The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Alcan Fairing – Craig Vetter’s Latest Project

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Craig Vetter's Alcan fairing mounted on a Kawasaki KLR
Craig Vetter's Alcan fairing mounted on a Kawasaki KLR

Craig Vetter is one of those guys that just keeps trying things to see how they work and his latest project is designing and building a new fairing for a trip to Alaska on the Alcan Highway, calling it, as you might expect, the Alcan Fairing.

Step back for a minute to the previous posts about the Honda GL1000. When that bike was introduced, one of the first accessories mounted by many owners was a Vetter Windjammer fairing. Craig Vetter and Honda actually worked very closely during those early years of the Gold Wing, as Vetter details on his site, and the Windjammer design influenced the fairings Honda produced over the years. The Windjammer, as Vetter states, was designed to fit every motorcycle, you just needed the appropriate mounting hardware, and, with hundreds of thousands of Windjammers sold, he did a pretty good job hitting the target.

Fast forward to today, things have changed quite a bit, and Vetter is once again designing a fairing which he wants to fit as many motorcycles as possible. The Alcan fairing is made of aluminum for strength. He wants rugged durability, utility and ease of maintenance, he wants to be able to change the headlight at WalMart and, of course, he wants it to keep him warm and dry.

The fairing looks pretty good mounted to a Kawasaki KLR and a BMW GS650. They’re also testing it on a Yamaha V-Star, considerably different in size and shape. It looks very functional. With the upcoming Alaska trip, he should know fairly soon if the new design works as intended. Where it goes from there, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I like seeing the work Vetter does, grinding away on a design to get the shape right, you get the impression a lot of people could do this sort of thing and they probably could, the problem is they never get started, Vetter just jumps in and starts building. I like that.

Link: Craig Vetter

Craig Vetter's Alcan fairing mounted on a BMW
Craig Vetter's Alcan fairing mounted on a BMW

Comments

  2. I dunno, I think my definition of “looks pretty good” is a bit different that yours. It also seems like it probably does a great job of keeping wind off the rider while doing a horrible job of streamlining the bike.

  3. No offense, but that’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!

    I mean that in the most positive way though!

  4. Merlin, “looks pretty good” depends on what you’re trying to do. If you are going to be riding in cold and wet conditions almost daily for thousands of miles, function wins over style every time. You’ll notice I also say “It looks very functional.” If you want style, just remove the fairing. Of course you’ll probably cut the trip short.

  5. Agree it’s not very attractive, but then, it’s also a work in progress. My question is, why aluminium? Once aluminum gets dented, it’s a bitch to make it look alright. It seems to me that there would be some plastic type product out there that would make more sense.

  7. Functional vs. “looks good” : Sometimes it has to be one OR the other… not one AND the other. Man, I might be warm & dry but that thing is ugly. If he hits a cross wind he’s gonna be in the weeds.

  8. Functional is the operative word. I’ve ridden in parts of Alaska on a KLR 650, and a neat little wind-cutter is not what he’s going to need on the Alcan. It’s not your average run to the bistro. Chances are the road and conditions won’t allow any speed that a sport type fairing would serve any purpose. On the other hand, bashing through hordes of insects and fending off everything from pothole splash to waist high branches just might require a little bit of this battleship approach. Specially for a guy Craig’s age!

  9. I think the concept is great and probably does a fantastic job keeping the wind and the elements off you. But with this extreme looking fairing…… just get a car with a convertible top. it’s pretty much the same thing. But that’s just one guys opinion.

  10. One thing to keep in mind, is that nowhere on Vetter’s site does he mention marketing this fairing to anyone. He designed it for himself and his wife. If it works for them, he succeeded. If he intends to sell it, then he’ll have to see if anyone likes it enough to buy it, I’d be willing to bet quite a few people would.

    Every time you swing at the ball, you have a chance of a base hit or a home run. You might also strike out. Better to strike out swinging than just standing there watching the balls go by.

  11. I give it a thumbs up. Good to see it includes hand protection. Throw on some Jesse bags to complete the look and functionality. Even if he does not marked the fairing, maybe he’d market the plans?

  14. I miss the Vetter fairing I had on a cx-500, and if the opportunity arose, I would consider mounting one to my KLR.
    This would be even better.
    Looks like a RTW contender.

