My upper fairing stay is broken

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Revision as of 04:24, 28 May 2010 by Bokonon (talk | contribs)
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No surprise there. The upper fairing stay is one of the first things that can get bent on the EX250, and they are hard to find used for a decent price in "untweaked" form. We recommend trying to fix the one you have, if you have any welding skills (or a welder-wielding friend), especially since it costs $135 new. And when you fix it, make it beefier.

Part # 11046-1289; third owner, 16,000 miles

The bottom part of the bracket (stay) was designed for obsolescence. Bring the pieces to anyone that has a welder and have a new piece welded to the bottom of the strut. Either 3/4" or 1" flat steel strap can be bent, drilled, and then welded into place. The strap will have a lot more strength than the lightweight piece that Kawasaki uses. It will weigh a few grams more, but it won't break again.

It can also be done without a welder -- use a long bolt through the strut to hold the new bracket into place. You may need to trim the bottom of the strut if you use the bolt; there isn't a lot of clearance where the bolt head goes.

To remove the broken bracket pieces, grind down the weld on the end of the fairing stay, then beat the bracket ring (all should remain after the angles snap off) right off the end of the fairing stay post. Here's a couple shots of the fairing stay with the old bracket remains removed:

Measured everything and have a bracket made from some steel scrap. The hole in the center of this picture allows the new bracket to slide over the fairing stay post seen in previous pictures as bare material:

<<When the end of the post is flush with the bracket it is welded on.>>

It is important to note that the thicker bracket material will require new hardware to mount the stay to the frame. Something in the neighborhood of M6x14mm bolts is what you'll probably need.

Also very important to note is that the lower corners of the bracket need to be removed to clear the lower triple tree as the handlebars are turned. Use a Dremel tool cutoff wheel and clean up the edges with a grinding stone bit.

Here's a picture showing the new bracket holding the fairing stay in position:

File:Fairing stay 4.jpg

This shows the possible area of interference between the lower triple tree hard stop nub and the new bracket: