Hello from Devon

Hi all, Newbie from the English Riviera. I have been a motorcycle mechanic and MOT tester for years, now retired.
I own a lovely1980 XS850H, that has been imported from America, I have restored it and have had this bike for a good while and love it, but as I'm getting physically older, (mental age 18), I'm starting to feel a bit battered after a long ride, I've tried small screens etc. Now I have just discovered these fairings, they seem to be a bit thin on the ground around here, I haven't actually seen a genuine one in the flesh until now.
I have just acquired a Windjammer IV, serial no. 37-499383 it is immaculate in white, it is that good I'm not sure if I want to colour code it to match the bike, there is barely a mark on it, even the cig lighter is unused. There is a thin plastic bubble covering the headlight that has faded yellow a bit, is this a standard part? I can't find any mention of it anywhere, it seems to be a perfect fit. The locking lid has no key, luckily, my neighbour is a locksmith, so when I can catch him I'll get it open and see if there is any buried treasure...
There are a few features that need explaining so I'll get some pics sorted. So many questions......
Unfortunately, I don't have a mounting bracket, it looks like I'm going to fabricate one, Anyone got any drawings or pics with measurements to make my life a bit easier? My plan is to get suitable components together to cut the down time of using the bike, suspend the fairing in place with string from the garage ceiling and fill in the gaps, what can go wrong?? So far I have cut the adapter plates and a cross piece from angle, now looking for suitable tubing for the half round clamp plates, I have a fair bit of 3/4"square box section that I think will make the uprights. So it's all going on.
I will be fabricating a screen later when it is in place to suit my height.
I am currently searching for a 15 pin plug, these used to be quite common, but they seem to have disappeared.
As I said earlier, I'll get some pics sorted.

Welcome to the world of Vetter fairings! This forum is not especially active, but you will find those here to be very helpful. There should be an off-the-shelf bracket available for a 1980 XS850H, but they can be hard to find. The fairings are nearly all the same, but the brackets are all different. When Vetter produced these, they would make them in batches, box them up, and label box with the bike(s) they fit... However, they never labeled the brackets themselves. So, once they are separated from the bike it is nearly impossible to figure out what they fit.

The best place to get them is eBay. Look for one that was removed from the bike that you want to fit.

Craig Vetter is retired, and in questionable heath, but his website is still up and running and I believe it has information on how to fabricate a custom bracket. I will try to find and post you a link.

Best of luck with your bike!

Ken in Connecticut, USA

From Craig's website:

How to fabricate your own bracket.

I did a little more checking. I found a bracket for a 1980 XS850 on eBay USA. I don't know anything about it or the seller other than finding it there. It looks like it might be brand new, never installed. I have no idea what shipping to the UK would cost.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226575685876?

I also took a quick look on eBay UK. I just search "Vetter Windjammer Bracket." I found a couple of them there, but not for your bike. If you are going to fabricate anyway, one from a different bike that you could modify might be a good place to start.

Ken

Thanks Ken.
I have seen the bracket from the US, they don't ship to the UK.
I have been searching all over, without success, some are attached to grizzly old fairings, but they won't split.
Some designs are different, I think XS750, XS1100, and XS850 all get confused, so, I have decided to fabricate my own. I'm not bad with a welder and angle grinder, so I'll be on it when I find some tubing for the frame mounts.
The problem I'm having at the moment is finding a 15 pin male plug to connect to the bike, they must have modernised them, there are none on Ebay or Aliexpress with the row of pointy bits, I suppose if I can't find any old stock or good secondhand, I'll have to change to a newer design.
I found Craig's site first and found this forum from there, full of good stuff.

Craig used to have a replacement parts store on his website. I don't know if you are aware, but Craig had a really bad accident several years ago. He pretty much shut his store down after that. Here is a screenshot from an archive site showing what he used to offer.

I have had some success emailing his wife, and she will sell me parts, but it has been a few years since I've been in touch with her. If you like, I can try to reach out to her. Keep in mind, the prices may be quite different from what appears below.

15 pins? You shouldn't need that many.

Larry Fine said:

15 pins? You shouldn't need that many.

Click to expand...

I hadn't picked up on that. The original was nine. I wonder if he has a non-standard connector.

Can you send us a picture of the connector?

Yes, it is a big 'un, I'll get some pics tomorrow.

In no particular order:
1. Ground
2. Headlight low
3. Headlight high
4. Left running lt
5. Right running lt
6. Left turn signal
7. Right turn signal
8. Radio always hot
9. Radio switched hot