  15. @Jeff
    Pretty much the same as a convertible car?? LOL!! When’s the last time you leaned a car into a corner? Ever lifted the front wheel of mustang off the ground? Or high-sided after hitting a raccoon on a rural road? Or felt the thighs of beautiful woman wrapped around you through a car seat?

    Geez. Get real.

    @MCVTriumph
    Why aluminum, indeed. Did you notice where he was planning to ride this creation? Not in downtown Miami where there’s a bike shop on every corner. Fiberglass, even carbon fiber, will crack and shatter on impact. When you’re 300 miles from the nearest gas station, let alone a bike shop, durability is key. Bend the aluminum, no problemo, grab a rock and beat it back to general shape…then continue on your way.

    @Just In General
    I get the feeling that more than a few readers here are way too soft in the seat and way too inexperienced to know what an adventure being on a real bike trip (uh, that’s more than weekend at Daytona) is all about. My opinion, is that most making posts on this article are missing the intent of CV’s PREP for a trek that is still considered to bit a challenge for any biker. The Alcan is a “highway” only in the loosest of terms. It is much improved from back-in-the-day, but there are still vast miles of nothing more than randomly maintained surfaces of clay and gravel. And there’s a very short window of “nice” weather. Not only is the fabrication and prep work worth applauding, you might each consider how well your backsides would fair across 1400 miles of desolate riding.

  17. It might not have problems with cross winds or head winds. If anyone knows streamlining it’s Mr. Vetter. Looks are subjective and I think it looks pretty cool, especially if the mass up front was equally visually balanced (or complimented) by some serious panniers in the rear. I would have done twin round headlights for obvious reasons and, last I checked, you can still get round headlights at Walmart too.

    It has a bit of “Interpol” look to it.

    -todd

  19. OK so first off its ugly but i bet the first mock up of a lambo is ugly too. like was said its for him and his wife maybe they aren’t interested in how it looks, oir maybe its sposse to be ugly. or maybe hes goin to paint it but before he expends the work to make it look nice he wants to test it.
    but i wonder how easy it is to remove, like say you have multiple bikes or you want to use it during bad weather… or just the winter.
    besides, if it weren’t for people trying new things even if they don’t work wed never get where we are now, how many bike makers went out of busisness over the years? and how many have be started and become huge? its all about trail and error. so for that i thank him for expanding the human experiance

  20. My experience has been people either like fairings or they don’t. I kind of like it. It would look a whole lot better painted to match the bike that it was on and maybe tidying up the seams and hiding some of the fasteners. But hey, it’s a prototype. I’m anxious to see the V-Star installation completed.

  21. …..might just be the pic, but it doesn’t look like it would provide you much wind protection for your legs, but it may just be the angle.
    …..not for me, but good job getting in there and just building, hopefully this turns out working like he wants.

  22. Vetter has always been one of the most interesting people in the biz. As for looks for this fairing, it’s a test mule and show me one of those that looks really sharp. It’s also one of those things you might have to get used to seeing, sicne it’s on a bike you don’t expect to see a full fairing on. Some of the pics on the site make me think the final will be a nice looking unit. Curious about the crosswind thing, as mentioned above. Keeping bugs off, not to mention rocks, a plus. Aluminum does bend (although you can get some aluminum that’s pretty tough) and dent but OTOH if you dump it and a fiber fairing-ed bike out in the boonies, which one do you think you can get back in serviceable shape easier before heading down the road? And again it’s a mule; how about a final in that plastic they use in some canoes, where you heat it near a fire and it pops back.

  23. I’ve always seen a motorcycle as a horizontal device. One wheel behind the other, flowing from nose to tail.

    Vetter has always seemed much more interested in the vertical element of the rider sitting upright, covering that rider like a shield, and THEN figuring out how to try and flow air around that, and fitting it to the machine however possible.

    Not the same philosophy as what I would think, I guess.

    But I would agree that if you need that much isolation, a recumbent seating position in an enclosed vehicle seems like a better plan than trying to shove a motorcycle through the air with that kind of frontal area.

  24. Looks to me like Craig wasn’t watching where he was going and ran into the back of a boat trailer carrying a Zodiak. I just hope he’s ok. I showed the pictures to my wife and she exclaimed, “WTF?” We’re still laughing about it. But I mean all this in a very constructive, positive way.

  25. There’s a lot to be said for finding a fairing shape that is truly effective and then trying to make it look good.

  27. I’m sure it works well; Vetter is a very talented engineer. But dayum that thing is ugly. Of course, being “pretty” is certainly not part of the spec for this thing, so that’s not a surprise. I suspect it will work extraordinarily well.

