Fatboy Bat wing

[clcarp]

I decided I wanted some tunes for longer rides on my '97 FB. After shopping all the fairings I could find, none were advertised to fit my bike other than a Memphis Shades which is only an outer fairing. I did find an off brand on ebay advertised for my year and model along with the detachable brackets, 4-5" speaker holes, detach cable to boot. Supplied brackets wouldn't work because they set the fairing too close to the handle bar and had to fab new brackets to attach along with spacers to get everything lined up. I bought 5 1/4" Polk just because they are way gooder and am currently in the process of extending the size of the speaker mounting holes on the inner fairing with foam for the mould and then fiberglass it so the speaker covers won't hang over and have a clean look when mounted. I'm also having to modify the stereo unit opening and angle it upward since I was only given 3 1/2" of depth in the fairing for the stereo to mount.

I also scored a brand new still in package OEM "97 front fender for my bike for a mere $113, (bargain). I've pulled the tanks and both fenders and plan to repaint them including the new fairing.

I'm going to have to relocate the turn signals and am thinking about a light bar or simple lowering the existing factory setup. Can this be done?

From what I've seen, very few batwings have been mounted on Fatboy softails. I'm also concerned about wind buffering and creating a dangerous ride.

Any thoughts?

[brownfoxx1]

being old school with a '79 FXEF, let us know how your project turns out, with pics. lb

[JesseR]

I see you are in Oklahoma, I'm in Tulsa if you need any help on this project. I can tell you a Batwing is awesome on a Fatboy. This is an 07 fatboy with a 200mm rear tire and custom metal work on the rear fender. The fairing is by "Wide Open Customs" out of Osweego, KS. They make a mount for most bikes and a fairing that will fit it. They come in primer and black but they will custom paint it for you. I painted it all at one time. Here are a few pics...

[clcarp]

Great looking ride Jesse! I work is Tulsa and live outside of Talala near Oologah lake. The biggest problem I've had shopping the fairing is my bike being a '97. The memphis shades is the only company I've found that claims to be able to specifically fit my year/model. I opted for the ebay unit which the seller does state in his ads that his fairings are NOT ready to bolt on and must be tweaked to work for your particular ride. What I received was basically a blank inner and outer fairing that requires proper trimming of the edges as they were uneven, sanding due to runs in the primer and cheap primer that was chipping/peeling in places. Stainless brackets that are the proper spacing for my detachable points on my forks, but cannot be used due to jamming the fairing too far back and into the handle bars, ie, will not allow fairing to mount properly.
Since this was basically the only option I could find that had an inner fairing with speaker and stereo mounts at a price a single Dad with three kids could work with, I bought it expecting to spend some man hours to make it work. I didn't expect I would have to go as far as I have, but I don't want it to be obvious that it's a cheap POS. Ha!

I think she'll be great in the long run and it will all be worth the man hours involved.

I've got about $200 in the fairing, $225 in the Marine Stereo and the 4-5 1/4" Polk speakers, $30 for the flexible internal antenna and about $350 worth of Candy Wine paint and clear coat waiting for it's turn.

Here's a pic of the inner fairing with creating the mould for new fiberglass to expand the speaker mount areas.



First trimming of foam, more added to fill holes and areas where I trimmed too much.



Next pic is the brackets with untrimmed maple spacers. I used some 2024 T3 Aircraft grade aluminum (because I had it) for the brackets. After trimming the maple properly, I'll take all 4 peices to a friend that has a machine shop for fabrication. The spacers were required to properly line up the brackets with the factory windsheild mounts on the forks.



Since it's winter, I've decided to not be in any hurry for this project. I'm not so sure that I'll have saved much $ after everything is said and done, but if she looks good after it's completed I'll have some sense of accomplishment.

Will post new pics as I move forward with the project.

[fatclassic]

Nice bike JesseR, I put the wing and bags on my Fatboy and I love it and it rides great. And if I like I can strip it in 15 minutes.

[JesseR]

Clcarp,

PM me if you need any help I'm happy to lend a hand. I'm in BA and would be happy to help where I can. The work you have is GREAT. I've gone through several radio and speaker combo's and now have a unit with a Fosgate amp. It is L O U D and really sounds good @ 85 on I-44.

Good luck!

[cycleman]

I'll speak about the handling.

I put a 70-80's FLH batwing fairing on my 08 HD Heritage Softail. The older generation FLH batwings let you adjust the windshield up or down as the windshield mounted on the mounting brackets not the fairing itself. That helps in addressing any buffeting issues you are getting from the windshield. These fairings with the right quick release brackets are as easy to remove as the stock windshield.


I live in an extremely high wind area where it is not uncommon to have 50 mph side winds. The addition of the batwing hasn't affected the handling at all, bike is as stable as it was with the standard factory windshield.

The only difference I have found ( and this applies to any fairing equipped bikes I've ridden ) if you get a semi with trailer passing you at 70 mph or so, you'll get a vacuum pull from the semi that will tend to pull you along. Not really an issue but you have to be aware of it. Just slow down slightly until the vacuum is broken and your good to go.

I never really tested the fairing above about 90 mph so can't comment on any high speed stuff.