Is this a Series 1000?

[David Joy]

Saw this along the road side yesterday:

Found this yesterday. Owner has no idea what he has, thinks the value is all in the very-sorry-state Yam 350. Wants $1500 but now says $1200 buys the pile (bike doesn’t run; mileage unknown). I like old two-strokes but this ugly duckling would be very hard to love as is and too expensive to restore. But I do love the fairing! Driving by, immediately knew it was an early Vetter and from the info on Craig’s great site, I think it’s a Series 1000. There is a Vetter logo label (obscured by much dirt and grime) on the left inner surface, but no way to peek at the serial number under the windshield foam. I some have concerns. Any thoughts?

• The mounting hardware looks different from the mounting instructions that Craig has posted. The top mount looks professionally made but is bolted to the steering head instead of attached with hose clamps. What’s with that? The lower mount is wrapped with what looks like some old rags, so very hard to see what it is, but again, it doesn’t quite look like the mounting shown in the instructions. Is this maybe a homemade conversion mount (perhaps the fairing came off another bike)? I believe this is a ’71 R5B, and Series 1000 production was ending just as this bike rolled out.

• I don’t have a good photo to show it, but the handlebars were converted to an aftermarket pair that have a lot of setback, apparently to allow the bars to turn full lock without hitting the fairing. I know the instructions talked about the need for this, but these looked excessive. Anybody know of a good “cockpit” photo of Series 1000 mounted to a 250-350 size bike?

• The windshield is missing the left side with a very sharp jagged edge (photo doesn't show it, sorry). It's a real disaster – just looking at it gives me visions of a gruesome injury. Given Craig’s amusing story of his shaping these compound curve windshield using P40 field reapir techniques (smoking oil!), where would I ever find another? Ideas?

• Anything else for the good of the order? Not sure what I will do, or if I can justify $1200 just to be able to look at this in my garage, but I can’t see giving this to somebody who doesn’t know what it is. Thanks in advance! David

 

[brianinpa]

Welcome to the forum!

Sure looks like one, but pictures are deceiving. Any chance of pulling the windscreen to see if the serial number is where is should be? http://craigvetter.com/pages/Vetter_Fairings/Series1000.html (1/2 way down the page)

Where would you get a new windscreen? http://www.bikescreen.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Vetter1000Series66

Mounting fairing to bikes can become a "fly by the seat of your pants" ordeal when the right parts are hard to come by, so nothing really surprises me any more.

 

[Scott]

Seems like a lot of money but what a good find! They don't come along very often anymore. I agree that you don't want it to end up in the hands of someone that will throw it away while they are hacking up the bike. Welcome to the forum! Some of your questions we may have to ask Craig to help with.

 

[Kynan C.]

Wow, that is a killer find. What year is the bike? Is it an RD350? I bet that fairing has been on that bike since the beginning. That would be an awesome restoration project. The RD's are not bringing a ton right now, usually between $2000 and $4000 in darn good condition. I have a 73 I am getting ready to sell, and its in really good condition. The fairing is probably worth $600 or so. $1200 seems a big high, I would think more around $800 for the entire getup.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[David Joy]

Thanks everyone for the help on this! Great to know that Gustafson has windshields available (tinted no less!). That was my biggest single concern about getting into this. I believe the Yam is a '71. Definitely an R5 (RD's had a front disc). The bike is rough -- anything chromed has significant rust to the point where even cleaned up there'll be a lot of residual pitting. I'm going to try to buy just the fairing, with hopes of getting it onto a Suzuki. I was thinking $500, especially if this turned out to be an "A" year, so an opinion that it is worth something in that ballpark was very helpful. If need be, I'll try to swim up to his minimum and hope I can sell off the Yamaha. Thanks and please stay tuned.

 

[Kynan C.]

Yeah I would agree with you, the bike restoration may cost much more then its worth. I would definitely try to buy it low. Pull that fairing off, and put it on a different bike. You can probably part out the Yamaha and make a decent amount on eBay.

 

[Craig Vetter]

Probably is an R5. Gustaffson makes windshields. The mounts you show are home made.

By the way, if you did indeed ever need mounts for a 1968 or so Yamaha YR2, I have a brand new set.
The Series 1000 was my first design. As such, it is "more pure" reflecting the idealism of a designer right out of school. I have one on a stand, just to look at: