The Scout fairing arrived

[rad]

A big box


Cool stuff inside, well packed. What a well made quality bit if kit. Color match is dead on!





upper and lower brackets installed, head light not remounted yet


The brackets in the fairing, the upper part of the fairing is to the left of the photo


Ta da


Riding impressions to come

[SF_Hooligan]

Nice - looks good!

Your bike is so clean. Mine hasn't looked like that since it rolled out of the dealer.

[David R]

Looks great with the tinted windshield.

Enjoy!

David

[Clem]

Nice installation. Looks great on the bike. Anxious to read the ride impressions and any further thoughts.

[rad]

Nice - looks good!

Your bike is so clean. Mine hasn't looked like that since it rolled out of the dealer.

True, I guess. My riding buddy, dbrick teases me about that all the time. I must admit, I enjoy having a baseball game on the radio and hanging out in the garage tinker with something. Sometimes that is cleaning the bike, I enjoy it.

[SF_Hooligan]

Nice - looks good!

Your bike is so clean. Mine hasn't looked like that since it rolled out of the dealer.

True, I guess. My riding buddy, dbrick teases me about that all the time. I must admit, I enjoy having a baseball game on the radio and hanging out in the garage tinker with something. Sometimes that is cleaning the bike, I enjoy it.

I get the same thing. Hetman on here is one of my riding buddies, and he was teasing me about how dirty my bike was (it's my daily commuter as well as my fun bike) until I took it to the dealer for some little thing and they washed it.

[rad]

Quick riding impressions

3 screens, 10", 18" & 20"

No surprise, the taller the screen the quieter the ride. The woman at Parabellum recommended the 20" for me based on my being 5'-11" tall with about a 32" inseam. I really loved the looks of the mini 10" screen and even the 18" one is ok, however the 20" starts to look a bit much to me. For that reason I sprung for the two additional screens, when purchased in conjunction with the fairing they were each just $50 additional. Not bad considering what screens cost for the R.

Review
10"
looks great, from the rider's view has the look and feel of a mid 70's R90S, the first BMW I fell in love with from afar. Never could afford one of those. As you would guess it has the most buffeting and noise. Some folks use this screen for warm weather. I don't think that would work for me unless I was doing no long highway runs. Warm or not, good wind management is needed for prolonged highway runs.

18"
Works pretty darn good. Better than about any other thing I have tried. It works fanastic if I crouch down a couple of inches. I can see why the 5'-8" and under riders really like this screen.

20"
Best of the lot, no surprise. Best wind management I have had on the R. it is not perfect, but it is sooooooo close. If I duck down about 1/2" it is like I fell into a total vacuum, eerie no noise not even a whisper. it is a keeper and will be my main screen.

How about engine noise?
Some folks reported the noise coming up of the engine and inside the fairing was loud. I don't get it, I had none of that. With zero wind noise you hear the engine more, but it is very pleasant and not at all annoying.

Aerodynamics
I get a feeling the aerodynamics of the R with a rider are greatly improved with both the 18" and 20" screens. The bike just cuts through the wind at speed. The R is so effortless at 70mph I have to remind myself to shift up to 5th or 6th gear. It just feels so smooth and calm.

What am I comparing this bike to
Well, I have owned one of each BMW type, GS, S, RT, RS and my share of other brands, couple VFR's, and of course un-faired bikes. Loved my RS for its combo of wind management and sportiness. Loved both my S's for their sportiness not so much for long distance manners. Liked the RT for long distance manners but hated its bulk, excessive body work and lack of air flow in warm weather.

The R, with the Scout, protects your chest and head but your arms, shoulders and of course legs get good air.

Summary
The bike with the Scout may well live up to what some have described, an "RT Lite"

[David R]

I'm with you. I have the 20" screen. I look over the top of it but not by much. Its nice and quiet. Getting 50 mpg on back roads. Not in the city with stop and go driving and not on the expressways going 75 mph. Just back roads doing 55 to 65.

David

[GForman]

i have been giving a scout fairing some serious consideration. being short at 5'2" i was thinking of getting the 10" as well as the 14"

[rad]

i have been giving a scout fairing some serious consideration. being short at 5'2" i was thinking of getting the 10" as well as the 14"

Call Parabellum and talk to the woman who answers, I forget her name. She is great to work with and knows more than we do about sizes. See what she says.

BTW, true story, I have not had this happen in years, the last time was back in 99' on a new S that turned heads....On a quick ride today, some guy pulls up next to me, rolls down his window and puts his arm out, then gives me a big thumbs up and nods his head to me. crazy!

[David R]

i have been giving a scout fairing some serious consideration. being short at 5'2" i was thinking of getting the 10" as well as the 14"

Call Parabellum and talk to the woman who answers, I forget her name. She is great to work with and knows more than we do about sizes. See what she says.

BTW, true story, I have not had this happen in years, the last time was back in 99' on a new S that turned heads....On a quick ride today, some guy pulls up next to me, rolls down his window and puts his arm out, then gives me a big thumbs up and nods his head to me. crazy!

I get a LOT more "Nice Bike" comments since the new fairing.
and "OH its a BMW"

David

[Steve H.]

Rad,you just got a beautiful Parabelum!
I have Wunderlich Trophy on mine.Suprisingly wery similar to Parabellum.I am 5'6" and28" shorty on my inseems.My helmet is in clean air,no air pressure on my chest and no buffeting at all.Hapy with it.

Steve H.

[rad]

Rad,you just got a beautiful Parabelum!
I have Wunderlich Trophy on mine.Suprisingly wery similar to Parabellum.I am 5'6" and28" shorty on my inseems.My helmet is in clean air,no air pressure on my chest and no buffeting at all.Hapy with it.

Steve H.

I like the looks of the Scout; however, I think the Trophy is the best looking fairing made for the R. I would have gone with it but I knew I needed more weather protection.

Another Scout shot

[sandycruz]

Looks even better in person!

[rad]

Looks even better in person!

How funny, I had no idea you owned an R, or that you are on this forum.

[rad]

Long term review/update

After about 8 months, a few trips and a bunch of switching screens back and forth. I ran the 10", 18", 20" and even cut the 18" down to 15" and ran that. We'll, the winner is the short 10" screen. That conclusion even surprised me after my initial impression of the short screen being not to favorable.

It turns out I was constantly adjusting my head position and posture with the 20" screen so I could have complete windscreen nirvana that appeared to change with bike speed, wind speed and wind direction. As bizarre as it sounds the constant reevaluating the wind and noise became a distraction. I find I'm more content having a consistent noise level, nothing objectionable, along with great weather protection for my chest and neck.

I did a 1,000 mile trip to Death Valley in the early part of January as the final test. The weather was cool to cold and with my new Arai Signet Q helmet I was very comfortable and never missed the taller screen. The short screen also produces zero buffeting.

Added bonus, it is also the best looking screen.

[mogu83]

While your thinking PARABELLUM consider this thread: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=22301&p=195919&hil ... um#p195919

This summer while on the road I lost my headlamp at night and had to install my spare. At night alone in a parking lot what once before was an ugly job was now done in 15 minutes, and I was back on the road without any drama. A half hour mod on your Parabellum now that will save a lot of fustration later.
I'm sure your familiar with how trickey it is to start those four small nuts that mount the fairing on , imagine doing it at night over grass (drop the nut and it's gone) this solves that problem.