Hi from the Netherlands

[Rebold]

Hi all, greetings from the Netherlands! I drive a 2017 Honda Rebel 500 ABS which might not seem the usual candidate for Vetter equipment, but I was dearly missing the lockable storage space that I got used to on previous bikes.

My imagination got the best of me when I ran into a vintage Vetter trunk for € 25,--.

I welded up a rack that places it as close as possible to the seat so I can make use of the driver back rest. The shape of the trunk and the lack of space between me and the trunk may even have some beneficial streamlining effects , just the thing Craig Vetter was always looking for. Will find out when I go do some long freeway stints.

Plusses for me so far; big lockable storage space, driver back rest, trunk is not somewhere high up in the air far behind me but as low as possible with center in front of the back axle.

Still have to paint the rack and possibly the colored trunk panels.

I might try to hook up the trunk lights at a later time, haven’t decided yet if I want to remove them or make them work.

I also picked up two not so nice Windjammer fairings for no real reason, don’t know if I will ever actually do anything with them or at some point part them out to help the community.

 

[Scott-E]

Most people don't know that the Windjammer Fairing was designed around a 500cc Kawasaki. Putting one on your Honda Rebel 500 is not as unusual as you might think. I put a Windjammer 4, Saddlebags, and trunk on my 2006 Honda VLX 600. Go ahead and measure your bike to see if it will fit. If it will fit and mount it you'll love it. Don't let anyone dissuade you by telling you how ugly and dated they are. When I was telling some of my riding buddies I was going to put a Windjammer on my bike they all told me my bike would look and perform like crap. I found a slight performance and fuel mileage increase and people comment how great my bike looks now. I ended up helping 2 other people mount Windjammers on their Honda VLX 600 bikes as well after they saw mine. Just make sure it will fit your bike before you fabricate a bracket. Mine just barely fit. The problem with mounting a Windjammer on a modern bike is wider fork widths required for disc brakes. Back when Craig Vetter designed the Windjammer all bikes had drum brakes, which don't require wide forks. I only have 1/8 of an inch clearance between my forks and the Windjammer without cutting it. Another thing to watch it gas tank width. Modern Tanks are much winder than those narrow, tall tanks used back in the 70's.
Another thing to remember is one of the most popular bikes back in the 70's to mount a Windjammer on was the Honda CX500. That bike was like the Honda GL1000's in that almost all of them were outfitted with Windjammers, Bags, and Trunk.
Here's a picture of my modern Honda VLX 600 with A Windjammer 4, Bags, and Trunk.

 

[Dave Ireland]

Welcome!
You'll soon get used to the extra weight, and it's not that much, really. A modern 500 is more than capable of shoving an aerodynamic fairing through the air with ease. Craig knew what he was doing with these things. The biggest surprise to me was the warm-air ducting effect from the lowers in the winter. My legs were surprisingly warm, which I didn't expect.

 

[brianinpa]

Welcome to the forum! Sometimes you just need to be able to lock things up!

 

[Kynan C.]

Welcome to the forum!