Wrenching

A busted fairing

Actually, just a tab, after a crack...

What happened: Well, not exactly a mounting tab, since said tab is metal and welded to the gas tank, but the plastic part on the fairing where the screw goes in... Here's the story: the previous-previous (previous²?) owner had dropped the bike at 0-3 mph, resulting in a cracked fairing caused by the left turn signal hitting the asphalt -- as it's not designed to do. The crack was a hairline, barely visible and I didn't worry about it much (after all, it's my starter bike, I'll sell it at the latest in the fall, and statistically, either me or the next owner will drop it. Knock on wood.) Today, on my second ride out of the season, I'm adjusting a mirror at a stop light without holding the stem with the other hand. The tension on the weak fairing caused the "mounting place" to snap. Let's say I had to do 5 miles holding on to the fairing, which hung dangerously when I had to grab a handful of clutch.
As seen from sitting on the bike (or so). There should be a straight line on the bottom edge of the fairing.
Here's the piece, still hanging. That gives you an idea of the extent of the crack. When I put the fairing in position, the crack closes up very neatly.
I now have a piece of rope, going around the fairing and the triple tree, to remove undue pressure on that poor ABS...
Here's how I rode for a few weeks, rat-bike-style: bungeeeee! An estimate from Mike's Cycle Refinishing came in at $379 to bring the ABS back to showroom condition. That includes plastic welding, paint and clear coating. Ouch!. (He also offered to do a "structural fix", no cosmetics, for $200.) Time to get myself some Plastex (motto: Repair the impossible...), remove the fairing and fix it myself...