Vetter Rooster Fairing
Vetter Rooster Fairing
EVALUATION
Specialization has been a good thing for motorcycles and lots of motorcyc1e accessories like tires and seats and handlebars. Except for the biggest companies, most specialized accessories have been produced by different companies, so Vetter, for instance, might produce big touring fairings and maybe Shoei or somebody else would produce small handlebar-mount fairings.
Now Vetter Corp. (not to be confused with Craig Vetter) has apparently gotten big enough for specialization in the fairing business. First came the small frame mount Quicksilver and now there is the Rooster.
The Rooster is unusual in several ways. It is Vetter’s first handlebar-mount fairing, and is designed to carry a radio.
Handlebar-mount fairings generally come in a one-size-fits-all shape that adapts to various motorcycles as well as any one-size item fits. The Rooster is no exception.
Pictures of the Rooster looked a trifle awkward, though they didn’t show it in great detail. When a Rooster landed in our office it looked just as awkward, quite unlike any other fairing. Picking out the most average of motorcycles in the CW garage, (coop?) the Suzuki GS650 was selected for the fairing’s perch.
Mounting the Rooster is not fun. It should be simple enough, with a broad Ushaped bracket connecting the fairing to the handlebars and slotted scissors-like brackets linking the bottom of the fairing with the headlight shell mounts. Because the lower mounts fasten to the headlight shell, and so do the bike’s turn signals, the signals must be relocated. The Rooster’s lower mounting tab incorporates small struts designed to hold the signal lights. There are no extension wires in the Rooster’s mounting kit, so the signal light wires were stretched a bit too far for convenient mounting. Also, the Suzuki’s signal lights use a square-shanked plastic collar for mounting in the headlight shell and these lights didn’t fit snugly into the rooster’s mounting holes.
Three-quarters of an hour later the Rooster was perched atop the Suzuki 650. The fairing looked a bit out of place, the opening for the headlight not fitting tightly around the bike’s headlight, while the inner panels of the fairing hid the digital gear readout on the bike.
Fairing shapes have been remarkably limited in number over the years, so the Rooster shape takes some getting used to. It is not a V-shape like the Quicksilver. It’s not the barndoor shape or the imitation roadrace shape, either. Instead, it’s a wedge. It’s aimed down in front, flaring up and out, but with no lower surface to balance the shapes.
What the shape does is camouflage the size of the fairing. Photos do not show exactly how this works, because the depth of the fairing is what hides its size. It’s not a large fairing anyway, but it’s a mediumsmall, not bantam-size. Looked at from directly behind it appears to be a more normal sized fairing.
On the road the Rooster works pretty much as could be expected. It provides a medium-small amount of wind protection, but has a noticeable updraft caused by the shovel-shape of the fairing. This could be a problem in fowl weather. Sorry. That one just slipped in.
If there is a surprise to the Rooster’s performance it is more upper-level wind protection than normal for a small fairing. The blast is kept off the chest and the helmet, while wind continues to flow past. The windshield is small and short enough for any size rider to look over it. At no point is there a block of still air behind the fairing, but that’s more a description of the fairing than a criticism.
Handling is very slightly affected. It doesn’t weight down the steering like a full fairing, but at speeds around 85 mph there is a little handlebar oscillation present. Of course Vetter warns that high speed handling may be affected by the Rooster and especially if a radio and speakers are mounted. This isn’t much of a problem unless the rider really likes to fly, and in that case a more sporting fairing would probably be in order.
What the Rooster does provide is a place to mount a radio. It is incorporated into the fairing’s inner panel, with a face plate that’s easily removable for radio mounting. Other mounting spots are provided for speakers, and there are various holes plugged in the fairing for antennas or other accessories. Heretofore riders who wanted a mounting location for radios had to buy a frame mount fairing at considerable expense and with considerable weight added to the front of their bike.
At $129 list price and 7 lb. the Rooster is considerably lighter and cheaper than any other radio-ready fairing. It also would be preferable for lightweight bikes. For wind protection there are better Vetter fairings. But specialization has brought us the lightweight radio carrier.
