Airtech Streamlining upper fairing: Not really AIO; Lower cowling doesn't match.

[CZroe]

I just got my Airtech Streamlining upper fairing delivered today. The quality is obviously better than the fiberglass eBay one I bought first, but I have encountered an issue and I might end up using the eBay one anyway:

First of all, according to their website, it is a "one piece" fairing with the radiator cowl pieces integrated, just like the cheaper eBay one. Unfortunately, the radiator cowling material clearly isn't there on the Airtech one. This could be a problem because I intended to install ZX-14 flush turn signals there, which was part of the reason I ordered their fairing (eBay seller didn't streamline his like I requested). The "Streamlining" in "Airtech Streamlining" means they removed the stock blinker holes, mirror holes, impressions, etc, which is exactly what I wanted so that I would not have to fill the original indentations. Now I don't think there is enough material for them to wrap to the front. It may fit the original cowlings with my own mounts, which is just going to be extra money and effort for what I was told was already done.

Second, I planned to use it with an OEM lower that lines up with the radiator cowling. The OEM lower totally doesn't mesh with their upper! Looking at their pictures, it seems that the Airtech lower wouldn't mesh with it either (clearly designed to align with the radiator cowling). This is very disappointing. At first I thought I had just made a silly assumption about their upper working with an OEM lower.

*sigh*

[Cab305]

"The OEM lower totally doesn't mesh with their upper! Looking at their pictures, it seems that the Airtech lower wouldn't mesh with it either (clearly designed to align with the radiator cowling). This is very disappointing. At first I thought I had just made a silly assumption about their upper working with an OEM lower."

Mine worked just fine, took a little nudging.... till it got wrecked at jennings

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Cab305

"The OEM lower totally doesn't mesh with their upper! Looking at their pictures, it seems that the Airtech lower wouldn't mesh with it either (clearly designed to align with the radiator cowling). This is very disappointing. At first I thought I had just made a silly assumption about their upper working with an OEM lower."

Mine worked just fine, took a little nudging.... till it got wrecked at jennings

Uhh, you do realize that we are in the pregen section, right?

I'm not even talking about a fitment issue. I'm saying that it didn't replicate part of the OEM fairings that the lower was replicated to mate with. It looks weird and allows air around the radiator (path of least resistance).

Basically, the pregen upper was almost everything for both sides and only needed a single-piece lower "chin" and two radiator cowls. The radiator cowls were only attached to the upper and are often molded together with it in aftermarket bodywork. They only need to be there to make sure airflow doesn't circumvent the radiator, but the "chin" is still styled to align with it (OEM chin and their aftermarket chin).

I'm not really worried about the airflow. My issues are that they said that it had the radiator cowling integrated all in one fairing when it doesn't, I can't fit my integrated signals as I originally intended, and, well, it looks weird (I bought this specifically for a visual upgrade).

Those signals were a huge reason why I paid for a whole other fairing, so it's a bit more serious than it sounds.

[Modzilla]

aftermarket stuff never seems to "bolt right on"... *sigh* but... a little redneck ingenuity and probably a LOT of elbow grease and it might could still work. after all, with no holes, you can mount those suckers anywhere, right?

Originally Posted by CZroe

Uhh, you do realize that we are in the pregen section, right?

I'm not even talking about a fitment issue. I'm saying that it didn't replicate part of the OEM fairings that the lower was replicated to mate with. It looks weird and allows air around the radiator (path of least resistance).

Basically, the pregen upper was almost everything for both sides and only needed a single-piece lower "chin" and two radiator cowls. The radiator cowls were only attached to the upper and are often molded together with it in aftermarket bodywork. They only need to be there to make sure airflow doesn't circumvent the radiator, but the "chin" is still styled to align with it (OEM chin and their aftermarket chin).

I'm not really worried about the airflow. My issues are that they said that it had the radiator cowling integrated all in one fairing when it doesn't, I can't fit my integrated signals as I originally intended, and, well, it looks weird (I bought this specifically for a visual upgrade).

Those signals were a huge reason why I paid for a whole other fairing, so it's a bit more serious than it sounds.