  28. if he ever did sell it I’d be very curious to meet the rider who would buy it. I’ve always thought his fairings were ugly, but Vetter’s heyday was before my time, thank god.

  29. I just gotta wonder, what does Vetter think when some guy rides a stretch-fork hardtail panhead all the way across Russia? That he could have got better gas mileage?

    Will one of these help McEwan on the next “wrong way ’round” filming?

    He’s just tooling, tooling. Senseless tooling, like majority of your posts. I’m so jealous of people that can afford that kind of time!

  30. I would love to have or build a fairing like that. The aluminum will be easier to repair and more damage resistant than new generation KLR plastic. I know because I dropped mine on a RR right of way and it impaled itself on a small 2″ diameter stump that was about a foot high. The stump stuck itself through the upper fairing on the right side, just below the instrument panel. If I had a fairing like Craig’s, It would have dented it, but the bike would have slid off the stump. The stump was on the side of an embankment and I had one hell of a time getting the bike off of it by myself. Also the KLR lower plastic is supported on the left side by the radiator. Several times I have looked at that bike without the fairings and wished I could have something simpler and out of aluminum. If you are six foot or taller, the KLR windscreen is useless. I hope he will put up some more pictures. As far as Fugly goes, you can’t hurt a KLR.

  31. I’ve always thought his fairings were ugly, but Vetter’s heyday was before my time, thank god.

    There were a few decent fairings back then, but decent looking was another thing. The Avons (not found too often in the USA) were nice, but look at a typical Bates or Wixom fairing (good fairings, but looks?).

  32. If I had to ride around like that I would just drive my car, as a matter of fact if my car was that ugly I would tint the windows. Sorry Craig but if there is a cross wind your off the road, does it have an air bag too?

  35. First, I don’t recall reading about anyone riding a stretch hardtail across Russia. Not saying they havn’t and if they have, they’re sturdier than me. My only concern about the fairing as currently constructed, is front-end lift. Otherwise, what else do you want? Good protection from the elements (less fatigue), better mileage (heavier wallet), less wear and tear on your ride (ditto). Since you can’t really see it while you’re riding, looks are irrelevant. When you park it, don’t look back. When you walk up to it, just be thankful you can still ride. Mel Beaty

  36. P.S. You want UGLY. Anyone recall the old full dustbin fairings from back in the 50’s? Mel Beaty

  37. I’m looking at that fairing and just wondering how much lift it would have at, say, 100mph. It looks like the bow of a boat.

  39. Hey everyone come over to http://www.hogradio.net and hear the story behind this thing. Criag was on with us Friday Amrch 26th to pay tribute to his freind AMA Hall of Fameer Don J Brown and we had a chance to hear the story behind this fairing. Pod Cast is up at blog.hogradio.net so check us out and get the stright scoop.

    The Producer

  40. ryan, my first bike was a 1978 honda cx500 and it had a windjammer on it. i loved everything about it. i spent the summer riding around montana and wyoming (billings throughout yellowstone to jackson and to bozeman a bunch of times). in the following two years i took her all the way to balboa beach, california, with many extra miles in between. it had storage that always fit sunglasses, water, tools, drugs, alcohol, insurance info, gloves and more. in the rain, i was golden. water shot off the shield and kept me largely dry above the waist. in sunny weather, the stereo blasted the beatles and the dead kennedys. i didn’t care if it was cool. it worked for me.

    one reason this thing is so fugly is the color. the dark underside in the bottom photo is sharply contrasted with the aluminum and white parts above. the shape reminds me of the famous vincent black knights in the old movie “1984.” they were the bikes ridden by the thought police. it’s amusing that he might have drawn inspiration from this, and more so if it’s accidental.

    but hey, fairings are for fags, right? so a large portion of bikers are gonna point and yell at you, unless it’s a road glide. then they’re just hypocrites.

    it’s just a shell in these pix. ride with a vetter fairing for a few thousand miles, not ten to the biker bar, and you’ll discover the benefits.

    matching the fairing’s paint with a bike’s colors are going to make this look a lot better. i recommend black.

  41. First thing I thought of when I saw the Vetter KLR was the KTM that Todd linked us to. Here is another similar animal, the Yamaha 660 Tenere.

    http://www.motards-online.com/moto-essais-articles/images/illus/YamahaTenere6602008_02.jpg

    It seems that tall fairing are de rigueur for adventure tourers.

