2005 Yamaha BWS: Front Fairing

It's been over a year since I've posted an update about my 2005 Yamaha BWS rebuild. 

(image stolen from www, might have been my scooter)

My build is nothing like reality TV, where customized rebuilds are completed in weeks. There are many factors that have resulted in my build posts to taking so long, the most serious issue has been my inability to post to BLOGGER (which has been documented before). Other factors, like the cold weather, a cold workshop, postal shipping delays, and the whole trial and error process have added to this lengthy build. Finally there are all the problems I've been plagued with during this build. It's also a bit surprising that, parts for this model of scooter are harder to find, considering that it's a newer model.

Now on to the actual build...

(not my fairing, image stolen from Ebay)

One of the ugliest things about the North American YW50, is the hideous reflector on the front fairing. My goal from day one was to remove this reflector and add either LED  side markers or LED turn signals (haven't decided yet). In my opinion, while reflectors do an average job of making the scooter visible to other drivers, lights are better, and LED lights are even better than that, plus they're really inexpensive, and draw less electrical load. 

Problem #1: My original goal was to remove the reflector and merely substitute in .75" LED penny lights. However, removing the reflector revealed multiple mounting holes in the fairing. To avoid seeing these holes in the fairing, they would need to be filled prior to securing the LED lights. I used a technique called plastic welding, where the surrounding area of the fairing is melted, with a solder iron, and new plastic is melted in and added to fill the holes. Seeing as I was already committed to this process, I also decided to fill some fairing cracks graciously provided, free of charge, from the previous owner. After building up the area with plastic, it was sanded down to its original shape. ** When possible use tape on the finish side to achieve a smoother surface, with rough work on the other side of the fairing (hope that makes sense).

Problem#2: Some of the original plastic parts on my YW50 had a textured surface, the fairing being one of them. After the plastic welding process, and the subsequent sanding, the original textured surface had been lost. Sanding down the whole fairing just wasn't an option, so I attempted to recreate the textured surface using RUST-OLEUM's Hammered textured spray paint.

(Here is a picture of the fairing after it had been plastic welded, sanded, and finally painted.)

Problem #3: While the RUST-OLEUM Hammed texture paint did a great job of recreating the texture surface on the fairing, it wasn't the right color.

As you can clearly see from the above photo, the paint can color indicator lid is black, yet my painted fairing is grey/charcoal. As you can image I was pretty upset, which was only made worse by RUST-OLEUM's refusal to admit fault. Instead, after ongoing correspondence they eventually awarded me a refund. Fortunately for me, I was able to correct this, by painting over the fairing with a standard black rattle can paint. ** Note: In the past I've experience issues trying to use different paints on top of each other, with sanding being the only final option, something the refund wouldn't cover. I really liked that I could paint over the hammered textured paint, I might use this process in the future. **

Oh RUST-OLEUM, its a complicated relationships between us.

Problem #4: After waiting weeks for my .75" LED amber lights to arrive, I painted them using VHT nightshade paint to give them a smoked look. I drilled new holes in my fairing and inserted the LED lights, only to realize that the curvature of the fairing caused the LED lights to not sit properly. While I could probably get away with using some silicone to fill the uneven gaps, I just know I would never be satisfied with this look. My solution was to order 1.25" LED amber lights, and hope that they will fit the fairings curvature better.

After several more weeks the new LED lights arrived, and once again I used VHT nightshade to give the lights a smoked look. I used a Dremel tool to widen the .75" hole until it snuggley fit the 1.25" lights. 

While I really liked the size and shape of the .75" lights, the 1.25" lights fit so much better. Overall I'm pleased how the front fairing turned out, and I'm leaning on making these lights side markers that are only on at night.