Batwing Fairing into a "Manta Ray" - How to mod & keep BOTH headlights! For cheap-ish

Bear with me for the multiple posts, but it seems the easiest way to put in pictures with explainations step by step. Here is my finished product.

I started with -

2012 R3 Roadster -
AnCnoc 12 YO single malt scotch - 2 cubes
Trusted Tattoo'd assistant who can follow orders and cry for me when I start cutting into the fairing.

Here is my invoice from Bikerhaven.Net. I found them on ebay selling the fairing, and was in contact with them several times. GREAT customer service, and here is the email he sent me for this pricing.

(BIKERHAVEN MEMPHIS SHADES SALE, LIMITED TIME ONLY)
You may purchase any Memphis Shades Product from our website below, and use promo code MS15 at checkout to receive a additional 15% Discount from listed pricing.

(example) Complete Memphis Shades Batwing Fairing Kit $497.85
Less Promo Discount 15% (-$74.67)
Makes total cost to you $423.17


Bikerhaven.Net Items
1 Memphis Shades Batwing Fairing Mounting Kit Honda Models (2321-0110) @ $121.51 = $121.51
1 Memphis Shades Batwing Fairing Wind Deflectors Deflector (2350-0111 BLACK) @ $21.21 = $21.21
1 Memphis Shades Batwing Fairing 08-12 Harley FXDF Dyna Fat Bob @ $237.96 = $237.96
1 Memphis Shades Batwing Fairing ' NEW SPOILER ' WIndshield (9 Ghost 2350-0171) @ $76.46 = $76.46

Sub-Total: $457.14 - (I added in the lower wind deflectors for an extra 21.21 so thats why it is up from the quote above.) Keep in mind this price is for the most expensive windshield that memphis shades makes. Cheaper windshield and no lower deflectors, and it would be even less.

I am 6'7'' tall and with the tallest of the "spoiler" windshields it DOES catch me in the forehead. My trusted/tattooed assistant is 6'3'' and said it did great for him. I believe KlockWerks makes a 12" spoiler type windshield for considerably more, but Im going to put the spoiler on my girlfriends bike and order one of those. I will report on it in late Nov.

I HIGHLY recommend these guys, even if the promo code doesnt work forever. They also had shipping included at the time I purchased mine - Sept of 2012. But they are/were willing to do the mix and match thing for me.

In hindsight I wish I had ordered the fork mount wind deflectors and mount rings for a VTX1800 at the time. It does block a lot of wind as it is, but I do plan on getting them as soon as I get back home and want to ride (it will be mid Nov).

Finished product pics and more "How to" below.

Step 1 - Start pouring Scotch

Step one - Start by pouring the scotch. You dont want to order $400 plus of parts and then start chopping them up "completely" sober.

With the first bit of scotch to start you off, unbolt the ignition cover/headlight trim cover and remove it. Following that take off both headlights and the headlight adjusting bracket.

Flip the bracket over, then remount the headlights. Depending on what kind of a day the assembly guy was having the day your bike was built, you may or may not have enough slack in your headlight wiring harness's to easily move them around. If not, pivot the tank up and reroute. Not the end of the world. DO however make sure your rubber grommetts are still in place when you finish so you dont get water in your lights.

This will raise the fairing up high enough to cover your hands on the bars. I have the rivco risers on mine and this way DOES block the wind on my hands. I also am happy enough with the look I plan on leaving them this way even when I dont have the fairing on later. Not sure if I will do anything to cover the bracket or what, but that will be another topic later if I do.

NOTE: I tried previously to fabricate a bracket to move the headlights in to close the gap hoping to NOT have to cut the fairing. It didnt work, and yes, I was sober for that endeavor. Perhaps that was the problem, but the point being I learned several things.

After the mocked up mount was fabricated I had to trim some of the metal off of the bracket near where the set screw holds the trim piece on, to be able to adjust the lights. I suspect that since this metal was removed, I had more freedom of movement after I inverted the stock bracket. You may find you will need to trim some of the metal later, for me when I changed things up it was already done because of previous try's.

I also learned that with the fabb'd mount the lights set behind the fairing, and could not be adjusted and were WAY out of alignment. Additionally when we did get them shoved in behind it, and got the fairing on, it sat WAY too low. It actually routed the cold air over the fairing right onto my hands.

Feel free to make your own adjustments and reinvent the wheel so to speak. But the nice thing about building this thread, is I get to put how I did it, and what worked for me. If you can find a better way, I am all for it guys, but this is the square peg I forced into the round hole so to speak.

Step 2 - Check the scotch

Step 2 - Depending on how long step one took, make sure you have not watered down your scotch too much. Drink as needed.

