Shoei Fm-2 Fairing
SHOEI FN-2 FAIRING
EVALUATION
When the first small fairings for road bikes appeared they were nicknamed bikini fairings because, like the bathing suits, they were small, sexy and provided minimum coverage. They added style, but weren’t quite sturdy enough for the occupant to risk a dive off the high board.
So it’s gone with fairings. If the first tiny headlight covers were bikinis, then the Shoei FM-2 is a tank suit; nearly as sleek, nearly as sexy but with enough added material to be useful.
The FM-2 consists of two basic pieces (all right, enough bathing suit comparison); a molded plastic body shaped to fit around the stock headlight and to deflect some wind from the rider’s hands, and the windshield, transparent plastic. The body comes in a choice of white, black or silver, and the screen is clear or tinted. Ours has the dark screen and a black body. Doesn’t look as good on the silver CB750F as a silver fairing would have looked, but all the dealers were out of silver at the time we went shopping, so we got what we saw, black.
The size makes the FM-2 nearly universal. It will fit most road bikes from 250 to lOOOcc and you could use it on a machine larger or smaller if you wished to be a bit out of scale.
It’s also universal in that the lower mounts are brackets that attach to the headlight bolts. Loosen, slide brackets under washers, position body so headlight is centered in the opening and tighten nuts. The upper mounting is swivels, slides, rods and clamps on the bars. You fit the clamps and then wiggle the various pieces until the fairing is centered and at the attitude you want. The fairing won’t pop right on a bike with a square headlight, and some of the Special-style jobs would put the bars where the brackets didn’t expect them to be, but in general, there’s enough latitude to provide for most riders on most road machines.
One of our few complaints is that the actual clamps are fastened by phillipshead machine screws. When you get them firm enough to hold the fairing in place, it’s tough to loosen the screws without stripping the slots. We replaced the screws with 6mm alien-head bolts and advise either the maker or the customer to do the same.
The FM-2 weighs only a few pounds
and can be installed in maybe half an hour. Because there are no holes, or wires or any permanent changes to fairing or bike, the FM-2 can be whipped on and off or traded from one machine to another with no hassle. Always useful.
On the road, the FM-2 provides a practical minimum. It won’t keep you dry in the rain, but it will keep you less wet. Your hands aren’t shielded, but some cold blast is deflected.
What the FM-2 does best is keep the wind off your chest and—depending on rider and bar height—deflect most of the blast above your face. Our 750F has bars about two inches lower than stock, which puts the fairing’s hand protectors a little above the grips, but which also brings the rider into a partial crouch, so a 5-foot-10 rider has the lower edge of the mainstream catching the top of his helmet. Fewer bugs, less cold air and headwinds are noticed only because the other guys in the riding group are flapping like Snoopy’s ears.
Bar mount fairings have a reputation for handling problems but this one is small
and slick and light. Truck wakes and side winds don’t bother the bike. A fairing that you weigh on the postage meter doesn’t hamper sports riding and although we didn’t record any gain in miles-per-gallon, we didn’t lose any fuel economy either. Performance isn’t bothered by the Shoei fairing. As a measure of wind resistance we checked acceleration of the CB750 with and without the fairing, particularly at high speeds where wind resistance affects performance. From 80 to 90 mph a rider tucked in ended up with the same times with or without the fairing. Call it a draw.
The FM-2 isn’t a touring fairing in the usual sense. No storage, no accessories, no full coverage. It doesn’t integrate the sports/GP style like the BMW R90S or the Suzuki GS450S fairings, but it does look tidy and it does fend off the dreaded headwind and that’s about all you can ask.
Especially at the suggested retail price of $129.95 for black or white, $159.95 for silver. At any dealer in the Shoei line, or from several mail order houses. We got ours from Helmet House, 2115 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, Calif. 90404. ._
