Chinese Fairings - my experience with Auctmarts
Discussion
Having seen a few curious folks asking about chinese fairings over the years, I thought I'd record my latest experience for posterity, in case it helps someone take the plunge (or not, depending on how they turn out).
I'm not entirely new to chinese fairings... 6 years ago, wanting to do more track days and fit proper crash bungs, I stuck my RR7 Fireblade's pristine HRC bodywork in the loft, and fitted a set of chinese fairings from "Neverland fairings", in a fetching scheme of matt black with gold decals (matches the OE wheels and forks, you see!). I even ended up spraing the little grille pieces a nice gold colour, to match in.
Looked quite good in the end. Fit was mostly perfect. The bit where the side fairings come in to meet the belly pan at the front of the bike was a total nightmare. Ended up using heat to warm the plastics, and rather than the little Honda push pins to hold it, I ended up using plastic number plate nuts/bolts to keep the pieces together.
I used the best heat lining I could find (gold coloured, obviously) to protect the fairings from the exhaust, and it's this I credit with them lasting as long as they did. In the end, the lower fairings that sit close to the exhaust just gave up and cracked all over.
I'm not entirely new to chinese fairings... 6 years ago, wanting to do more track days and fit proper crash bungs, I stuck my RR7 Fireblade's pristine HRC bodywork in the loft, and fitted a set of chinese fairings from "Neverland fairings", in a fetching scheme of matt black with gold decals (matches the OE wheels and forks, you see!). I even ended up spraing the little grille pieces a nice gold colour, to match in.
Looked quite good in the end. Fit was mostly perfect. The bit where the side fairings come in to meet the belly pan at the front of the bike was a total nightmare. Ended up using heat to warm the plastics, and rather than the little Honda push pins to hold it, I ended up using plastic number plate nuts/bolts to keep the pieces together.
I used the best heat lining I could find (gold coloured, obviously) to protect the fairings from the exhaust, and it's this I credit with them lasting as long as they did. In the end, the lower fairings that sit close to the exhaust just gave up and cracked all over.
So, started hunting around, and because I lack imagination I settled on matte black again... this time, WITHOUT the gold decals (crazy, I know).
Ordered from 'Auctmarts' via ebay for the total of £290 (customs charges on arrival would add another £50 to this).
Ordered 22nd March just as countries were starting to take lockdown seriously.
6th April they sent me some pictures showing my finished fairings:
By 28th April they fessed up that they hadn't sent them yet, as their usual dispatchers couldn't get them to the UK due to lockdown measures. I asked them to send them 'surface mail' instead... which resulted in them finally hitting our shores this week, and to my house this morning... nearly 4 months after order!
(My first lot of fairings took 4 weeks!)
Can't be helped, unprecedented times, etc.......
First inspection:
All looks good, although the box of screws/clips they've provided look like they'll turn to rust quicker than I can fit them... think I'll stick to OE.
And the 'double bubble' screen they've provided looks like it'll turn in to a million razor sharp projectiles should it ever take a hit at speed... think I'll stick to my zero gravity item.
Ordered from 'Auctmarts' via ebay for the total of £290 (customs charges on arrival would add another £50 to this).
Ordered 22nd March just as countries were starting to take lockdown seriously.
6th April they sent me some pictures showing my finished fairings:
By 28th April they fessed up that they hadn't sent them yet, as their usual dispatchers couldn't get them to the UK due to lockdown measures. I asked them to send them 'surface mail' instead... which resulted in them finally hitting our shores this week, and to my house this morning... nearly 4 months after order!
(My first lot of fairings took 4 weeks!)
Can't be helped, unprecedented times, etc.......
First inspection:
All looks good, although the box of screws/clips they've provided look like they'll turn to rust quicker than I can fit them... think I'll stick to OE.
And the 'double bubble' screen they've provided looks like it'll turn in to a million razor sharp projectiles should it ever take a hit at speed... think I'll stick to my zero gravity item.
On closer inspection, there are a few blemishes, which seem to be caused by jiggling about in transit.
Top of right-hand fairing:
Top of rear cowl:
Also, whilst the advert advised that I should source and fit my own heat protection (like I did last time) this lot has come with protection fitted to the belly pan panels....... badly!
Undecided whether to leave it, or fit the nice gold-coloured stuff I've bought already.
