Bates Supershield
Bates Supershield
EVALUATION
Making up one's mind on the basis of a first impression isn't fair. In stead, it's normal but even so we'd better begin by noting that the Bates Supershield made as good a first impression as any add-on we've seen in some time.
First, the instructions were useful and concise. The fairing was used on a Honda CX500, not the easiest bike to work on. The hardware included had parts for each of the three CX models, but a glance at the diagrams and the code numbers shown on the diagram and stamped on the parts, made all come clear.
Better, the parts fit. The screen was straight, the holes in the screen matched
the holes in the fairing, the holes in the fairing matched the brackets and the brackets went right to the various'bike parts they were designed to meet. The metal parts were cadmium plated, all the bolts had nuts and lock washers. The project took less than an hour and needed no more than three bad words. A record, as will be appreciated by anybody who ever installed anything on a motorcycle.
The fairing itself is just what it looks like: a fairing designed for work and protection. There is no style as such. The shape is almost graceless, the sort of appearance you’d get if an engineer did the whole job on the basis of Make It Work. It’s too angular for the sports cafe crowd, too small for the dresser set. The purpose is protection at a fair price, with minimum weight and intrusion on the rider so there the Bates sits, upright and uncompromised, ready to ward off wind and rain, The Supershield mounts on the forks, with u-bolts around the stanchion tubes and then via short brackets to the lower edge of the fairing. The top mounts are from the upper edges of the fairing body to the handlebars, more precisely to the mirror stalks. If the hardware is left in place, four bolts and as many minutes will see the body and screen removed or installed, a nice option for people who sometimes
want wind in the face and sometimes don’t.
The unit does its job. There’s a choice of screens, high or low, with Bates’ changeover being a rider 5-foot-7. All of our riders are taller than 5-foot-7, so we used the higher screen. The tallest in the group found it an inch or so short, as the wind came up the screen and rattled the shield of his helmet. The next in height thought it was fine and the shortest looked through the screen rather than over. No final vote.
then, except that the buyer has an initial choice and can trim to suit after that, There was one problem with the fairing that wasn’t the fairing’s fault. The CX500 has been fitted with lower bars, and using the fittings supplied naturally caused the fairing to tilt back, perhaps 10 or 15 degrees, more than the design called for. You don't notice when off the bike, and the extra rake may add some sporting aspect.
But. This is an upright fairing, the kind that pushes the wind aside, rather than slipping through the air. The wind that should have gone around the sides was. in this case, directed over the screen and gave more turbulence at face and forehead than we would have had otherwise. Can’t hold that against the Bâtes, which was designed to go on a stock bike, but it is something to think about when installing any fairing. (Or mufflers, saddlebags, air suspension, etc., as each item is supposed to fit a machine otherwise unchanged.)
This angle also attracted heat from the CX’s radiator, also something that wouldn’t have happened with stock bars. That’s less of a drawback, maybe, because all fairings warm the rider to some extent. What's good in the winter is too much in the summer, which is why it’s nice to be able to unbolt the fairing quickly.
Nor does the Supershield have extras like luggage bins or instrument mounts. Bates makes other fairings for the touring rider. This is for efficiency and at the price, $97.50 suggested retail, one can’t argue with getting just the fairing. The model we used was designed for the CX500, all models, 1978 through 1980, and the various CB and CM400s. There are Supershields for other brand middleweights, too. See your dealer.