    Though Craig has shown that he can design and build good looking motorcycles, the KLR fairing is more about function than looks, so it shouldn’t be judged on its beauty (or lack thereof) alone. I once rode about 300 miles through rain and sleet in temperatures right around the freezing mark, on a naked, dual-purpose bike, and I can tell you that if I had to do it again (please, no!) I’d prefer to do it behind one of Craig’s Alcan fairings.

  42. I’m not a big fan of motorcycle fairings and never have been, but this one looks like it’ll do what it’s designed to do superbly. Too bad the average commenter is shallow enough that they can’t get past looks alone and see something for what it really is: a smart idea for it’s given application.

  44. I’ve never liked Vetter fairings on ANYTHING, and this is no exception, but it’s not FOR me. It serves a purpose, and that’s all it has to do. If Craig likes it, it’s done its job. I’ve never needed a fairing or windsheild at all, even in January in Wisconsin, but even January in Wisconsin isn’t Alaska. And just because I don’t need something doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it. Yes, I’m repeating myself…. Long story short- I don’t like it. But I understand and appreciate it.

  45. It is ugly, but I guess someone with Craig Vetter’s skills and experience isn’t going to worry about that when what he actually wants is something uniquely practical. It would be easy to deride this effort but remember three things.
    1 It isn’t finished – these are clearly work-in-progress mock-ups.
    2 He didn’t go and buy something off the shelf, he MADE something with his hands – that is worthy of praise.
    3 He designed the Triumph Hurricane – one of the loveliest bikes of the 1970s or any other decade.

  46. Ugly it may be, but look what it’s mounted on. There hasn’t been a good looking dual sport since the Norton P11. Too bad function somehow gets in the way of aesthetics.

  47. At work I recently designed and built a new cafe fairing. It was a fun process. From shaping a square block of foam into a smooth fluid shape is a great creative process. Even sanding layers of body filler to get the shape just right is fun all be it dirty work. All the time spent was worth it when pulling the first part from the mold was a reality. We have also worked a lot over the past few years with Aerodynamics and the effects that windshields have on motorcycle riders both aesthetically and functionally. I can certainly appreciate what Mr. Vetter is doing. No matter what his concepts or prototypes look like, what he is doing is invaluable to refining his design.

    Why anyone would want to take shots at him based on a couple pictures seen in a blog is beyond me.

    His words on his website say it all.
    “I have had the best success designing for myself. Does anyone else care about utility?”

    Peace
    Joe

  48. Many years ago I rode a friends Honda 750 with a Vetter fairing and I was amazed at the protection at 70mph – back then you used to see guys riding down the freeway smoking behind those fairings! So what do we have now? Except for sportbike fairings (which apparently do the intended job for go fast) we get little fairings that mostly cause helmet turbulence. Look good but are of very limited usefulness.

    BTW, there’s more to “lift” than just the leading edge, I wonder if Mr. Vetter has this worked out?

  49. This is just one guy’s opinion and is no more valid than anyone elses. Yes, he made it himself. Yes, Craig has done remarkable work in the past. Yes, it has yet to be painted and its for his personal use in adverse conditions. I’ll give him all the credit for those things. But to me, it has the most backyard of all backyard projects look I’ve ever seen. It appears that you could stand straight and tall in the “Jesus on the cross” position and still never be touched by wind. It that the goal of motorcycling?

    Ok, here’s the opinion part. To me, part of why I ride motorcycles is to actually feel the elements and smell the smells. No, I don’t like to freeze or burn up and like the gentleman in Florida commented that he’s ready to throw down cash for a beautiful replica of this, if I lived in Florida with all the “Love Bugs”, I want one too.

    Paint will not make this look better and as one poster said, aerodynamics and this have nothing in common. Coming form the same designer/builder/genius that created the X-75 and the Mystery Ship, I would not think this was the same guy’s work.

    There was an Indy car builder in the teens, 20’s and 30’s named Harry Miller.His cars won Indy and everywhere else for years. His motors later became Offenhausers and his cars, every one was a work of art. Literally!. He had a motto. “It has to work as good or better than anyone elses stuff, but it sure as hell is gonna look better!”

    This is not the best Craig Vetter can do and as far as going to Alaska and battling the elements, at speeds of sub 30mph, he’ll probably survive. Above that? Better him than me. Taken for what it is and it’s intended purpose, it’s probably functional.

