Six-dollar leg wings

[WPZ]

I've had Baker Built Leg Wings wind deflectors on the various Gold Wings I've had over the years.
Now, New Owner has her NC and the weather's getting pretty chilly in the upper Midwest.
The bike came with Givi engine guards that sure look to me like they were made to carry leg wings. I came across the old thread by Beemerphile and inspiration struck.
So I grabbed a sheet of 1/4" (6mm) acrylic and a hunk of 1" (25mm) thick high density polyethylene and without even dragging out my Delta table saw, began to hack.
About 40 minutes later, this was the test mockup #1. A fast ride up and down the I-355 at 80mph with only the portside one installed revealed satisfactory performance, especially the lower half of the leg.
I will hack on and see if I have anything useful to add. Yes, appropriate hardware will be used once the experiment is near completion.
For six bucks, this is pretty entertaining.

 

[WPZ]

V.2

Some more diddling with the bits and this seems a bit better.
For number buffs, the acrylic is 4 1/2" x 18" (old carpenter- we live in a world of fractions)(11.5 x 45cm).
The top shape was arrived at scientifically by turning on the bandsaw with its 14tpi metal blade and eyeballing a starter curve.
The clamps are 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 1" (57x44x25mm) high density polyethylene with a 1" (2.5cm) diameter hole for the Givi tube. When bandsawed into two pieces, the clamping action was just about perfect.
The bolts are 1/4-20 (6mm).
More over the road experimentation will reveal the next cut, bend, or twist.
This makes me laugh.

 

[halfmt1]

Really good idea.

 

[DirtFlier]

Nice! One small suggestion is to cut off the extra threads showing on that bolt because you don't want something that dangerous if a mishap should occur. It could be a simple "Laugh In" style fall but putting your knee on that will hurt!

 

[WPZ]

No worries, DirtFlier, the correct length machine screws were used in the second iteration.
Too bad we're looking at days of temps in the 20s and 30s (-7 to +4C) and even covered legs won't be enough to make for an inviting ride.
Besides, I'd like to noodle around some more so I can get on with the aesthetics. New Owner is among many of her talents an artist and the visuals have to be right.

 

[1wiseguy2]

No worries, DirtFlier, the correct length machine screws were used in the second iteration.
Too bad we're looking at days of temps in the 20s and 30s (-7 to +4C) and even covered legs won't be enough to make for an inviting ride.
Besides, I'd like to noodle around some more so I can get on with the aesthetics. New Owner is among many of her talents an artist and the visuals have to be right.

You probably already know this as you seem pretty handy... You could get a propane torch and carefully heat that plastic up and curve it. Best make a form for the curve and lay it down then slowly heat it and it will sag and take the form of the mold. If you want to fiddle !

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[WPZ]

Wiseguy, I am contemplating more twiddling. Instead of a torch, I still have a nice heat gun from my cabinet shop days that will do well for this. I was going to do a curve but thought I'd start with proof of concept first: are leg wings worth it on this bike? So far, it seems so.
I want to see first if boot coverage is good. I'm after that especially.
But I agree the aesthetics do need some work. Although, from the side, they aren't too hideous. At least, not as much as the photo seems to show.
The onset of winter in these parts leaves fiddle time sure enough, but without being able to promptly test the results, it could lead to error.
Besides, my bikes could stand some attention, too, it seems.

 

[1wiseguy2]

Wiseguy, I am contemplating more twiddling. Instead of a torch, I still have a nice heat gun from my cabinet shop days that will do well for this. I was going to do a curve but thought I'd start with proof of concept first: are leg wings worth it on this bike? So far, it seems so.
I want to see first if boot coverage is good. I'm after that especially.
But I agree the aesthetics do need some work. Although, from the side, they aren't too hideous. At least, not as much as the photo seems to show.
The onset of winter in these parts leaves fiddle time sure enough, but without being able to promptly test the results, it could lead to error.
Besides, my bikes could stand some attention, too, it seems.

Yes, a heat gun would work well. I am by Rockford and am contemplating a ride tomorrow to run the alcohol gas out of one of my bikes and put pure gas in for winter.will be chilly...

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[cattmando]

what's the source for the Polyethlene?

 

[WPZ]

Amazon here.

