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| Hoppe Quadzilla Fairing - Story and photography by Scott Dalgleish |
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American Rider
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You really need two bikes, one for cruising the scene to the local hangouts with your friends on warm summer days and another to pack up and hit the road for those longer journeys taking days, maybe weeks. Trouble is, most of us can’t afford two. So we find ourselves attempting to either make a touring model into a Saturday night cruiser, or outfit our cruiser with touring accessories.
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American Rider
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Windshields and fairings have always been among the top add-ons to make life a little nicer for the long rides. There are those riders who will tout the benefits of “being in the wind,” but let’s face it, at the end of a 500-mile day, it’s pretty nice to hop off feeling relaxed rather than fatigued, and gleefully observe the sacrificial bugs on the fairing rather than on your face.
Hoppe Industries has long been a manufacturer of quality fiberglass motorcycle accessories, and the detachable Quadzilla Fairing represents the top of the Hoppe line. Styled to resemble the traditional batwing shape of the Electra Glide fairing, Quadzilla attaches to the bike’s fork, turning with the handlebar, unlike the frame-mounted fairing found on Road Glide models.
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American Rider
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Made for Harley-Davidson Road King and Softail models, Quadzilla gets its name for, count ’em, the four 5-inch marine-grade fairing-mounted speakers powered by a 200-watt Eclipse brand AM/FM/CD/MP-3/Sirius-compatible radio. The Eclipse is protected from the elements behind a “weather door,” which doubles as a form of out-of-sight protection.
The optional Sirius antenna can be ordered built into your fairing or added later. With either option, antennas are built into the fairing, leaving a clean uncluttered look.
Hoppe’s fairing utilizes OEM-style windshields available in heights ranging from 5 to 15 inches in a variety of clear and tinted shades to suit your style. Made in the U.S.A. from hand-laid fiberglass, the fairing is stronger than “chopper gun” fiberglass or ABS, according to the manufacturer. It weighs about 20 pounds.
Our Quadzilla arrived with a quality black gelcoat finish on both the inner and outer fairing. We could have installed it with its original finish; however, we wanted to do something to accent the existing 2003 black-and-
silver anniversary finish of our Softail model—so, we took our fairing to Rick Vandervort of Vandervort’s Graphics and Pinstriping. Rick wasted no time in developing a bold and original-looking tribal flame design in the silver-and-black theme.
Installing the fairing is an easy process utilizing the mounting hardware supplied by Hoppe Industries. The entire process takes just a few minutes and would not be a deterrent to attaching or removing the fairing as the ride or mood dictates. Once mounted to the bike, we found all of the obvious benefits of sitting behind the fairing—protection from wind, noise and flying debris—and we were very comfortable.
The 200-watt Eclipse sound quality delivered through Quadzilla’s four speakers possesses the ability to enhance most any type of riding with your favorite tunes at cruising speeds. Of course, as speed and engine noise increase, it becomes more difficult to hear the details in the music. This will be better or worse depending on the exhaust system, type of helmet worn (full or shorty) and wind noise.
At a suggested retail price of $1,599, Quadzilla is not a modest investment; however, considering the quality of the fairing and sound system, it is a very practical way to go. U
Product: Hoppe Quadzilla fairing
Price: $1,599
Supplier: Hoppe Industries, 515 11th Place, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53140; (262) 552-2770; www.hoppeindustries.com
For information on paint and graphics, contact Vandervort Graphics and Pinstriping, 16015 Aliso, Fontana, California 92337; (909) 822-9803; email: rikarnd@earthlink.net.
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