubber insulators on BOTH sides of the PLASTIC.

[CatatonicBug]

Here's the pic of the wiring harness after being "bagged" and tied-up
between the headlamp mounting "arms" with the supplied white plastic tie shown
in pic 4 above in the bag with the blue connectors

I think it's kinda funny that the instructions say, "XS11 'Special'", but all the pictures are for a Standard. On my MNS, I left the OEM headlight bucket in place and removed the headlight from the bucket. There are round rubbery covers that you can get to snap over the bucket to contain the wiring. I made one out of an old pair of slacks and a piece of tie-down rope. It keeps it secure, yet still breathes through the cloth instead of potentially holding onto moisture.

One additional thing to think about, I have found that the pigtail tends to collect water at it's lowest point. I removed my fairing this last weekend to fix a crack, and let the pigtail droop to the ground. Quite a bit of water gushed out of the rubber cover! I may put a small hole in it at the lowest point to drain any future collecting water.

[GLoweVA]

FWIW, the Windjammer II's only have a 6 pin plug. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a wiring harness, so I had to use indiviual wires for each. It's really messy and sometimes one of them comes loose.

I haven't used rubber washers for the mounts, but I do use an extra larger washer to spread out the force. Maybe if I had used some rubber dampening, my fairing wouldn't have vibrated so much and that's possibly what caused my cracks elsewhere.

[CatatonicBug]

That's why you use rubber insulators on BOTH sides of the PLASTIC.

That still allows the PLASTIC to flex. If the plastic is allowed to flex, it has the potential to crack. I prefer the idea of keeping the entire unit as stiff as possible.

[BA80]

Seems like that would cause chafing and rattles. When I mounted this one on ol' okie I cut a strip of rubber drawer liner to lay on the bracket and set the fairing on that and used some large flat washers with rubber washers between them and the plastic.

That way the fairing is able to flex as it will because of design and construction without chafing against metal parts.