1200 Top fairing removal

imported post

I haven't done a 1200 faring in about 3 or 4 years, so I am going from memory.

It was very intimidating the first time I did it but after I did it once, it surprised me how easy it was.

I used to do it by myself, but it is recommended to have an extra set of hands. It's not heavy, but it is big and bulky, and you need to be able to hold it up at the same time you are unplugging wiring harnesses. I used to unbolt the fairing and then lower it down and set it on the front fender. But you risk dropping it, or scratching your front fender. So if you are doing it by yourself, you have to hold it in place with one hand, while unplugging two wiring plugs with the other hand. Of course you have jiggle, pull, shake and otherwise force those plugs to come out with one hand and not drop the fairing with the other hand at the same time moving around just enough to reach the plugs, and not scratch the fender.

That in anutshell is the hardest part of removing the faring. Everthing else is easy. So if you have a friend to help, it's even easier.

You have to remove the lowers,the lower covers and the shelter,and the seat. Depending on which method you use below, you may also have to remove the windshield and headlight. (believe it or not, I preferred that)

There is a sub frame that the faring attaches too, and the sub frame attaches to the frame of the bike.

So you either remove the nut and bolts holding the fairing to the sub frame, or you remove the othernuts andbolts holding the sub frame to the main frame.

The book method has you remove thesub frame from the frame, and that requires that you reach down from the handle bar area into the tunnel to remove 2 bolts that are in the tunnel. I hated that method, because my hands were too big to fit down in there easily so I struggled with it.

The method I preferred was to remove the fairing from the sub frame. Sorry, here's where my memory is failing me, I can't remember where all the nuts and bolts are. I know that there are two bolts on the front lower edge of the faring right under the head light and there are 4 nuts at the lower rear of the faring (2 on each side). I think that there might be 2 more bolts behind the headlight, which means you have to remove the headlight. That's the part I can't remember.My Helms manual says something about removing the headlight on the Aspencade to remove the bracket from the faring. I had an interstate and I can't remember if I removed the headlight or not.

Sodependingon how big your hands are,if you can get to the pair of nuts/bolts in the tunnel, the book method doesn't require you to remove the windshield and headlight.

If you are doing it by yourself, you are probably going to want to remove the windshield anyway to make it easier to handle.

I forgot to mention, once you get it unbolted, you have to unplug the wiring harnesses. Depending on which model you have, there will either be 2 plugs or 3 plugs. They are the big kind with lots of wires going into them. They will be in the left side of the tunnel. The wire loom comes out from the bike and the plug receivers are hard mounted to the faring. So all you have to do is pull the plugs.

If you are not the original owner, watch out for extra wires running from the bike to the fairing from add on accessories. I got myself on that one. I had an extra wire that I added myself earlier on and I didn't include a disconnect. So I was standing there holding the fairing and I couldn't disconnect a wire. So I had to cut it and add a plug connection when I was finished.

Oh,yeah, one more thing. The speedometer cable. As I recall, you don't have to disconnect it,but make sure that it isn't clipped into place along the fork, as you will need the slack so that you can set the fairing on the ground next to the bike. You don't want to be stuck holding thefairing and discover that you need to undo theguide clips. Of course if you want to carry the faring to the other side of the garage so you don't kick it while working, then disconnect the speedometer cable at the wheel end.