With the riding season just starting, at least in the northern parts, I thought to share some of my experiences from last season. And since Kawasaki is continuing its stellar job with the Ninja 250R a few first time riders might undergo this emotional roller coaster. I know I did when I witnessed a brand new Kawasaki Ninja 250R getting laid down on its maiden ride. Actually I witnessed it three times. But believe me only the first time is tough. The second time it just disturbs you a bit, the third time it is just for laughs. So last summer we decided to go back into riding, my wife we was a first time rider. We ended buying two Ninja 250R’s. Good going back/starter bikes.

After the return from the maiden ride, in the garage, my wife lost control of it while trying to put the side-stand, she could not hold it up, thus the bike ended sideways on the ground. And those turn indicators that are sticking out, end up carrying all the load which just cracks the fairing at the lip area of the indicator base where stress concentrations get high.

My advice for inexperienced women riders: before you start riding your brand new bike try to practice and understand the procedure of supporting the bike with your inner thigh when the bike starts tilting while stopped. Just trying to keep it up by the handlebars will not work. And from my experience, this bike all three times it went down it was in the parking lot at 0 MPH.

So when this thing happens the initial thought is to just change the fairing. However a side fairing is ridiculously expensive, and in the event it happens again, and given a small crack like this it worths fixing it until you are comfortable it will not happen again. And this is the route we followed…

The positive thing in this situation  there were no scratches, just the crack, since the indicator took all the load.

To fix it you will need:

• sandpaper (800 grade)
• glass fiber cloth
• epoxy for plastics
• hair dryer
  

Once you have all your stuff, you will need to figure out how to take off the fairing from the bike. Either consult your bike’s service manual, or search online. There are plenty of forums that will guide you through it. Once you have it off follow this steps:

• Sand the area around the crack to remove the paint to create a rough surface for the epoxy to stick on
• Cut the fiber glass cloth to shape to fit your area
• Wash the area with hot water
• Use a hair dryer to dry it and also warm up the plastic so that it will be easier to push it back in place
• Apply a layer of epoxy
• Place the fiber glass cloth
• Apply another layer of epoxy. The amount you have to judge. In my case I used two standard size tubes.

Then you just have to let it set. The epoxy instruction recommend 24 hours.  You should ensure that you cover enough area with epoxy and fiber glass to prevent crack growth from vibrations when the bike will be ridden. The fiber glass is important to strengthen the area.

Once all this is done just put it back on and start riding.

After this fix guaranteed it will not crack again. More over your indicator will break if it is laid down on the side where the fix is, rather than your fairing cracking.

Here’s how it looks after the quick-fix. You can see the crack in the paint but the cracks are definitely not growing. and once you put it on the bike with the turn signal you cannot really see it unless you know it is there.

How to Fix a Cracked Fairing of a Sport Bike9.091

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