[Cab305]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Uhh, you do realize that we are in the pregen section, right?

Doh!!! Just saw post on "today's posts" didn't see forum location.

Lol, carry on.

[CZroe]

Hello. [redacted] Last month I received an EX21 upper fairing for an EX250F (1988-2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250R). It is described on your site as being “the right and left upper fairing, the radiator shrouds, and the headlight area all molded as a one-piece unit.” This description is wrong because the radiator shrouds are not molded in. This creates a mis-matched shape where the upper fairing meets the lower fairing, even when used with your own EX22 lower fairing/bellypan. I am surprised no one has brought this to your attention.

In an attempt to work around the flaw, I sourced OEM radiator shrouds and found that the shape of your fairing is not quite close enough to use them and leaves significant gaps that need to be filled.

The error causes more issues for your customers than simply being unsightly and not ducting air as well as the OEM fairings. For example, despite already having another unused fiberglass fairing from eBay that was truly molded all in one with the radiator cowling shape, I ordered yours because it had no OEM blinker mounts and I wanted to cut my own openings along the front and side edges for more modern EX650/ZX14 flush-mount signals. Without the promised radiator cowling shape, I now have no forward-facing portion to cut into. Because I am now considering filling the holes and “streamlining” the original fairing myself, I feel like I bought yours for no reason. I even paid the eBay seller extra to glass over the headlight area like yours but that’s wasted money too if I have to buy an learn how to fill fiberglass anyway.

By closely inspecting the picture I can see that the radiator shrouds are not present in your photo example either. I’m guessing that the description is wrong because the original piece you molded from was missing the radiator cowlings and you didn’t know it. There is a slight lip without it even on the OEM fairings, but it's not the radiator shroud shape. It would be nice to see an updated one-piece unit that includes the radiator cowling shape originally described but even an updated description correcting the information would help.

Hopefully this email reaches the right person. It is not a “technical question” like the contact page discourages. I just wanted to make sure that I sent it in writing before I call tomorrow so that I won’t forget anything.

[Dragone]

What was the answer?

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Dragone

What was the answer?

Nothing yet and life (and time zones) conspired against me to prevent a call on Friday or today.

Originally Posted by Modzilla

aftermarket stuff never seems to "bolt right on"... *sigh* but... a little redneck ingenuity and probably a LOT of elbow grease and it might could still work. after all, with no holes, you can mount those suckers anywhere, right?

If it was just aftermarket signals, then yeah, but they are aftermarket signals designed to replace the OEM ones in an EX650 or ZX14R. Those go on the leading edge of the fairing so that they face forward and to the side without protruding. This means that I need to cut a hole that wraps around the front but the radiator cowling that I would be cutting into to mount it is not there at all.

Originally Posted by Cab305

Doh!!! Just saw post on "today's posts" didn't see forum location.

Lol, carry on.

NP. Will do.

[Modzilla]

Originally Posted by CZroe

If it was just aftermarket signals, then year, but they are aftermarket signals designed to replace the OEM ones in an EX650 or ZX14R. Those go on the leading edge of the fairing so that they face forward and to the side without protruding. This means that I need to cut a hole that wraps around the front but the radiator cowling that I would be cutting into to mount it is not there at all.

well, as C-Lo would say... "ain't that some shhh"...

[CZroe]

Just thought I should mention that Dutch called me a bit over a week ago and thanked me for bringing it to his attention. He fixed the description on the website and I told him that I was OK with everything. Since no one sells exactly what I want, learning fiberglass to DIY was inevitable. Having a second fairing to work with is not a bad thing, nor is it a wasted expense in my case (I hope to modify and use both).

[nimanthadk]

Originally Posted by Cab305

"The OEM lower totally doesn't mesh with their upper! Looking at their pictures, it seems that the Airtech lower wouldn't mesh with it either (clearly designed to align with the radiator cowling). This is very disappointing. At first I thought I had just made a silly assumption about their upper working with an OEM lower."

Mine worked just fine, took a little nudging.... till it got wrecked at jennings

Where can I buy this front upper fairing?