Hugon Gt Fairing
Hugon GT Fairing
EVALUATION
Robert Runyard
Robert Run i'ard is a hardcore motorcycle nut. Last i'ear he rode to the tip of South A merica, sending us reports n'hene ver possi -hie. His hike was equipped with a Hugon fiuiring, and because he subjected the fiuiring to the toughest conditions a motorcycle is likely toflice, we asked Jbr an evaluation on the fri/ring. Here it is.
The first Hugon fairing I saw was on a Yamaha XS750 piloted by an artist friend. Unfortunately, he became so enthralled with mentally painting the Marin County landscape that he ran the bike into the back of a stopped car. The Lexan fairing escaped with only scratches. ow that, I thought, is some tough plastic.
Normally I disdain fairings. While liv ing in Europe I soldiered and schooled with a bare-bones 500 Triumph, braving the clouds of flying highway debris in France and the icy winter drizzle in Spain. It snowed on the beach in Barcelona at Christmas. In July I descended the Stelvio Pass in Italy with a lapful of snow that melted and seeped into the seat of my Beistaffs. You remember times like that. But there were budgets and priorities. Mi! lions for gasolina: not one peseta for wind shields. I was young then, tough and stubborn. No fairing. No sir.
Years later I became a test rider. Save for the road racers and the R9OS. my motor cycles still went without cowlings and win dows. During workday accessory evalua tions and endurance testing I found many> opportunities to check out the fairing business, and I had my choice of leftovers. Still no cigar. What I needed to know about fairings came from some of the other test riders, bruised old warriors who told of broken brackets, sagged-out springs, and a circus of handling transformations. So I just rode the bikes and wrote the reports.
Then in early 1977 I decided to try thet Panamerican Solo Classic and head for Tierra del Fuego. Since that 13,000-mile crusade w'ould be mainly on my own nickel. I chose a 650 Yamaha and invested in Loctite. 1 didn't plan to take along a hair dryer and Coleman lantern, and I certainly didn’t need a frame-mounted room addi-
A
tion. But since staying healthy would be of importance in South America. 1 started scrounging for some protection. I picked the Hugon GT fairing.
Looking back. I don’t regret that choice. Never have I subjected equipment to such brutality. Not the infamous 650 vibration, nor the perilous Patagonian Flying Rock* Circus, nor suicidal birds, nor my throwing the bike on the ground on a few occasions (once at speed), nor the tooth-loosening Argentine washboard roads—nothing fazed that fairing. Not even the sub-machine gun in eastern Tierra del Fuego. But that’s another story. . . .
Speaking of machine guns, the stuff of which the Hugon shield is made is the same General Electric Lexan you'll find on police motorcycle windshields. Lawenforcement types have a reputation for playing heavy-duty and for keeps: you'd better believe they don't scrimp on windshields. Actually. Lexan is the toughest plastic you can get. according to literature from General Electric, which holds the trademark on the material. It apparently does an acceptable job of slowing down bullets. Although most fairing windshields don't have to contend with gunfire, it's reassuring to know you're sitting behind one that can. Besides, the road to Tierra del Fuego is littered with the fragments of shattered motorcycle plexiglass.
Hugon distributes several types of Fexan fairings, from cafe-racer equipment to the GT style taken to southern Argentina. Although the original designs are French, the fairings are manufactured both in France and in Massachusetts. Mounting the GT is simple and the hardware is firstclass. The stays are nicely-chromed rods and the F-shaped bottom brackets bolt to the lower triple clamp. Normally a sixpoint mounting system is used, but in my effort to shave off excess ounces I kept only four stays. Fikewise a top deflector was left behind. The absence of the two top rods didn't appear to significantly reduce the rigidity of the installation, although it may have contributed to the cracking of a lower bracket on the horrible Peruvian desert highway. Fortunately the part can be easily fabricated in just about any little taller mecánico (small repair shop) found in most towns and cities along the Panamerican Highway. >
One of the most pleasing characteristics of the Hugon GT is the lack of noticeable upwelling of air that you find with most fairings. Many make you feel that your jacket is about to be wrapped about your ears. Not so with the Hugon, although I’m not altogether sure why. There is more of a feeling of protection from the wind, rather than isolation from it. On the negative side, the wide handlebars of the 650 stuck my hands out in the jet stream, making covers necessary in heavy rain. However, the air flow is appreciated when motoring through the jungles and deserts that make up about half of the trip to Argentina. In
addition, it’s possible to tilt the fairing to aim the top air flow, and when the time comes to crate your machine for the flight over the impenetrable Darien Gap of Panama. or the trip home, just remove the four self-locking nuts on the face of the fairing.
There is a saying about the winds in the region south of the Pampas. “You want to see Patagonia?” the gaucho asks. “Sit still long enough and it’ll all blow past you!” Indeed, even the plants have special roots and leaves to resist the tormenting wind. Yet despite the weather blasting across the southern steppes, gusts against the Hugon fairing never seriously bothered the 650’s handling. It may be that a handlebar mount isn’t suitable for high-speed operation. However, the ride was not to be a race, although I did nudge 80 mph occasionally, and at no time did the fairing cause any disturbing steering inputs. It is worthwhile to point out that I enjoyed excellent fuel economy that reached 57 miles per gallon on one stretch. Evidently there is some latent function cleverly designed into that unusual form.
There is one common source of dismay in plastic w indshields: refraction of light from the headlight. In some bad examples it can make night-time riding feel like you're piloting an incandescent blimp. In fact, you can get similar psychedelics by switching on turn signals mounted between you and the plastic, even on the Hugon. Consequently, the test fairing was modified by mounting trailer accessory turn signals on the front. While altogether functional, this change also gave the beast something of an, uh, mammalian appearance.
Hugon eliminated the headlight refraction by providing a pleated rubber tunnel that seals off airflow around the headlight and keeps wayward photons from wandering around as they scatter forth. In this case, the projecteur was a Lucas quartzhalogon lamp, protected from flying debris by the Lexan shield provided with the fairing. Anyone who has passed a speeding truck on the Alcan Highway or a Patago-
nian gravel road knows the value of a headlight shield and a full-coverage helmet.
Hugon offers two styles; the Sport, with a lower profile designed for use with flat or clubman bars, and the GT. for sit-up riding and stock bars, which is what I used. Price for either model is $249, and the optional wind deflector goes for $39 more. Both fairings come standard with chrome edging. You can order the fairing with polished edges instead, for $10 more. Hugon sells through a dealer network, or if there is no dealer in your area, you can buy direct from Hugon Fairings, 27 Loring Road, Weston, Mass. 02139.
Both models offer sport and protection only. There's no little glove box to hide your maps and trinkets, nor a console to mount your radio. And obviously the unique appearance of the Hugon will keep it from getting lost in the sea of Windjammer clones around the country. But it did survive a brutal two-month, 13.000mile journey down to the land of icebergs and penguins and curious constellations. If your riding is less rigorous, you can do like everyone else does. But if you re just the least bit iconoclastic, or the adventure bug gets through your civilization net and you decide to head for the ragged edge of the earth, the Hugon GT is well worth investigating. It that chance comes but once, shoot your best shot. iSl