Now, you will need to get the mounting kit for the VTX1800 listed. The screws that come with it WILL work, however you will likely invent new curse words trying to get them to catch. They are 1/4 x 20 I believe by 3/4" long. I HIGHLY recommend going to the hardware store and getting 1" replacements. The clamps will fit in the middle section of the forks with the stock ones, but will not fit all the way at the top or bottom as there is a slight taper in the middle. This will also allow for you to put your choice of plastic or tape on the inside to avoid scratching the forks should you so choose.

Mount the clamps - I mounted them per the directions for the VTX with the tabs forward. It seems to me that the fairing is now pretty far forward. I dont know how much better it would be for the finished product if they were mounted backward or if they would cause any other issues. It is an option I didnt look too. As it is the headlights do stick out somewhat...i dont know if it would be better or worse if it did come out more.

If you are looking for a severe rake on the fairing you could probably mount one forward on the bottom and one back on the top. As it is, since I am tall and needed the most height, mine is more up and down and most of the slope is due to the spoiler windscreen.

Again...your option boys

The picture below is BEFORE I inverted the original mount, so disregard that part of the pic. This is from my first try when we fabricated the bracket. The clamps will of course need to be placed on the largest setting and slid from top to bottom into each other.

I recommend using glass cleaner as it wont damage the paint and will give you some lubrication help but dries quickly and wont leave behind an oily residue.

Step 3a - Refil Scotch and keep bottle near

Step 3a. This is the make or break part, the longest and most laborious, and the part that will make you and your assistant cry and cringe. (or at least it did us since we didnt have an online guide) - Best to keep the bottle handly.

You are going to need all your prep materials - As you open the fairing KEEP THE SOFT PLASTIC WRAP IN TACT AS BEST AS YOU CAN. You are going to be moving the fairing around a lot and doing lots of dirty things to it. I wrapped it in the protective wrap and taped it in place then worked on the back side.

Gather your supplies -

Scotch
Wide blue painters tape
Sharpies / Black markers / Pencil - whatever trips your trigger
Soft clear Tape
Angle grinder with sanding disk
Jigsaw with highest tooth per inch you can find.
Soft padding to put over table, or your assistants lap to protect fairing.
Old shirt, or work clothes you can get covered in melting plastic, plastic shavings, plastic dust etc.

NOTE: when I did the first try that didnt work well I used the angle grinder with the sanding disk and removed much of the hollow'ed out support. The outside Black lexan form is glued to an inside mounting cover that has the mounting threaded studs glued/melted into it. Using the sanding disk does equal parts of sanding/melting the plastic mounting. It throws plastic around in whatever direction you hold the tool in. If you have a nice shirt on it will melt into it, and if its polyester or anything it may melt the shirt too. I hollow'ed out a lot of the mounting for the first try, then broke down and consigned myself that it WOULD have to be cut wider for the lights to be safe and fit better.

In cutting it with the jigsaw it went thru many of the same areas I had already hollow'ed out with the grinder. Because of that, I would think that you could potentially skip the sanding as the first step, and rather go to the cutting. You can always fine tune the back of the mounting brackets to open up as needed and/or to adjust the lights after you have the hole big enough for the lights to go thru.

There are several sub steps here - If I leave anything out and you cant figure it out, refer to the Scotch. It always seems to have the answers for me.

Cover the bottom of your jigsaw in Clear tape, something shiny that will be slick and wont scratch if you get off the lines you are going to draw shortly.

Cover the outside edges of the batwing with the 2'' painters tape. Cover it enough to be able to run the saw over it in all angles without hitting the black lexan and scratching it. - After thats done you need to measure the outside of your headlights as they are mounted on the bike when they are set propperly for viewing the road. It should be somewhere around 13" or so. (The standard opening on the Fat Bob fairing is 10") After that, loosen the set screws and push them together in a "v" and re-measure that distance. This should give you your max outside range and min inside range for the material you need to remove.

Keeping in mind that the lights will be going thru the middle of the fairing, measure that max width across the middle of the hole, not around the outside. Make sure you are taking the same off each side uniformly. Rather than try to find the middle of the space, we measured 3/4" on each side, and 1.5" on the outside of each side. - Make your first conservative cut on each side. Take your cut piece off one side and make sure it measures up well with the other side if you like.

Time to do a test fit after you have your minimum cut made.

Step 3b - Check Scotch - Youve Earned it

Step 3b - Check your scotch and your progress. Do your first test fit.

In order to get it to rotate up to the lights, you will need to remove the bottom lip of the Fairing. I should have mentioned this sooner, but I wanted to try to keep the pictures together. You can remove it anytime really. I used a sturdy metal putty knife.

