Owners Bikes-RocketDog

Page four, Vetter Owners

RocketDog!

I like this guy, Frank Buckman

He loves the Lord, motorcycles and dogs.

Me too.

Frank lives in upstate New York where he is retired from being an environmental engineering manager at NYSDEC. Now, he says, "I can ride my Triumphs for Jesus full time!!! "

2010: Frank has decided to put a Liberator Fairing on his Triumph

See if first here

"Thank you Mr. Vetter" An E mail from Sep. 24, 2007

Craig

I just want to personally thank you for your contribution to the sport of motorcycling. You have been a HUGE blessing to all of us that love this sport.

I am attaching an article I wrote and posted at one of the websites I am actively involved in XS11.com. I am including a copy of it in this e-mail and attaching photo of my customized classic touring machine a Yamaha 1100 from days gone by. Of course it employees the venerable Vetter Fairing. I hope you get a kick out of the photo and the story. It's true and I meant every word of it. I think you have personally made one of the most significant contributions to the sport of touring.

Thanks

Cody Griffin
Stillwater, OK

The Venerable Vetter

Craig Vetter is literally a legend in our own time. He is one of the foremost motorcyle designer and IMO a genius.

If you've never read any history on the man I highly recommend it. His is an interesting story. And because of his love of long distance touring and subsequent development of the venerable Vetter fairing his efforts have changed the face of motorcycling forever and for the better in my opinion.

I would like to relay a story for any of you that don't fully appreciate the prowess of the Vetter design. This based solely on my own experience and YMMV.

I've had several vintage Jap bikes and some had windshields... fork mounted windshields. However when I bought Zilla (my '82 XJ1100 Maxim) it had a Vetter windshield mounted. You may know the story but when I bought it the bike was pristine. I got it from the original owner and it only had 5,000 miles on it. I fully intended to remove the hideous fairing and return the classic to it's gorgeous nude former self.

However I rode the bike a little with the fairing. One day a friend twisted my arm to take a short 300 mile road trip. I wasn;t interested solely because the Fairing was still on and it "cramped my style". I just thought the thing was disgusting aesthetically and wanted it off QUICK.

But I relented and took the trip anyway. In short ... that day...I begin to realize the advantages of a frame mounted fairing. Note I said I "began"...because it wouldn't be until a couple years ater that I fully appreciated the prowess of Mr. Vetter's design. However that day in the Fall of 2004 I decided to keep the Vetter IV on ...at least for the rest of the winter.

Of course after the my road trip to Big Bend in November of that year and the return voyage back to Oklahoma in a blustery 34 degree head wind of 40 mph I was sold. If I had been riding my 750 Maxim with that puny little fork windshield it would have been MISERY at best. Not only would I have frozen to death on I-44 but I would have been fighting the wind like a ghost in a bad dream only to awaken with the sheets wrapped around my neck.

A Dark and Dreary Night

Two years ago I was headed west from McCamey, TX to Fort Stockton. It was my annual road trip to Big Bend National Park in my home stomping ground of west Texas. It was a dark and dreary night. Rain was trying to set in and the mist was thick. The wind was blowing like a HUGE fan out of the south at a stiff 45 to 50 mph! Remember I'm headed west in this fierce cross wind.

I lead out of town at 70 mph with my riding partner in pursuit. After 10 to 15 miles he had fallen "off the map" disappearing into the dark mist. I pulled over and waited. He finally caught up and complained the wind was about to wreck him. I thought "...ya big sissy..." and yelled over the wind gusts "SUCK IT UP!!!" I dropped the big Eleven in gear and rolled west again at 70 mph. The cross wind was awful. But the Yamaha with the Vetter simply tilted left and sliced through the wind like a buzz saw through balsa wood. Again he fell far far behind. Then it dawned on me. The poor guy had one of those stinkin' fork mounted windshields. The force of the wind was directly exactly upon his handlebars. He was fighting the steering of the bike as the windscreen acted like the rudder of a boat in a rolling river. I felt like such a heel for having chided him and had to apologize later. On the other hand the wind force on my Vetter was distributed upon the frame. The wind had a much harder time pushing around a 700 lbs bike than 50 or 60 lbs of front fork.

Long story short he now has a Vetter on his Eleven for touring and loves it.

And because of Vetter's excellent efforts now any touring bike worth it's salt is equipped with a FRAME MOUNTED fairing. The Goldwing...the Voyager...The Venture Royale, BMW's K1200LT and a whole variety of sport touring machines utilize the potent design of a frame mounted fairing.

I have friends that ride Harley's with fork mounted fairings. They'll tell you they are great....UNTIL they hit wind. That's why for my money the only Harley worth a flip for touring is a Road Glide because it's the only one with a FRAME MOUNTED fairing.

Kudos to Craig Vetter and his contributions to the sport of motorcycle touring!

Cg

Thank you Cody. Your story reminds me of all the riding and testing I did in developing my fairings. On one trip, returning to Illinois from Houston Short Track Races in 1972, the side winds were so fierce and consistant that when we stopped for gas, the little rubber fuzz-balls that can be seen coming off the tires, were actually shearing sideways!

This Page Updated Mar 17, 2010