Broken inner fairing mounts
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,741
Likes: 1
From: South Jersey
Broken inner fairing mounts
Kinda odd isn't it? I haven't heard of this happening to anyone else... The background: The dealer had the outer fairing off trying to locate and fix an intermittant blinker problem when he noticed 3 of the 5 inner fairing mounts were broken. [&:] He jokingly said I ride too hard...[8D] Maybe my hard riding coupled with the horrible roads up here did it. I had noticed the fairing shakin a little more than ususal lately but attributed it the the 95" engine build. It's being replaced under warranty and we both agreed that my "hard" riding should not have caused this. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has seen this?
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 897
Likes: 0
From: South-Central Minnesota
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
Don't be surprised when it happens again. The stock fairing brackets are notoriously cheap and weak. If you haven't heard of this happening, you just haven't been paying close enough attention because I've read of many, many cases of this happening on the forums.
I had my fairing apart this winter to paint the inner. I took the opportunity to bolster the cheap brackets with some strategic welding. I've also heard of many people welding little "L" brackets to the ends where they are prone to break.
I had my fairing apart this winter to paint the inner. I took the opportunity to bolster the cheap brackets with some strategic welding. I've also heard of many people welding little "L" brackets to the ends where they are prone to break.
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
From: Cato, WI
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
Two years ago When I first bought my bike I thought the fairing was moving around too much. When I removed the outer I found the left upper bracket fractured. Shaped new and slightly beefier upper mounts from stainless steel and so far so good. The originals are very weak and have a bend in the worst spot. I will bet if more people looked they would find a fracture or crack developing in thiers also.
Tom
Tom
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 3
From: Southeast Wisconsin
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
Did a search and found this thread from last year. I took my fairing off this past weekend and sure enough, both brackets were broken right under the speakers ('06 Street Glide). Since Harley can't get their chit together on these things, I'm wondering if anybody knows of an aftermarket supplier. If not, I'm gonna trade my two broken ones in for two replacements under warranty and then try to beef them up.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 554
Likes: 0
From: Western Washington State
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
As I saw, it the upper flange was created by cutting away one side of the angle from the bracket before it was bent 90°, which created a very sharp corner at the intersection on the cut and the bend. Good sheet metal work would have added a relief hole prior to the cut and subsequent bend to relieve the stress this creates. Without this the vibration will work on the stress riser of the sharp corner until it fails. Unfortunately the factory’s design lacks any evidence that it was engineered. When I inspected mine I drilled relief holes in the corners of the brackets but will continue to monitor their condition and hope for the best.
FBL
FBL
Road Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,004
Likes: 2
From: somewhere
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
Check out this link...found it in another posting. Looks to be the same style as the HD OEM bracket but made of stainless steel. Cost a bit more, but SS is not pront to breaking like the HD OEM monkey metal brackets.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Harle...82607652QQrdZ1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Harle...82607652QQrdZ1
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Road Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,004
Likes: 2
From: somewhere
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
OOPS...looks like the auction on ebay is over and the website doesnt show a listing for the SS bracket. I have emailed the seller to inquire about more brackets.
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 370
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From:
RE: Broken inner fairing mounts
ORIGINAL: Phil
Kinda odd isn't it? I haven't heard of this happening to anyone else... The background: The dealer had the outer fairing off trying to locate and fix an intermittant blinker problem when he noticed 3 of the 5 inner fairing mounts were broken. [&:] He jokingly said I ride too hard...[8D] Maybe my hard riding coupled with the horrible roads up here did it. I had noticed the fairing shakin a little more than ususal lately but attributed it the the 95" engine build. It's being replaced under warranty and we both agreed that my "hard" riding should not have caused this. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has seen this?
Kinda odd isn't it? I haven't heard of this happening to anyone else... The background: The dealer had the outer fairing off trying to locate and fix an intermittant blinker problem when he noticed 3 of the 5 inner fairing mounts were broken. [&:] He jokingly said I ride too hard...[8D] Maybe my hard riding coupled with the horrible roads up here did it. I had noticed the fairing shakin a little more than ususal lately but attributed it the the 95" engine build. It's being replaced under warranty and we both agreed that my "hard" riding should not have caused this. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has seen this?
I had the left fairing bracket replaced in my '06 Ultra on Monday of this week. I found the origional one was broken when I was looking for a rattle a few weeks ago.
Have you checked your front motor mount? My early '06 had the old style and it craped out within the first 10K. Again, I found it, not the dealer --- but they replaced it under warranty.
I plan to build my own fairing brackets if the cheap $hit HD ones break again.
