In the early days, fairings were essentially a type of cowling that was placed in the front of the motorcycle’s body to increase the surface area. The BMW R100RS started the world off on a trend towards full fairings. Naturally, the entire concept was essentially copied from the aircraft industry and simply later applied towards motorcycles.
Though the R100RS was leading the way in 1976, in the modern era, it seems that motorcycle fairings have become an integral part of many motorcycle designs. In fact, the way that motorcycle fairings are mounted changes up the speed, steering and handling in profound ways. This is why the bikes built by companies like Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda can mount so many different styles of fairings. In fact, there is probably a full catalog for each make and model. The OEM firms build some of these designs, and others are great examples of the aftermarket trade.
They’re also used to increase fuel mileage. The streamliner class of fairings covers the entire body of the motorcycle and provides the minimal drag coefficient ratio that’s possible with this engineering platform. The dustbin fairing looks something like an aircraft front and reduces the frontal drag. Nevertheless, the International Federation of Motorcycles ended up banning this design because it tends to be unstable.
The half fairing runs beyond the lower part of the handlebars to around the cylinder block. Those that really like everything to be custom can usually extend these out to be full fairings if they want, though. The dolphin fairing fans out around the streamlined front wheel and windshield midguard. This makes it look like the beak of a dolphin, which is where the name originally came from. This sort of fairing became popular in the wake of the IFM’s ban on dustbin style fairings.