Baker Air Wings

[CrazyHorse]

Has any put Baker Air Wings on their 1st gen? I got upper, mid, and lower ones but the two upper ones you have to drill into the fairing. No I' m not crazy about doing this. I wondering if anyone has had any problems with the fairing cracking eventually from the drilling? Do you like them?

[BuddyRich]

Since the fairing is made from abs you could to the local plastics store and buy a small piece of ABS. Cut a small piece. If the back of the fairing where you want to drill the holes is not flat. You can heat the abs to 260 and hold it in place so it forms to the back. Then just get some ABS glue from Home Depot and glue it on. now drill the hole and its reinforced already. Just be sure you have clearance on the back side for the extra thickness.

That's what I would do anyway.

[sarges46]

I have em on my bike. No issues..but I do dread the day I drop my ol'girl. That area will take a bad hit for sure. They are well worth it to have though.

[Iowa Guy]

I have em on my bike. No issues..but I do dread the day I drop my ol'girl. That area will take a bad hit for sure. They are well worth it to have though.

Unfortunately, I did drop my 89 twice very hard. I had some minor fairing damage that I was able to glue back together. The good news is that there was no damage to the fairing where the airwings were attached even though the impact destroyed one of the airwings and bent the brackets. The fairing must be tough there.


Iowa Guy

[sarges46]

Well, thats good news! It is tougher I agree. The bent parts are easy to fix..but that fairing...that would be a whole new hill to climb for this non wrencher! Glad it held up.

[E-Fishin-C]

I had a pair on my 86 I riveted the mount on the plastic had no problems

[Condor]

Can anybody post a couple of pics on a 1stGen?

[E-Fishin-C]

Here's mine

[sarges46]

Here's a couple if you can make em out. Its snowing/raining now so I wont be taking the cover off to get a real good shot. I can do that later on if required.

[Condor]

Thanks for the pics Rick.. Maybe after you dig out in the spring you could take a few more.....:snow2:

[CrazyHorse]

Thanks. I'm not sure I want to do the drilling on the fairing just yet. I guess I have aversion to it since they seem kinda fragile.

[Iowa Guy]

Can anybody post a couple of pics on a 1stGen?


Check the baker airwing site out

http://www.bakerbuilt.com/yamaha.htm

Iowa Guy

[sarges46]

Here's a pic of one wing close up.

[Condor]

Thanks Rick. That'll help a bunch when I get around to mounting them. I wonder tho.. Will the wings get in the way when trying to use the highway pegs up front?? Anybody??

[sarges46]

They might depending how long legged your are or if the really nice seat you just bought pushes you forward too much!

Normal I am...5'10 ish with the standard seat..no issues. But I did bang the things the first little while getting used to the bike. Then again I also got pant legs caught in highway pegs and banged back of legs on passenger rests too. Not any more.

[Condor]

Well, I'm horizontally challenged, with a 35" inseam, so I guess getting to the pegs comfortably shouldn't be an issue. I'd just hate to punch holes in the fairing and find out that the wings are in the way for riding on the pegs.

[sarges46]

Jack

Did you say 35" inseam?! You must be all legs and no body then...lol. My inseam is only 31-32".

Jimbob....the fairing is fairly strong in that area...although, like I mentioned earlier, I do worry about dropping the bike. But, they are worth it...in the cool weather they take most of the wind off the knees..that means alot to us who are getting sensitive in the joints! In the warm weather they are great for funnelling moving air over the legs and cooling things down.

[Iowa Guy]

Thanks Rick. That'll help a bunch when I get around to mounting them. I wonder tho.. Will the wings get in the way when trying to use the highway pegs up front?? Anybody??

I only remount the middle airwings in really cold weather which is almost here when I don't feel like using the hiway pegs anyway because the middle ones are definately in my way with a 32 in inseam.

Iowa Guy

[Condor]

Jack

Did you say 35" inseam?! You must be all legs and no body then...lol. My inseam is only 31-32"..