 

[WPZ]

Time for an update on the homebrew leg wings:
Here's a photo of New Owner doing some parking lot figure-eight warmup drills after a two-week weather-related hiatus.
You will see the starboard leg wing looking perhaps a bit hokey but solid as a rock.
After this, she (and I) were off for some seventy-plus miles of dinking around the area on a 50-degree F (10C) afternoon featuring a daunting 30+mph gusty breeze.
The leg wings were a huge hit: the knees and boots were out of the headwind and the cargo inside stayed perfectly comfortable for almost three hours of non-stop toodling
But wait, there's more.
I struggled spending two hundred bucks on BarkBusters or SWs no matter how good they are. I hate to admit it, but I stumbled across some $25 hand wind deflectors on Amazon that were only $25 shipped. I hate even more admitting they're nicely made and the plastic teardrop shaped guard is actually attractive. So I'd installed them, gave them a half-hour test ride in 43-degree temps and noticed only after I was done that my fingertips were at normal, happy temperature. Yes, there are grip heaters, but grip heaters don't always keep the tips in good shape, especially for the right hand two brake-cover fingers. Yet, all was well inside the Lee Parks gloves.
New Owner experienced the same thing- returning home in the dark as the night chill fell, and not particularly wanting to call it quits after 73 miles.
That, friends, is successful weather-proofing.

 

[1wiseguy2]

Time for an update on the homebrew leg wings:
Here's a photo of New Owner doing some parking lot figure-eight warmup drills after a two-week weather-related hiatus.
You will see the starboard leg wing looking perhaps a bit hokey but solid as a rock.
After this, she (and I) were off for some seventy-plus miles of dinking around the area on a 50-degree F (10C) afternoon featuring a daunting 30+mph gusty breeze.
The leg wings were a huge hit: the knees and boots were out of the headwind and the cargo inside stayed perfectly comfortable for almost three hours of non-stop toodling
But wait, there's more.
I struggled spending two hundred bucks on BarkBusters or SWs no matter how good they are. I hate to admit it, but I stumbled across some $25 hand wind deflectors on Amazon that were only $25 shipped. I hate even more admitting they're nicely made and the plastic teardrop shaped guard is actually attractive. So I'd installed them, gave them a half-hour test ride in 43-degree temps and noticed only after I was done that my fingertips were at normal, happy temperature. Yes, there are grip heaters, but grip heaters don't always keep the tips in good shape, especially for the right hand two brake-cover fingers. Yet, all was well inside the Lee Parks gloves.
New Owner experienced the same thing- returning home in the dark as the night chill fell, and not particularly wanting to call it quits after 73 miles.
That, friends, is successful weather-proofing.

View attachment 35269

Yes, I was going to disappear for the day because of the 50 degree day but I cleaned out the barn and replaced the battery in the daughter's NC700XD.
The wind is still blowing hard. Glad someone took a ride today!

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[WPZ]

A minor update

Here's an "action" view of the NC now, all be-wing-ed.
This day, with temps heading towards the upper '50s (eventually), we launched for Matthiesen State Park near Peru, Illinois. It wasn't all that nice a day, though. The winds were atrocious, running about 20mph with gusts to 35. A tough day for a tallish bike and a relatively new rider not yet comfortable with being pushed around by Mom Nature like that.
Still, she forged on, taking an extra stop or two to relax, and I am prepared to say that my hokey wind-wing experiment paid off very well. While I still haven't done anything to beautify these creations, the function is there and no detriment to handling was noted.
I backed this impression up the next day myself on a colder, also windy day on a solo test ride. I intentionally wore laced-up workboots to see about wind on the boots, and none was detected. Perhaps they will stay dry in the next rain, too.
A trunk is a sail for a motorbike in the gusty breeze, so on this occasion, the topcase stayed home.
I have to also add that her first-gen Madstad windshield outfit is absolutely excellent in terms of dealing with wind and turbulence. My appreciation of this screen increases by the week. A really good design.
You may note that the wind-wing infection spread to my poor ZX: those hand-wingies mounted to the mirror stalks were cut from the NC project's scrap pile, and took nearly forty minutes to fabricate and install, at a cost of near-zero.
They also proved to be a good addition, despite the definitely odd appearance. Actually, they look better in person and from the saddle.

 

[DCTFAN]

Your ideal of using the seaboard to craft bar brackets, is simply genius!
I've been trying to source DRL brackets at reasonable prices but found none. Now I can make my own
BTW your winglet on the Kawi is similar to what Honda added to the new Africa Twin Adventure Sports:

 

[WPZ]

DCTFAN, I spent nearly several minutes making each of those mounting clamps. Having once been a cabinetmaker, I embarrass myself with the imprecise, slapdash methodology.
Yeah, but it's working and they are sound, safe, functional, and really, really cheap.
However, I will decline the "genius" label, thank you. Nothing more than a life in the trades finding ways to connect various things to other various things.