Designing a Fairing

The front fairing must shield the rider from wind, hold the headlights, and mount the instrument cluster, including GPS and maps.

I'll be making mine in sheet aluminium, because for a one-off bike like this it suits my process very well. The ideal material might be a super-tough polyethylene plastic like road furniture is made out of, but the manufacturing process is one that is only viable at scale.

Aluminium does present its own problems though, chiefly that it's tricky to weld. The aluminium welding process is a hybrid between brazing and oxy-acetylene welding steel with a rod, so I've invested a lot of time in the last week practicing both before my aluminium welding goggles arrive and I can get used to the true process. These special goggles filter the light in such a way that it's easier to read the temperature of the aluminium when welding, rather than just blocking all wavelengths like goggles for welding steel do.

Oxy-Acetylene welding thin steel sheet

Oxy-Acetylene welding tubular steel

The fairing will be built in a similar style to classic Dakar desert racing bikes. That is, quite tall, sweeping round to meet the fairing, and mounting the navigation aids high and near your eyeline for quick reading.

I'm initially prototyping in cardboard and hot glue. I found it very hard to design forwards from the tank, but much easier when I started to shape the front of the fairing first then worked backwards towards the tank.

The prototype is perhaps a bit too angular and not broken up enough at the moment. It's overall impression is very blocky... It will have at least some of the edges rounded off and joined together so they flow better. The aluminium will also be cut as a 'net' so as to reduce the number of welded edges. This may cause a bit more wastage in the material but will certainly help with rounding the fairing and avoiding an excess of hard angles. Some of the surfaces will also be rolled but its hard to demonstrate this in cardboard.