"MY" Mutazu Lower fairing review. W/ pics.
#1
"MY" Mutazu Lower fairing review. W/ pics.
I see a lot of posts concerning Mutazu's lower fairings. Most often from fellow Road King riders. I went ahead and ordered a set directly from Mutazu, painted them to match my 2013 Anniversary Road King, and mounted them up. There's LOTS I wanted to say about them, their quality, fit and finish. So I though a new thread to discuss them was appropriate. Here goes:
First, direct from Mutazu I paid $175 delivered. I ordered the complete lower fairing with mounting hardware, but did not get the quick detach hardware. I figured if they stay, they stay for good, and are vented for summer/winter use. My first impression were good. The black finish looked great, and everything was super well packed. Everything arrived in perfect condition. I only was interested in painting the shiny surfaces, so down to the garage I went.
The first thing I found out, is that they are NOT painted. Yeah, they say they are painted gloss black, but they aren't. The fairings are an injection molded black plastic, so Mutazu simply shoots a VERY thin coat of clear over the plastic they want shiny. I have to hand it to Mutazu. Its super cost effective and gives a great overall appearance of gloss black.
Once I painted the parts I wanted color matched, I brought them upstairs and started assembly. This is where the "cheap" came into play. The left side fairing went together flawlessly. In order to get the right fairing parts to mount together flush, I had to spend quite a bit of time massaging the parts. The front and rear parts would NOT bolt together flush. No matter what I did, there was an unsightly gap. I had to grind down the mounting stalks to get a flush gap between the front fascia and the backing. I got it perfect, but this was a pain for no reason other than shoddy molds.
Next came the mounting. This is where I started to get legitimately pissed. There was NO WAY these were gonna clamp tight over the crash bar. I tried everything till I finally cut up a piece of vacuum hose, crazy glued them to the cutouts on the fairings, and was able to FINALLY clamp the upper section of the fairing, tight to the crash bar. Then came the lower mounting system.......
First, let me say, I am convinced Mutazu does this on purpose. Because there is NO WAY on earth they could give you bolts that are smaller than the mounting holes they go in, on accident. Its like they meant to give you useless parts because you didn't spring the extra cash for the quick detach hardware. Not only was the lower hardware useless, its was so short, that there's no way you could have wrapped the strap around the crash bar AND secured it to the crash bar with these tiny little bolts. It was as simple as pulling a couple bolts from my spare bolt drawer, but again, its just pointless nonsense that the MOCO lowers would not have subjected the end user too.
End of the story is this........ I paid $175 delivered for the fairings. I paid probably another $130 for a quart of reduced color matched paint, a quart of clear and hardener. I had a piece of 600 grit sand paper handy. The color matched MOCO lowers are around $700. Yes, I saved money but my labor is probably worth every penny I saved. If your truly strapped for cash, the Mutazu lower fairings are a decent alternative. Otherwise, I think the factory color matched pairings might be the better option.
Here's a few pictures since I am a picture *****. Road King lower fairings, lowers, fairing
Everything laid out and painted:
Test fit:
All mounted up:
First, direct from Mutazu I paid $175 delivered. I ordered the complete lower fairing with mounting hardware, but did not get the quick detach hardware. I figured if they stay, they stay for good, and are vented for summer/winter use. My first impression were good. The black finish looked great, and everything was super well packed. Everything arrived in perfect condition. I only was interested in painting the shiny surfaces, so down to the garage I went.
The first thing I found out, is that they are NOT painted. Yeah, they say they are painted gloss black, but they aren't. The fairings are an injection molded black plastic, so Mutazu simply shoots a VERY thin coat of clear over the plastic they want shiny. I have to hand it to Mutazu. Its super cost effective and gives a great overall appearance of gloss black.
Once I painted the parts I wanted color matched, I brought them upstairs and started assembly. This is where the "cheap" came into play. The left side fairing went together flawlessly. In order to get the right fairing parts to mount together flush, I had to spend quite a bit of time massaging the parts. The front and rear parts would NOT bolt together flush. No matter what I did, there was an unsightly gap. I had to grind down the mounting stalks to get a flush gap between the front fascia and the backing. I got it perfect, but this was a pain for no reason other than shoddy molds.