There is a lot of bolting up the brackets and fiddling with the location of the clamps and things like that.

NOTE: you may find that putting a plastic washer BEHIND the black mounting would help. It is just a little bit tight, and I didnt have the time to do so, but I plan on testing that idea out when I get back. You will have to push in the mounting brackets to the mounts on the forks to get a descent seating.

Keep opening up the hole as you see fit. Keeping the headlights in the "v" will keep them from scraping the brackets when you pivot it onto the lights. Then you can pull the lights back into position.

I used a silver sharpie to make marks on the black plastic so I knew what material I needed to remove with the grinder and saw to get the fitment as best as I could. (picture 2)

Its very much a trial and error and your end result will ultimately depend on your tools, your skill with them, and your patience.

I had cut a lot of the "shark tooth" off the top of the fairing in earlier tries, so I am not sure how much you will need to remove. I have contacted Memphis shades to see about getting a "new" replacement for that piece so I can custom cut it out later.

As you can see in picture 3 after it is mounted I have a big gap between my lights and it does let in a lot of air. I can dam it up, my fault, oh well, but hopefully you can be a little more careful with it and get a better result, and I can get a new piece from Memphis shades.

If you look close in picture 3 you will see much of the supporting plastic mounting has been removed. Most of this was previously done, but some did need trimmed with the grinder. It is by far the best and easiest way to trim it out. It takes huge amounts quickly away, but also does small amounts slowly if you are using the tool properly.

I also rounded off the edges/corners of the lower mounting bracket with the grinder. If you look closely in the 2nd picture you can see some shiny spots where the "Manta Ray" looking lower fin is and those are the mounting studs that are part of the plastic mounting shell. That is what the metal brackets attach to. I am right on the edge of them without sacrificing any stability.

Step 4 - Scotch Anyone?

Step 4 - After finalizing all your fitment and fiddling, make sure you have all your fork clamps where you want them and tight. Make sure your headlights are tight. Mount up your windscreen and take if or a ride.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THE TRIGGER LOCKS ARE FULLY ENGAGED. You have just cut up the fairing and voided the warantee. I dont think you will get any sympathy from anyone if you come back with 2 pieces of fairing and a huge gash in your pie hole because you didnt lock it down.

You should still have some room to adjust and change your rake and things like that. I would not peel all the tape off or mount other things like the lowers till you have everything adjusted where you want it.

I am toying with the idea of filling the hollow space with fiberglass resin to give it a little weight, and also to give some extra holding power to the mounting plastic since I removed about 30% of it. Also I have found a small (ish) speaker system for $100 at my local bike shop PreOwned Motorcycles in Southern Illinois. They are black and coned speakers that I suspect will fit behind the hand wells just fine. When I get back from work (I work 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off overseas) I will pick some up, mount them, and then add more pix. At the time of this posting I dont know what the brand is, but I know they can tell you at the link above if you contact them and they will likely ship them. They are great guys to deal with and are my local shop. Always do what you can (within reason) to support your local shop. Granted I got all my stuff online from another source due to a substancial discount, but I buy a lot of things from them.

I am also going to send them a note, since they told me they can get the parts too, and see if they can compete on the pricing as well for people here. I am thinking there may be some good interest in members here looking for someone that will send the mix match sets. I just dont know if they can compete with the free shipping and discount stuff or not, but I want to give them a shot. If/when I get info back about the speaker pods and anything else I will post it as a follow up.

In the end you can take off all the tape and protective wrap to reveal your new "Manta Ray" looking fairing. (Or at least I think it looks like one, and its my thread, and my scotch!....by the way...where is my Scotch now????)

There are a lot of questions about distance and difficulty to get to the key. I mentioned before I am 6'7" (2.1 M for you metrics) and all my gloves are 3XL. I am attaching 2 pictures to give reference to how much room there is, but even when wearing my winter gloves, I have no key issues. The first of them (#2) is my hand clearance to try to give reference. The second and last (#3) is my half helmet from Skid Lids in a 2XL sitting between the gauges and windscreen.

NOTE: after looking long and hard at the ignition, it seems to be held in the upper tripple tree with tension clamp type washers and seems it could be gently pry'd out and relocated. I would LOVE some input on relocating it, but I havent torn into the bikes wiring enough to know how hard it would be to reroute, or move. Its on my "too **** cold to ride" projects to do to the bike. (Along with sending the upper triple tree and clamps and other parts to powdercoat to get rid of the chrome. I dont believe in Chrome. Its a pain in the ass to polish, and it makes all bikes look like the chromed out bike next to it. If you want that go buy a fracking harley and be a sheep like everyone else. I got a Triumph to keep my bike from looking like every other bike.)

