I get tired of thigs really easy so I switch it up and can go from bar hopper to touring tycoon in short order.

 

I leave mine on most of the time because it's hard to store in my garage.

 

This thread is beginning to remind me of my experience with a couple of two seater cars I have owned, both with detachable hardtops. The hardtops were more of a problem off the car than left on!

 

My bro-in-law bought a WideOpen fairing at Sturgis for his RK Classic. It's got an awesome stereo with 4 speakers. He loves it and it's quickly detachable when he wants. The only thing that gives it away from a StreetGlide is his leather saddlebags. It's like 2 bikes; a RoadKing or a StreetGlide depending on his mood. With a KlockWerkz fairing he's got total wind protection versus the old plexiglass barndoor.

 

No fairing envy here

The RK windshield does just fine as far as the wind goes. I had an EGC prior to this and I don't see that much of a change going from that fairing to this windshield on my RK. Don't need a stereo, my iPod and ear buds give me outstanding sound. I like the more open RK and not really crazy about that big fairing up front.

Now a TourPak? Hell yes, I love that and have a detachable King TP that I pretty much only use for road trips where it is MUCH appreciated. But otherwise the RK rules IMHO. It's versatility is just awesome. I can go from a full-blown bagger with TP, GPS and windshield to a stripped down boulevard cruiser with a solo seat in 5 minutes.

 

Versatility is it. Mood, temps, where you are riding that day, who you are riding with, distance, interstate, you name it. It's just a great bike however you dress it.

 

Because they dont make a Shark Nose bolt on fairing Stoopid!!! What other reason is there?

 

I thought about getting one for a while, but really like the "open" feeling that the standard windshield gives me. It's much nicer (to me) than a full batwing. Besides, I didn't like the finish/layout of the removeable batwings I've seen. You pretty much have to run speakers & a radio in them to make them "full". With that setup, when you take the fairing off, you don't have a radio anymore.

With my stock tach (just above the handlebars), I'd have to modify a fairing to fit anyway, since they all seem to have the radio enclosure in that area. I'd much rather have my handlebar speakers & MP3 set up just as I have it, so I can have tunes in any configuration.

When I need a GPS, I have a mount on my windshield for it. Fits & works perfectly!

 

I used to not want one till I started riding 45 miles one way to work when its down in the 30s. Now I want one just for the protection from the cold. Other then that it would never be on until it got below 45. My heated gear only works so good for so long at 70mph for 45 miles lol. It would be nice to keep the feeling in my hands when I get to work in the morning. Then again when I put on my mini apes it would be worthless.

 

Even with the mini apes you may be okay. We run 12.5 wild ones, on our Road King, and still get a good amount of protection. You can kinda see that illustrated in my signature. The fairing plows through the wind, giving you a little wiggle room when it comes to the height of your bars. Much taller than what we have there, and you will definitely catch a bit more wind.