Nah, pretty well proportioned. 6'6" and shrinking.... Used to be 6'8" when playing roundball in college.

[sarges46]

Ok Jack...where, in relation to that portion of the fairing do your shins sit? If they are almost touching the fairing then you most likely will have a problem...at least in the location mine are anyway.

[Condor]

Ok Jack...where, in relation to that portion of the fairing do your shins sit? If they are almost touching the fairing then you most likely will have a problem...at least in the location mine are anyway.

Yeah, the knees are pretty close. But....I'm on a diet and loosing inches. The more I loose the more room I seem to have. 30 pounds so far!!... but still a long way to go.... So maybe there's hope for the wings...and me yet...:)

[CrazyHorse]

Man Jack how do fit on these bikes Im 6'2" and the foot position isnt the best for me I could use the seat a couple of inches higher(Gold wing much worse with the motor sticking out the sides). I can ride the bike without much chill problem to about 40 degrees. Havent tried lower then that. Worry bout black ice on some roads I take to work at 5 am when the temps are in the 30-36 range. I got all the sets of airwings feet which I like and come off easy. Maybe I wont put the upper and middle ones on. Still debating this in my head. Maybe SEAFOAM will cure it. :detective:

[sarges46]

Jack
That seat you sold me pushed me to where my knees were touching the pouches. When I straightened out the legs to put my feet on my highway bars I banged my shins on the bottom of the wing. It was not good.

Maybe you need to wait until someone with them lets you sit on their bike to check it out.

I should have mine when I get to Colorado....well should..ya never know.

[Condor]

Man Jack how do fit on these bikes Im 6'2" and the foot position isnt the best for me I could use the seat a couple of inches higher(Gold wing much worse with the motor sticking out the sides). I can ride the bike without much chill problem to about 40 degrees. Havent tried lower then that. Worry bout black ice on some roads I take to work at 5 am when the temps are in the 30-36 range. I got all the sets of airwings feet which I like and come off easy. Maybe I wont put the upper and middle ones on. Still debating this in my head. Maybe SEAFOAM will cure it. :detective:

It took some fiddling with the foot pegs and pedals before I finally found something that was comfortable. The seat I have for my main '83 was built by a local and the padding is very soft. It allows me to scoot back into the candle a little further than with a stock seat. When I ride #2 with a stock it's a little tighter. But that's why I need those highway pegs on long trips. They can stuff me into an airplane seat, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit in one position for a long time on my scoot....!!:) :)

[CrazyHorse]

I was thinking of buying an old beat up seat and having it redone to my specs to give me a better leg clearance. Anyone got an old beat up seat they want to get rid of?

[Condor]

I had one, but bongobob has already claimed it. It came along for the ride when I picked up the 1300cc engine in Southern Cal. Bob want's to put a sheepskin cover on it.

Rick- I never had the oportunity to try that seat out. It came in a box with the '87 parts, and didn't match the bikes colors all that well. have you had any luck finding a new home for it. Ebay it maybe??

[sarges46]

Jack
Its long gone. I sold it to a fella that saw it posted here. Drove it out to him...saved some postage but cost us more in gas! Heck, any excuse for a ride. He popped it on and could touch the ground again....seemed like a happy camper to me.

I lost a total of about 30 bucks or so...dang customs ate 22 bucks then the couple of bucks for exchange. So I did alright.

[Condor]

Done that a few times myself..... but I make up for the loss by selling in volume. :mo money:

[Burninator]

I have both uppers and lowers on my 86 Venture. I have dropped the bike and broken the plastic screws on one of the brackets but easily found replacements. I put them on to give my passenger more wind protection. Also, when it is hot it is nice to turn them to catch the wind and direct them onto my legs.

The disadvantage I found was that the lower set prevented me from using my cruising pegs so I often leave them off.

