Brass Insert I/S fairing

+1. You can use JB Weld and antiseize. While you're there, this works good too. From a long time ago...

In Search of a Quiet Fairing - John Marshall's Home Page
The fairing on the Honda Interstate is not very well engineered. It tends to rattle, creak, groan, and whistle with abandon. Recently these problems were exacerbated for me by the installation of a Tulsa Windshield. So, armed with a large assortment of rubber "O" rings, flat hard-rubber washers, a roll of 1/4 inch black foam "stick-on" insulation, black plastic electrical tape, fast setting epoxy glue, some cork stick-on pads and a few of Honda Part #90316-MJ1-000 (brass anchors) I set out to eliminate those pesky rattles, creaks, groans and whistles.
General note of caution: Many of the fasteners inside the fairing are either screwed directly into plastic or are screwed into soft metal anchors set into plastic. You must be careful not to over tighten these fasteners. Many of the problems you will likely find inside your fairing are a result of over-tightening.
Directions:
Remove the two speaker panels from the fairing. Each is fastened to the fairing with four Phillips shoulder bolts that screw into soft brass anchors, each of which is set in a rather flimsy plastic seat. Unhook the speaker wires and set the panels aside. Check each of the brass anchors (four on each side) in the fairing to be certain that they are firmly anchored in their plastic seats and that their threads are in good condition. Glue or replace as required.
Check each speaker panel to be certain that the speaker mountings and speakers are secure and that none of the bolts and screws have been stripped, and that nothing rattles.
Remove the "plastichrome" trim strip at the base of the windshield. Four shoulder bolts and brass anchors secure this strip in exactly the same way the speaker panels are secured. Check the integrity of these four fasteners and repair or replace as required.
(Note: At this point in my work I had found a total of four ruined fasteners and there were more to come. Three brass anchors were loose in their seats and another anchor had ruined threads! Three of the ruined fasteners were involved with the speaker panels and one was in the plastichrome strip.)
Prepare to remove the windshield by removing the four bolts that secure it. However, before you do, check to see if the windshield sits firmly and evenly back against the rubber gasket behind it. This gasket (thin sheet of rubber) extends across the full width of the fairing. If the windshield does not rest against this gasket, then the support of the windshield is in a very narrow plane described by the four bolts through rubber grommets at the bottom of the windshield. The failure of the windshield to rest firmly and evenly against the rubber gasket will give the windshield an enormous mechanical advantage on the fairing and cause it to flex a lot at high speeds.
If you have a Tulsa windshield there is certain to be a substantial air space between the shield and the rubber gasket that is supposed to support it. That, coupled with the fact that the Tulsa shield does not fit the mounting holes exactly, is a potential problem. If you have a Tulsa shield mounted without modifications, take hold of the top edge of it and flex it. You will note that the shield has enormous leverage on the narrow support plane of the fasteners. No matter, we will take care of this in a bit. Set the windshield aside.
Check to see that the sheet metal screws, one on each side, evident when you face the fairing with the windshield off, are tight. Yes, Honda used two sheet metal screws at major support points of the fairing. And, while you are in there, just make sure everything you see that you are not going to remove is secure and in place.
Check carefully all of the main support points of your fairing. I had a missing nut and several loose screws down near the bottom of the fairing. Make sure everything is tight, no stripped fasteners, etc. By this point you are probably getting good at the drill.
Lay a heavy towel over the handlebars and the front of the tank and prepare to loosen and fold back the instrument cluster. (Regards the towel, I am sure your wife will not care if you use the best towels. Nothing is too good for the Valkyrie!) First, find and remove the two standard shoulder bolt – brass anchor fasteners high up on the dash, just at the edge of the area exposed when you took out the speaker panels. On my bike, one of these was ruined. The remaining support of the instrument cluster is derived from four 8-mm bolts that hold through rubber grommets. Yes, the instrument cluster is actually rubber mounted. Remove the four bolts and carefully "fold" the instrument cluster back over the handlebars onto the towel you have in place.
Now the fun begins.
