I've got a air of the freedom wings too.
Five things bothered me about them.
1) They are only held on by 2 screws and the arms that they are held on by could put a bit of force on that fairing. I would hate to see them crack the mount bosses on that high dollar painted inner fairing.
2) They contact the fairing in the closed position and rub the paint.
3) They are not as big as the original equipment deflectors and in my opinion don't work as well.
4) They contact the tank when opened past a certain point, and you know I don't need any more paint problems.
5) They sit at a rearward angle in the closed position and create a bit of turbulence. The stock deflectors push the air further out to the side instead of letting it roll back at the rider.
Wow, some of that made me have to stop and think about where mine were. Had to go out and look for some of it.
1) The two screws thing had me wondering a bit to begin with as well. I used a pair of black plastic plumbing washers between the mount stalks and the fairing. They're about an 1/8" thick and just under a 1/4" in diameter. Gives a wider surface contact and firmer purchase against the fairing and protects the paint at the same time.
2) Yeap, they sure do. Mine came with a welt cord on the inside and that soft cord is what contacts the fairing rather than the hard plastic. At least while these things are new there is so little vibration in the unit I don't know if it'll be a problem. Just to be on the safe side, however, when I close them I don't push them more than just barely making contact.
3) They don't block as completely as the original solid pieces. But I wanted them for everything but cool/cold weather. For October to March I'll spend 5 minutes and put the other ones back on.
4) Yikes, the last thing you need is more paint hassles. I don't if if the difference might be the thickness of the washers I used for a mounting surface. But mine don't touch the tank.
5) I noticed only the slightest bit of difference in turbulence when they're closed as compared to the stock ones. Really minimal. I was blaming it on teh slightly smaller size. But whatever the reason the difference on the red bike was negligible. Where I did see a lot of turbulence, however, was at a spot just beyond 3/4 open. More was ok. Less was ok. One spot there though and it was a real shirt and helmet shaker.
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Topic: Dragon wings (Read 2103 times)