  51. Since Mr. Vetter has, based on his past efforts at increasing motorcycle mileage by fairings and streamlining, a more than passing acquaintance with aerodynamics, I bet he has this area covered. I still like it. Mel Beaty

  52. I have gone up and down the Alcan in a car which I thought was muddy and dusty and loooooonnngg enough. I’d take protection over some “essence of motorcycling” for that one, you’ll get plenty of exposure.

    As for the expert aerodynamic opinions on this thread…my opinion is this fairing works a lot better than it looks like it might.

  53. Ugly, yes. Functional, yes. In that part of the world ugly goes un-noticed but functional could save your hide. Wonder if I could fit that on my busa?

  54. I’ve looked at it a bit. And I really like the design. But I would probably have built it as a frame/ring of chrome-moly tubing and then used a molded polypropylene material for the body of the fairing. Polypropylene is light, and has huge shock resistance (whitewater kayaks are made of it) and it’s really easy to mold. It would be stable at speed with a suitable frame, and rocks would bounce off of it, not just dent it.

    One of these days, I’m going to bike up to Deadhorse. I’ll just have to design something for that trip when I do. It’s nice to see Mr. Vetter cooking up new projects. He’s one smart cookie. Good luck Craig!

  55. I’ve had many years experiance with fairing design and fitting over the years and I can say this large unit will be affected by crosswinds and turbulance,especialy on a tall light bike traily type bike.

  56. Jeez, Craig, why not just get a car? This is even uglier than you Harley Big Twin Scooter idea. You did better when you wrote for Rolling Stone.

  57. My guess is, he chose aluminum to better stand up to large-ish rocks thrown up by the tractor-trailers that cruise the Alcan Hwy.

  58. Now we know what happens when you breed a motorcycle with a boat 🙂 That being said I’m sure it will score high on the functional scale.

  59. Alcan Hwy …. wear body armour… but that al fairing ???

    Might as well have cut a garbage can in two and found a way to rivet the ting to the bike.

    There are plenty of ways to protect the rider that work better and look better while they do it.
    Like the upper and lower deflectors that are used in Paris/Dakar type bikes.

  61. this is pretty random, but awesome! the guys here where we do los angeles motorcycle rentals have been talking about doing a long trip to Alaska from California. I think this would be perfect for that long trek! Keep the bugs off, spray from puddles, what not. Good for a long trip! And the fact they fit on almost any bike, especial BMW 650GS, etc. Even better, ’cause thats all we got at the shop, nice!

    @motorcycle_la
    labmwmotorcyclerental.com

  62. Hey!………I happen to like dustbin fairings. Wonder if you worked on the tail drag factor a bit ………….

  63. While I like Craig’s enthusiasm, hard work and most designs- this is just butt ugly. Sorry but functionality is not the only thing……..

  64. Don’t know about riding on rough ,potholed or gravely outback roads or tracks with this. I like to be able to see the ground in front of my wheel to avoid any hazards. With that massive boat like structure on the front it would be almost impossible unless the rider is standing upright on the pegs most of the time.

  65. looks as though that fairing fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down

  67. Some might not like the aesthetics but it’s damn hard to argue with Craig’s long history of successful innovation. True, It’s not gonna’ get you laid on bike night but who cares about that when your 500miles from nowhere?

  68. Its the equivelent of the Ford Edsel, all designers get things wrong sometimes.When I go on remote tracks, give me a naked bike thats easy to handle, drag out of mud ,gullies and potholes.Why take half a boat that is cumbersome,easily damaged,blocks your vision and is as ugly as sin.Great to see Craig come up with new inavations,but this one ??? I dont think so.

  69. Two words: Paris Dakar.

    Uglier and more functional bikes were never made, and yet somehow they have become a standard by which we judge adventure bikes ( i submit the KTM adventure series as example).

    Soft focus a bit and you’ll see that Craig is in the hunt there.

  70. Craig is to be commended for actually doing something, a doer rather than a viewer. I prefer riding when the weather is crap and could not possibly care less if others find my bike pretty or ugly. That fairing looks like a it would do an excellent job and i believe is well thought out. Surely not a fashion accessory but using a bike as such has always struck me as odd. Used for high mileage touring in all weathers it looks like it would work better than anything else I’ve ever seen. I would prefer a round light, just old fashioned i guess.