Remove the in-dash louver by removing the two screws that hold it in place. Be careful as these are simply self-tapping screws set directly into the plastic. Put strips of the black foam insulation on the edges of the louver assembly that mate into the instrument module. You will have to use several short strips between the little tabs that hold the edges of this assembly in place. If you do this right, when you replace the louver it will fit snugly and be completely rattle free not to mention you will block many gaps where air can come whistling through and around the edges of the louver. Replace the louver (careful with those screws) and make sure it is firm and rattle free and if not adjust/add foam tape until it is.
Now, turn your attention to that "air chute" that sprays all those bug parts on the inside of your windshield. First note that where the edge of the plastic air channel mates with the edge of the air scoop in the fairing, there is a crack over which air will flow at high speeds. Can you say whistle? Neatly place a strip of wide black plastic electrical tape over this crack. BTW, this step can easily be accomplished without taking anything apart. You can simply reach up the air scoop on the fairing and place the tape over the crack. If you do this carefully it will be completely invisible unless you shine a flashlight up the air channel in the fairing. With narrower electrical tape and with the stick-on foam insulation go over that air channel system. There are gaps and holes everywhere, all of which could resonate at high air flow. Make it neat and tidy, but cover all the little gaps. After having examined this air system, I am not surprised that many people have complained about wind "whines and whistles". What does surprise me is that some people apparently do not have this problem.
Next, re-install the windshield. First, carefully put a strip of the foam insulation flush with the top edge of the rubber gasket that the windshield is supposed to rest against. Take your time and follow the curve. Then, mount the windshield being certain to get everything centered as carefully as possible and making sure that the strains are as well distributed as possible. You will find that the windshield now rests against the foam and is more of an integral part of the fairing. It will not flex so much. What you have done by supporting the shield with the foam tape is broaden the support plane of the windshield and the foam will dampen wind-induced vibration.
Note: The washers and "O" rings mentioned below can be found at your local hardware store, usually in the plumbing department.
Place a strip of foam insulation on the bottom of the plastichrome strip before you put it back on. The foam should be back 1/8 to 1/4 inch from the leading edge and follow the curve of strip. This will keep the strip from vibrating against the fairing and insure that no wind-induced resonance under the strip will occur. Then carefully but firmly mount this strip being certain that the locator tabs are in the slots provided. I would advise placing flat, hard rubber washers on the shoulder bolts before you use them to secure the plastichrome strip. These washers should fit snugly over the shoulder but not be so thick as to completely cover it. Be careful not to over tighten. When you are finished, test your windshield by grabbing it along the top edge and gently flexing it back and forth. If you have done you work correctly is should feel firm but not rigid and it should not make a lot of "groaning" sounds.
Replace the instrument cluster. Again, use flat hard rubber washers on the two shoulder bolts that secure the top of the cluster to the fairing. Finish installing the cluster by inserting and tightening the four 8mm bolts that go through the grommets and fasten to the fairing mounting frame. Do one last check around in there for loose fasteners and examine the inside of the fairing for places where the speaker panels have been rubbing. If you find such places you should cover them with those thin stick-on cork circles like the ones you bought to put on the bottom your priceless Ming Dynasty vase (say "vahz") to protect the surface of your exquisite solid mahogany coffee table.
Replace the speaker panels. First, connect the leads and then make sure that the protective "boots" are pulled well down over the connectors and that the wiring is firmly fastened in place using the bendable fasteners supplied and with extra cable ties as required. If left loose, those heavy plastic connectors will rattle against the inside of the fairing, which is like an echo chamber.
There are four bolts holding each speaker panel. Before you reset the top two on each side add a flat hard rubber washer. Use a rubber "O" ring on the bottom two. Be careful setting the bottom two shoulder bolts as they are mounted at a bit of an angle. Tighten carefully! The purpose of all these washers and "O" rings is to hold the parts firmly together yet leave some freedom for "flex" and some provision for vibration damping.
Well, you ask, was it worth it?
In my case, the difference was dramatic. I have no more wind whistle, no more rattling and groaning and the fairing no longer sets up unpleasant resonance vibrations through the handlebars on washboard roads. Everything just feels more solid.
And, all it took was an afternoon, three bottles of beer and a few odds and ends from the hardware store.
P.S. If I were about to buy a new Interstate I would take some or all of this information to my dealer and make a complete internal inspection of the fairing a condition of the sale. I am convinced that the engineering of the fairing is not so terribly flawed that it can not be made to work. But, it does need all the help it can get.