Top of right-hand fairing:
Top of rear cowl:
Also, whilst the advert advised that I should source and fit my own heat protection (like I did last time) this lot has come with protection fitted to the belly pan panels....... badly!
Undecided whether to leave it, or fit the nice gold-coloured stuff I've bought already.
Waded in to the fitting this weekend.
First job, transfer headlight assembly from old nose cone to new. All 5 threaded inserts were perfect, made fitting an absolute doddle... really impressed so far with the craftmanship.
New nose cone fitted... on the RR7 the nose cone is held on by 2 dowels mounted on the headlights, and then the upper spars of the nosecone locating on to the mountings for the wing mirrors. Therefore this reach to the wing mirror mountings is critical... too far and the nosecone will be loose, too short and the nosecone simply wont fit.
Glad to say the Auctmarts were perfect!
First job, transfer headlight assembly from old nose cone to new. All 5 threaded inserts were perfect, made fitting an absolute doddle... really impressed so far with the craftmanship.
New nose cone fitted... on the RR7 the nose cone is held on by 2 dowels mounted on the headlights, and then the upper spars of the nosecone locating on to the mountings for the wing mirrors. Therefore this reach to the wing mirror mountings is critical... too far and the nosecone will be loose, too short and the nosecone simply wont fit.
Glad to say the Auctmarts were perfect!
The tail piece was easy too... again the captive bolts were spot on, so fitting the light unit to the tail piece was easy.
The belly pan again, just went together perfectly.
Next I had to trial fit the middle fairings so I could drill the holes for the crash bungs... always a nerve-wracking job... a drill with really fine speed control helps immeasurably.
For the most part, where the various panels joined together the fit was so good I was able to use the OE push pins to connect everything... which to my mind is seriously impressive.
The only fly in the ointment was at the bottom of the main fairings where they join the belly pan at the front. Fit was MUCH better than the Neverlands, but I still had to resort to plastic number plate nut/bolt to hold the pieces.
Minor gripe left... the inner trim pieces are 'warped' resulting in a slightly ugly fit if you look closely:
All in all, I was massively impressed. Apart from removing some left over materials from the moudling process, I didn't have to do any real trimming/fettling whatsoever. Final look... with the OLD tank as my new grips and tank pad haven't arrive yet:
Anyone have any need for some used, 6 year old matt black & gold fairings for an RR6/7?!?!
The belly pan again, just went together perfectly.
Next I had to trial fit the middle fairings so I could drill the holes for the crash bungs... always a nerve-wracking job... a drill with really fine speed control helps immeasurably.
For the most part, where the various panels joined together the fit was so good I was able to use the OE push pins to connect everything... which to my mind is seriously impressive.
The only fly in the ointment was at the bottom of the main fairings where they join the belly pan at the front. Fit was MUCH better than the Neverlands, but I still had to resort to plastic number plate nut/bolt to hold the pieces.
Minor gripe left... the inner trim pieces are 'warped' resulting in a slightly ugly fit if you look closely:
All in all, I was massively impressed. Apart from removing some left over materials from the moudling process, I didn't have to do any real trimming/fettling whatsoever. Final look... with the OLD tank as my new grips and tank pad haven't arrive yet:
Anyone have any need for some used, 6 year old matt black & gold fairings for an RR6/7?!?!
I’m a bit confused by this. Have you fitted these fairings so you can go on track and not worry about the bodywork if you fall off? What about lights and all the other road equipment that’s still on the bike that would get damaged? I’d have thought you’d want to buy track fairings and strip all the road stuff off the bike.
If it’s not for that and it’s for use on the road then I really don’t get it I’m afraid. That feels a bit like those people who leave the plastic on their furniture
If it’s not for that and it’s for use on the road then I really don’t get it I’m afraid. That feels a bit like those people who leave the plastic on their furniture
unident said:
I’m a bit confused by this. Have you fitted these fairings so you can go on track and not worry about the bodywork if you fall off? What about lights and all the other road equipment that’s still on the bike that would get damaged? I’d have thought you’d want to buy track fairings and strip all the road stuff off the bike.
If it’s not for that and it’s for use on the road then I really don’t get it I’m afraid. That feels a bit like those people who leave the plastic on their furniture
Primary reason for first doing this was so that I could fit proper crash bungs and go on track, safe in the knowledge that a crash would be less expensive than if I had the genuine bodywork on (have you seen the prices for genuine Honda bodywork? If it’s not for that and it’s for use on the road then I really don’t get it I’m afraid. That feels a bit like those people who leave the plastic on their furniture
That entire fairing cost less than a single Honda panel!)I cannot afford a van/trailer just for the 1 or 2 trackdays I do a year, so the road stuff needs to stay (I ride to the track, and hopefully, ride home again after).
Secondary reason is for a change... having had a few years enjoying the 'colourful' HRC bodywork, the switch to matte black is like having a whole new bike (sort of!).
So have you removed matt black with gold decals and replaced with matt black? That's a lot of effort just to lose the decals if so 
On topic, here are the cheap Chinese fairings on my R1. All went on well, couple of minor blemishes and the logos on the sides don't line up but they freshen up and look of the bike which is what I wanted.
On topic, here are the cheap Chinese fairings on my R1. All went on well, couple of minor blemishes and the logos on the sides don't line up but they freshen up and look of the bike which is what I wanted.
R1 Dave said:
So have you removed matt black with gold decals and replaced with matt black? That's a lot of effort just to lose the decals if so
I guess there's an element of TL;DR going on here 
... but the salient point from my OP was:GappySmeg said:
In the end, the lower fairings that sit close to the exhaust just gave up and cracked all over.
So to try to make it clear... the 6-year-old chinese fairings gave up the ghost... it was impossible to replace JUST the broken panels (as you can imagine, matte black with gold decals is not exactly common) so I opted to purchase an entirely new set.HTH
Prof Prolapse said:
I'm contemplating getting some fairings for my 99 CBR.
It seems a bit of a minefield.
Any recommendations on suppliers?
Well, I ordered from 'Auctmarts' via eBay, and it's been largely a very positive experience (Covid-induced shipping issues aside).It seems a bit of a minefield.
Any recommendations on suppliers?
Previous set were from 'Neverland' and they certainly required bit more fettling (butchering) to get them to fit.
GappySmeg said:
R1 Dave said:
So have you removed matt black with gold decals and replaced with matt black? That's a lot of effort just to lose the decals if so
I guess there's an element of TL;DR going on here ... but the salient point from my OP was:GappySmeg said:
In the end, the lower fairings that sit close to the exhaust just gave up and cracked all over.
So to try to make it clear... the 6-year-old chinese fairings gave up the ghost... it was impossible to replace JUST the broken panels (as you can imagine, matte black with gold decals is not exactly common) so I opted to purchase an entirely new set.HTH
As an aside, a friends Chinese fairings warped near the exhaust and the paint bubbled, despite having heat shield on it. They agreed to replace the effected panels but never did, so make sure the heat shield stuff is decent.
Re suppliers, I've heard tons of good reviews about Auctmarts, mine came from TrackFairings on AliExpress and were also pretty good for the money.
I bought some Chinese fairings for my thunderace in 2016. They were ok for the money. Everything fitted but certain areas like the hole for the headlight were the wrong shape. They didn’t look terrible for what was a track bike though. They exploded when I crashed at cadwell, bits of yellow plastic everywhere!
GappySmeg said:
Primary reason for first doing this was so that I could fit proper crash bungs and go on track, safe in the knowledge that a crash would be less expensive than if I had the genuine bodywork on (have you seen the prices for genuine Honda bodywork? That entire fairing cost less than a single Honda panel!)
I cannot afford a van/trailer just for the 1 or 2 trackdays I do a year, so the road stuff needs to stay (I ride to the track, and hopefully, ride home again after).
Secondary reason is for a change... having had a few years enjoying the 'colourful' HRC bodywork, the switch to matte black is like having a whole new bike (sort of!).
Crash bings can cause more problems than they solve, especially on track. If they dig into the kerb or brass on run off then your bike is likely to tumble rather than slide and everything breaks then. That entire fairing cost less than a single Honda panel!)I cannot afford a van/trailer just for the 1 or 2 trackdays I do a year, so the road stuff needs to stay (I ride to the track, and hopefully, ride home again after).
Secondary reason is for a change... having had a few years enjoying the 'colourful' HRC bodywork, the switch to matte black is like having a whole new bike (sort of!).