Step 5 - Ride when not drinking Scotch, & Drink Scotch when NOT riding!

Step 5 - Bolt up the lowers and any other accessories you like. I have a small back I am planning on putting under the headlights to close that gap a little, but didnt mount it before I left.

When I get back I will do the speakers and post those pix.

My advice is take your time. For me, drinking Scotch helps keep things moving slowly. Not like guzzeling beers down and then all of a sudden its hours later. I take my time and stay relaxed.

The more you can be patient with it and remove small amounts of material at a time the better your result will be. I am thinking most anyone can do a better fitment job than what I have done here. But I had to dive off into it and make a few mistakes. Hopefully you guys can learn from them and make smaller adjustments ahead of time for a cleaner result.

I was in contact with a rep at Memphis shades who said they were going to a Triumph dealership to do some measurements and look into possibly expanding their line to cover Triumph. I offered them my bike since I am gone a month at a time for R&D, but they didnt take me up on it so far. At least the fact that they checked into it and are even addressing it I found impressive. They didnt move forward fast enough for me, but as this thread gets older and older, perhaps there will be more options.

For me, and for now, this seemed the least expensive way to have a quick release fairing for winter, and for long trips. I would think that with this guide and a good assistant, you could probably do the whole project from the closed box to clean up in 4 hours, taking your time and being careful. Some parts were easier to do with the fairing on my lap (like the cutting the rounded forms for the headlight out of the fairing) and some parts were easier on a harder/more stable surface like a table (the sanding with the grinder)

Good luck and I hope this helps. If you are happy with the guide, do me a favor, and try to at least use the few places I listed here. The guys at BikerHaven.net were great to deal with me, and my local shop that has the speakers, can always use the business. I will get that info up here as soon as they send it to me.

Im not looking for a huge thanks, or lots of compliments on how it looks. I am confident others can do better using this as a stepping stone. For now, it keeps the cold wind off me so I can keep riding. The last picture is actually from the first try that I did, but it does a good job of showing where the fork clamps are mounted too far down, and that the fairing does sit forward of the levers and mirrors. Its a bit of a funny angle, but you can still tell it sits below the hand position. It does show off the cruiser pegs and brackets I fab'd and also the custom pipe with wrap and Tailgunner Exhaust.

The Cruiser pegs are a set of forward controls from a HD sportster mounted on 1/4" plate steel that I drilled holes for and put thru the front peg support bars. Then I just drilled two holes to mount the upswept HD forward controls. I will add in the brake and clutch levers (again when its too cold to ride and parts are gone to powdercoat) and put in a guide to what I do there. Basically I am going to make it dual control, but for this season I wanted some cruiser pegs for long riding. I just didnt want to get into having to take critical parts (existing brake lever and gear lever) off to modify them, and risk not getting them done right and needing replacement or some other issue, while I could be riding. So I will have more info out there on that probably in Dec or Jan. Unless I get really energetic before then.


I DO appreciate all the compliments I have recieved, and I thank you all for them very much! I dont mean to sound ungrateful, but I would rather people showed their appreciation by either using the companies that helped me out and treated me well, or please check in with your local stores. At least give them a chance to compete with whatever you find online. If you want to have a store locally, you need to do whatever you can (within reason) to help them out.

(just fyi - I dont have any kind of a commission deal if anyone does order or anything like that, not that I would mind, but Im just saying try to support local business's or if you do buy online, make sure you get it from someone trustworthy that does do good customer service.)

Side Note

On a side note, Since I am hoping this gets a lot of hits, I listed a couple items in the classifieds to try to build up some paypal credit so I can order a batwing for my girlfriend.

Gel Seat, Black Powdercoat Bearclaw, Touring Sissy Bar, Lower Fork Covers, Oil filter cover...little stuff like that.

They will be up for a week or so, and I hope to sell em on here instead of ebay. Hoping forum members can get a better price thru me and I can help out more people here than just some random guy/gal on ebay.

Just a mention...After they expire I am even cool with removing this post.

PM me thru the ads if you are interested in anything ...

Thanks all

Excellent POST!!!!! Great detail and pics, ( and scotch advice )!! I'm sure alot of guys will be following your instructions. I have both Electra Glide and Rocket, and the one thing I miss on Rocket is fairing, on a cold days they block wind, and as far as "tunes" goes, there ain't nothing like em' on a long trip!! I think if they made a Sport touring Roadster, with stereo, batwing fairing and matching hard saddle bags! It would give the Harley Street Glide a run for the money! Thanks for your post!

excellent post, pics and tutorial.
I love seeing guys do something different.
heck, anybody can buy parts to bolt on,
making it "your own" is a labor of love.
GOOD JOB.