Next came the mounting. This is where I started to get legitimately pissed. There was NO WAY these were gonna clamp tight over the crash bar. I tried everything till I finally cut up a piece of vacuum hose, crazy glued them to the cutouts on the fairings, and was able to FINALLY clamp the upper section of the fairing, tight to the crash bar. Then came the lower mounting system.......
First, let me say, I am convinced Mutazu does this on purpose. Because there is NO WAY on earth they could give you bolts that are smaller than the mounting holes they go in, on accident. Its like they meant to give you useless parts because you didn't spring the extra cash for the quick detach hardware. Not only was the lower hardware useless, its was so short, that there's no way you could have wrapped the strap around the crash bar AND secured it to the crash bar with these tiny little bolts. It was as simple as pulling a couple bolts from my spare bolt drawer, but again, its just pointless nonsense that the MOCO lowers would not have subjected the end user too.
End of the story is this........ I paid $175 delivered for the fairings. I paid probably another $130 for a quart of reduced color matched paint, a quart of clear and hardener. I had a piece of 600 grit sand paper handy. The color matched MOCO lowers are around $700. Yes, I saved money but my labor is probably worth every penny I saved. If your truly strapped for cash, the Mutazu lower fairings are a decent alternative. Otherwise, I think the factory color matched pairings might be the better option.
Here's a few pictures since I am a picture *****. Road King lower fairings, lowers, fairing
Everything laid out and painted:
Test fit:
All mounted up:
Last edited by bikerlaw; 10-08-2014 at 02:29 PM.
#2
End of the story is this........ I paid $175 delivered for the fairings. I paid probably another $130 for a quart of reduced color matched paint, a quart of clear and hardener. I had a piece of 600 grit sand paper handy. The color matched MOCO lowers are around $700. Yes, I saved money but my labor is probably worth every penny I saved. If your truly strapped for cash, the Mutazu lower fairings are a decent alternative. Otherwise, I think the factory color matched pairings might be the better option.
#3
Looks really nice the way you have them set up. I only have there tour pack and since my bike is vivid black I figured it was worth a try. I've been more than happy with it and mine is definitely painted black, and matched my stock paint perfect. You have some good skills, wish I had the gear to do my own paint!
#4
#6
I brought my fender to the local auto body paint supply shop. They used their little fancy schmancy lazer paint scanner gun, scanned the stock fender and 20 minutes later I walked out with a quart of paint. And it really sprayed out and matched well. I called the stealership and all they would give me was a tiny touch up bottle. And the online supply companies that claim to have "factory pack" paints, wanted $175 a quart. The generic house brand was $40. I am very happy.
#7
Agree with this, I have the black with the quick detach and while somewhat a pia to put on, they look great with my vivid black bike and the price was under $200 shipped.
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#8
I see a lot of posts concerning Mutazu's lower fairings. Most often from fellow Road King riders. I went ahead and ordered a set directly from Mutazu, painted them to match my 2013 Anniversary Road King, and mounted them up. There's LOTS I wanted to say about them, their quality, fit and finish. So I though a new thread to discuss them was appropriate. Here goes:
First, direct from Mutazu I paid $175 delivered. I ordered the complete lower fairing with mounting hardware, but did not get the quick detach hardware. I figured if they stay, they stay for good, and are vented for summer/winter use. My first impression were good. The black finish looked great, and everything was super well packed. Everything arrived in perfect condition. I only was interested in painting the shiny surfaces, so down to the garage I went.
The first thing I found out, is that they are NOT painted. Yeah, they say they are painted gloss black, but they aren't. The fairings are an injection molded black plastic, so Mutazu simply shoots a VERY thin coat of clear over the plastic they want shiny. I have to hand it to Mutazu. Its super cost effective and gives a great overall appearance of gloss black.
Once I painted the parts I wanted color matched, I brought them upstairs and started assembly. This is where the "cheap" came into play. The left side fairing went together flawlessly. In order to get the right fairing parts to mount together flush, I had to spend quite a bit of time massaging the parts. The front and rear parts would NOT bolt together flush. No matter what I did, there was an unsightly gap. I had to grind down the mounting stalks to get a flush gap between the front fascia and the backing. I got it perfect, but this was a pain for no reason other than shoddy molds.