I also added a Laminar Lip to the very top of the windshield. I am short enough to look under it so it isn't too annoying. It pushes the wind up high enough to give my passenger a better ride.

[Bigin]

I have had 2 VR's with the wings. The 91 had damage from the wings, the 89 does not, but probably would have eventually. Took them off, now just have the holes. I'm with you, the potential catastrophic damage to the fairing is not worth the slight increase in comfort. Have seen a lot of these fairings with the whole area broken out from the wings. Its a shame really. No thanks, not worth it.

[CrazyHorse]

I have had 2 VR's with the wings. The 91 had damage from the wings, the 89 does not, but probably would have eventually. Took them off, now just have the holes. I'm with you, the potential catastrophic damage to the fairing is not worth the slight increase in comfort. Have seen a lot of these fairings with the whole area broken out from the wings. Its a shame really. No thanks, not worth it.

I kind of agree. My buddy s goldwing has flat metal pieces that attach to the frame and come out between the plastic they hold well. I wa thinking bout trying to fabricate I dont think I want to mount it to the flimsy plastic on these bikes.:confused24:

[jdross440]

Does anyone know where I can buy wings for my 1990 Venture Royal? It seems no one has a listing for these bikes any longer.

[86er]

Does anyone know where I can buy wings for my 1990 Venture Royal? It seems no one has a listing for these bikes any longer.

Check the baker airwing site out

http://www.bakerbuilt.com/yamaha.htm

Iowa Guy

Just follow that link and scroll down the page, you'll find the 1st gen wings listed for 83 to 93.

[Burninator]

I have the upper and mid ones on my Venture. I have dropped the bike but not damaged the Air Wings. Unless I have a passenger I usually leave the mid ones off as they prevent me from using my cruising pegs.

I found that the round knobs some times loosen and have dropped an Air Wing on the road. I went to the hardware store and got knobs that were not round and can be tightened securely without much effort. They were an improvement and I haven't dropped a wing since.

[Gearhead]

" I'm with you, the potential catastrophic damage to the fairing is not worth the slight increase in comfort."


This is a weird thread, how it started a year ago and just picked back up again! Back in about May I went thru all these arguments myself. But I live in Tucson (hot), and had received great recommendations for how they scoop air on the rider when open and went for it. Actually, I got to ride my buddy's GW1800 with a full compliment of wings. Regarding the quote above, I see the point certainly, but take issue with the statement of "slight increase in comfort". These babies make all the difference in the world when it's hot! They are nice closed in the cold too, but hot is what gets me around here, and the big fairing cuts off sooo much of the breeze which we motorcyclists love to feel when it's not cold out.

I only bought the main wings, no lowers or anything. The lowers could be nice but would surely get in the way of hiway pegs. More on that later. (The lowers would also tend to scoop warm air off the radiator; don't know how that would work.) I would be happier if they mounted to frame rather than plastic, given the propensity of the fairing to crack. I gave my fairing significant reinforcement with good-sized galvanized sheet metal pieces formed to fit, then JB welded thoroughly to the inside of the fairing at the mounting points. No problems so far, but no bike-droppy yet.

I'm 6-2 with 34" inseam and the wings do affect hiway pegs. I hadn't nailed down my optimum config of pegs yet, so I got the wings and figured I'd work around them. I have Markland hiway boards, but made extension bars to move them forward an extra 8". Adjustment is a juggling act between:

1) Boards low enough to avoid hitting my shins on the wings
2) Getting my legs out straight enough to be happy.
3) Getting the boards out to the side enough to put feet on them around fairing.
4) Keeping the board mounts high enough so as not to drag in corners. The boards themselves are the first thing to touch down, but they pivot up.

I now have the boards in a place that makes me happy. I can bump my shins on the wings, but can avoid it if I pay a little attention.

When I bought mine they were in the process of discontinuing them for our bikes. They only had chrome brackets, no black. Contact them directly to see if they still have some.

Jeremy