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Web maintained
by JohnnyRide
Nthegruv@comcast.net
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This is the
simplest and quickest way to reduce the heat you may feel on your legs. If the
exiting of engine heat from the sides of the fairing don't bother you, you still
may want to read this. The heat I feel coming off the sides of the faring is
most noticeable when the outside air is around 75-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The
basic design of the cowling is to pull and control the air on the front of the
bike so that it is funneled through the radiator. The problem arises when the
air, which just went through the 200 degree+ radiator, continues through the
radiator and then is somehow suppose to assist in cooling off the engine. Since
the bike is water cooled, I have decided that Honda never intended the incoming
air to cool any thing other than the radiator. Therefore the water cooling will
take care of the engine. So since all that nice hot air is being jammed inside
the engine compartment, the exiting of that air through the side cut outs on the
fairing rolls out on your legs. I think the air comes in faster than it exits
when you are riding. I could be nuts but lets move on.
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Click on pics to enlarge
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So if we add additional air intake
paths to the engine, we should have cooler results overall.
The easiest way is to remove the two
inner cowls. It is really easy to do. The first ting to do is remove the 2
center push plastic rivets from the top sides of the 2 storage compartments.
Simply push the centers of these
plastics pin gently. They should move 1/16th of an inch or so. Next, work
your fingernails under the edges and pull them out. They should come out
easily if you have pushed the centers in enough.
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Click on pic to enlarge |
Looking under front of the fairing, you
will need to remove four more plastic rivets and 1 screw per side. Once you
remove the front right side, move to the left side.
Enlarge the pic to the left to see the
yellow circles which indicate what you need to remove.
When you pulling the cowl out, watch out
for the radiator fins as they are way too easy to hit and damage.
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Click to enlarge
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The left side comes off the same as
the other. Be aware the air temperature sensor is incorporated into this
side. You will need to partially remove the cowling so that you can remove 1
screw which retains the sensor. The finger points to the sensor. |
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Click to enlarge |
The yellow square in the picture to
the left shows the new location of the sensor. I used a tie anchor and a tie
wrap. The red square is
the mounted piece of cowling from the picture below. |
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Click to enlarge |
I wanted the added bracing, or at
least a portion of the support the inner cowling provided to the fairing, so
I cut out the corner of the inner cowl for this purpose. This gives me three
mounting points. This is optional as I really don't think it makes a big
difference other than you will have to buy replacement units at some point. |
Now as a side
benefit of this easy mod, I have noticed that the bike handling has
improved. I have noticed that crosswinds don't seem to make the bike dive into
the wind like it use to. I also feel that some of the effects of turbulence you
experience around trucks , SUV and square shaped camping trailers is reduced.
The bike feels less jittery under these conditions as compared to with the
cowlings installed. Since more air is able to move though the fairing, incoming
air is not trapped inside the fairing for as long and exits quicker. I also
think the additional airflow which does not directly pass through the radiator
helps dissipate the heat which builds up under the gas tank and seat. The
good thing about this mod is that you can put the cowlings back in during colder
weather.
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