Next came the mounting. This is where I started to get legitimately pissed. There was NO WAY these were gonna clamp tight over the crash bar. I tried everything till I finally cut up a piece of vacuum hose, crazy glued them to the cutouts on the fairings, and was able to FINALLY clamp the upper section of the fairing, tight to the crash bar. Then came the lower mounting system.......
First, let me say, I am convinced Mutazu does this on purpose. Because there is NO WAY on earth they could give you bolts that are smaller than the mounting holes they go in, on accident. Its like they meant to give you useless parts because you didn't spring the extra cash for the quick detach hardware. Not only was the lower hardware useless, its was so short, that there's no way you could have wrapped the strap around the crash bar AND secured it to the crash bar with these tiny little bolts. It was as simple as pulling a couple bolts from my spare bolt drawer, but again, its just pointless nonsense that the MOCO lowers would not have subjected the end user too.
End of the story is this........ I paid $175 delivered for the fairings. I paid probably another $130 for a quart of reduced color matched paint, a quart of clear and hardener. I had a piece of 600 grit sand paper handy. The color matched MOCO lowers are around $700. Yes, I saved money but my labor is probably worth every penny I saved. If your truly strapped for cash, the Mutazu lower fairings are a decent alternative. Otherwise, I think the factory color matched pairings might be the better option.
Here's a few pictures since I am a picture *****.
Everything laid out and painted:
Test fit:
All mounted up:
First, direct from Mutazu I paid $175 delivered. I ordered the complete lower fairing with mounting hardware, but did not get the quick detach hardware. I figured if they stay, they stay for good, and are vented for summer/winter use. My first impression were good. The black finish looked great, and everything was super well packed. Everything arrived in perfect condition. I only was interested in painting the shiny surfaces, so down to the garage I went.
The first thing I found out, is that they are NOT painted. Yeah, they say they are painted gloss black, but they aren't. The fairings are an injection molded black plastic, so Mutazu simply shoots a VERY thin coat of clear over the plastic they want shiny. I have to hand it to Mutazu. Its super cost effective and gives a great overall appearance of gloss black.
Once I painted the parts I wanted color matched, I brought them upstairs and started assembly. This is where the "cheap" came into play. The left side fairing went together flawlessly. In order to get the right fairing parts to mount together flush, I had to spend quite a bit of time massaging the parts. The front and rear parts would NOT bolt together flush. No matter what I did, there was an unsightly gap. I had to grind down the mounting stalks to get a flush gap between the front fascia and the backing. I got it perfect, but this was a pain for no reason other than shoddy molds.
Next came the mounting. This is where I started to get legitimately pissed. There was NO WAY these were gonna clamp tight over the crash bar. I tried everything till I finally cut up a piece of vacuum hose, crazy glued them to the cutouts on the fairings, and was able to FINALLY clamp the upper section of the fairing, tight to the crash bar. Then came the lower mounting system.......
First, let me say, I am convinced Mutazu does this on purpose. Because there is NO WAY on earth they could give you bolts that are smaller than the mounting holes they go in, on accident. Its like they meant to give you useless parts because you didn't spring the extra cash for the quick detach hardware. Not only was the lower hardware useless, its was so short, that there's no way you could have wrapped the strap around the crash bar AND secured it to the crash bar with these tiny little bolts. It was as simple as pulling a couple bolts from my spare bolt drawer, but again, its just pointless nonsense that the MOCO lowers would not have subjected the end user too.
End of the story is this........ I paid $175 delivered for the fairings. I paid probably another $130 for a quart of reduced color matched paint, a quart of clear and hardener. I had a piece of 600 grit sand paper handy. The color matched MOCO lowers are around $700. Yes, I saved money but my labor is probably worth every penny I saved. If your truly strapped for cash, the Mutazu lower fairings are a decent alternative. Otherwise, I think the factory color matched pairings might be the better option.
Here's a few pictures since I am a picture *****.
Everything laid out and painted:
Test fit:
All mounted up:
#9