This is the part that will turn your Nomad into a full fledged dresser. My experience (with Premeux fairing) is even less buffeting than with the stock windshield and oversized lowers. If there is a downside it would be a bit more weight on your steering that you'll have to adjust to. The fairings themselves are extremely light but when you start adding speakers and radios and other toys it can add up. This is something to keep in mind if you tend to spend more time driving slower through the twisties than barreling along at highway speeds.
As with Trunks, adding a fairing to your Nomad can be as easy or as complicated as you'd like it to be. It's sort of like buying computers: You can have small, you can have fast or you can have cheap. Pick two. When it comes to fairings you can purchase a Harley Davidson Electra Glide model from E-bay for less than $100 (sometimes for the outer shell, more for both the outer and inner usually) then take it to a painter so it matches your bike and either cobble together your own mounting brackets or have them made (see below). You can go with the Jireh fairing for about $535 plus mounting brackets ($158) which comes with a windshield and is generally primed for painting. Take the fairing to your local painter and pay their going rate for plain color or artwork. The newcomer to this mix is Hoppe Industries which, for $1295 offers a fairing with inner liner pre-wired with high output radio and four speakers, about $700 (plus shipping) without radio and speakers. Like the Jireh, the Hoppe fairing is ready for your paint. Or you can watch the UPS driver pull up to your house with a ready to mount, already painted fairing from Premeux. Current pricing (the exchange rate varies day to day) is listed on the Premeux website or phone them for specifics as there are many options available. All prices are as of this posting, subject to change without notice etc. You will have to do your own shopping and ask your own questions regarding the type of materials used in these products, thickness of the fiberglass etc to determine what is and what is not important to you.
Once you've decided on the fairing you want you also get to choose whether you want to mount radios, antenna and speakers or gauges or switches or......... The sky is the limit and the style is just a matter of how creative you can be.
So, what do you get for your money from the commercial kits? With some you only get the outer fairing while Premeux and Hoppe come with an inner liner for mounting radio's, gauges etc. The Harley fairing will generally include an inner liner although some are sold on E-Bay without or the two pieces are sold separately.
Premeux Fairing inner liner. Note speaker enclosures. In center is a leather panel that snaps over a box (space) for radio, instruments or just storage.
The front shell bolts to the inner liner at seven points, 3 across the windshield and 4 from the liner side. The chrome strip shown is an option.
Bolted up. The fairing will accommodate all aftermarket light bars. Note stock Nomad lowers are being used. There is 'no' buffeting even at very high speeds.
This Canadian company ships direct to the U.S. and may be producing the Lexus of fairings for the Nomad.
You might want to do a Google search for this one since it's carried by several U.S. outlets. Among them is the Trike Shop which sells the fairing for $535 and the proper brackets for mounting to the '99-'04 Nomad for another $158. You can see the fairing and the mounts by clicking here.
Hoppe Industries is now offering its "Quadzilla" fairing for Vulcans which includes an inner liner with space for four (yes, 4) speakers and a radio. The fairing comes with or without radio and speakers pre-mounted (note blanks in lower right photo) and ready for your paint. Several different windshield heights are offered.
The name is synonymous with high quality fairings. Finding the product on the corporate website is a little dicey though so write this down. First visit This Link . Once there click "Kawasaki" in the 'make' box. Then find your VN1500 Nomad on the page that pops up next and then your year. Why the year? You can purchase the fairing pre-painted. Yet another dialog box will pop up asking you what product/manufacturer you're looking for. Select "Targa" under 'manufacturer' and finally you'll be taken to the appropriate page. Price (at this writing) is $600 unpainted, $750 painted. At this time an inner shell is not available from Targa for the Nomad.
Here you do your shopping and take your chances. Assuming you're hunting for the HD fairing remember there is an inner and an outer shell. Many riders only use the outer as it's providing the wind protection. The inner shell provides mounting space for gauges, switches, radio etc. Be sure and ask about damage to the fiberglass if you're not able to look at the fairing personally. There's probably good reason it was taken off the Electra Glide.
Mounting a Harley fairing to your Kawasaki is a simple thing thanks to Lee Sido who makes special brackets for the purpose.
1968-84 FLH (pan-shovel era) fiberglass, outer fairing only, mounts using four fixed bolts on the inside of the faring, those bolts go to separate brackets that attach to the forks. The windshield attaches to the bracketry, NOT the fairing. Bracketry modification is required.
1985-95 plastic, FLHT has an outer and can have an inner fairing. The outer fairing has the 4 bolt fork mounting system similar to the earlier fairing, but the windshield attaches directly to the fairing using 5 bolts. Cutting the fairing to fit maybe required. Bracketry modification is required.
96-up plastic, the inner fairing attaches to the fork mount bracketry, the outer fairng then attaches to the inner fairing. The windshield attaches to the fairing using 3 bolts. Cutting the fairing to fit maybe required. HD bracket modification is required.