Fairings are expensive, but so are all the other parts that you’re happy to leave on and that’s what confuses me. If you crash you may well save the cost of fairings but what about the casings, bars, lights, indicators, levers, clocks, brackets, hoses, pegs and so on. All of these can easily be damaged too in a crash and there’s a good couple of thousand in repair bills there if you’re replacing with road equipment or OE
unident said:
Crash bings can cause more problems than they solve, especially on track. If they dig into the kerb or brass on run off then your bike is likely to tumble rather than slide and everything breaks then.
Fairings are expensive, but so are all the other parts that you’re happy to leave on and that’s what confuses me. If you crash you may well save the cost of fairings but what about the casings, bars, lights, indicators, levers, clocks, brackets, hoses, pegs and so on. All of these can easily be damaged too in a crash and there’s a good couple of thousand in repair bills there if you’re replacing with road equipment or OE
You're right, I best take those clocks and hoses off then Fairings are expensive, but so are all the other parts that you’re happy to leave on and that’s what confuses me. If you crash you may well save the cost of fairings but what about the casings, bars, lights, indicators, levers, clocks, brackets, hoses, pegs and so on. All of these can easily be damaged too in a crash and there’s a good couple of thousand in repair bills there if you’re replacing with road equipment or OE
You obviously see the world in very binary terms, which is fine.
In the real world though everything exists on a spectrum. It's damage limitation for the type of 'incident' I'm most likely to have. For the sake of a few hundred quid, the type of incident I am most likely to have on track is now economically survivable.
If you insist on focussing on the extreme ends of the spectrum, then no amount of prep will make that economically survivable (or even anatomically survivable!!!)
R1 Dave said:
Apologies, I missed the reason for the change!
As an aside, a friends Chinese fairings warped near the exhaust and the paint bubbled, despite having heat shield on it. They agreed to replace the effected panels but never did, so make sure the heat shield stuff is decent.
Re suppliers, I've heard tons of good reviews about Auctmarts, mine came from TrackFairings on AliExpress and were also pretty good for the money.
No worries!As an aside, a friends Chinese fairings warped near the exhaust and the paint bubbled, despite having heat shield on it. They agreed to replace the effected panels but never did, so make sure the heat shield stuff is decent.
Re suppliers, I've heard tons of good reviews about Auctmarts, mine came from TrackFairings on AliExpress and were also pretty good for the money.
Yes, the finish is not as robust as OE, and good heat stuff is a must. Even before they split, my old lowers had some bubbling of the paintwork, and especially the decals, on bits that sat close to the exhaust.
The new lowers have come fully plastered in a thick metallic heat shield stuff with a sort of foam backing a few mm thick (as shown in my pic)... never seen anything quite like it before. I'm minded to see how good that is, and keep a close eye on it. If it looks like the finish is starting to suffer I'll rip it off and put something quality on.
GappySmeg said:
You're right, I best take those clocks and hoses off then
You obviously see the world in very binary terms, which is fine.
In the real world though everything exists on a spectrum. It's damage limitation for the type of 'incident' I'm most likely to have. For the sake of a few hundred quid, the type of incident I am most likely to have on track is now economically survivable.
If you insist on focussing on the extreme ends of the spectrum, then no amount of prep will make that economically survivable (or even anatomically survivable!!!)
You can laugh all you like but given I raced on the Irish roads for early 20 years and saw the damage a crash can do then swapping fairings is one of those things that people do as a way to make themselves feel better but it serves no real purpose. You obviously see the world in very binary terms, which is fine.
In the real world though everything exists on a spectrum. It's damage limitation for the type of 'incident' I'm most likely to have. For the sake of a few hundred quid, the type of incident I am most likely to have on track is now economically survivable.
If you insist on focussing on the extreme ends of the spectrum, then no amount of prep will make that economically survivable (or even anatomically survivable!!!)
Let me explain this simply for you.
Your Chinese fairings will disintegrate the moment they touch tarmac and anything at all behind or around them will then take a lot of damage. OE fairings are expensive to buy but they are substantial enough to protect some of the stuff behind them quite well.
If you do crash though. What you’ll have is a pristine set of fairings in the loft with a bike needing thousands spending on it to fix all the damaged stuff that I’ve already mentioned.
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