F4Customs Windshield

[Freebird]

OK folks, I had mentioned in another thread about a new windshield that I was going to try on my bike. I had heard about this company from Bob Dakin but knew nothing about them. A few days ago I got an email from the owner of the company asking if I would be willing to test their new RSV shield and provide feedback to him and to our members. I told him that I was willing to do so but that he needed to understand that my report would be 100% honest and I would NOT support a product that I didn't believe in.

 

Now it turns out that F4Customs is only about an hour from my house so I took a drive over there and picked up a shield. They offer it in 3 sizes. 14.5", 17.5" (stock height) and 19.5". The 17.5" and the 19.5" are both available in stock width or 4" wider than stock. I went with the 19.5" shield in the 4" wider size. This is about the same height as my Clearview shield. The Clearview shield was also wider than stock but this one is a bit wider yet.

 

Now I want to say here that I was NEVER unhappy with my Clearview shield and have recommended them many times here. It is now about 9 years old and is still in very good shape. I would not have been in the market for a new shield at this time.

 

There are a number of claims that F4 makes about this shield. It is scratch resistant, no optical distortion, they say it is very slick and really sheds water well. You can use Rain X on it and they actually recommend that you clean it with windex and paper towels and you will not scratch it. The RSV shield is new but they have made shields for other bikes and Nascar for some time now. I understand that they are a very popular brand with the Goldwing riders. I have no reason to doubt their claims but it will obviously be a while and many miles before I can fully verify them either.

 

What I can say is that the shield fits well. All the bottom holes are actually holes and not slots as Clearview and the stock shields use. There seems to be substantial material to hold the shield if a screw or two get loose. The holes were all drilled properly and lined up as they should have. It is a bit wider at the bottom than my older Clearview shield. One thing I did notice is that the wider part of the shield at the bottom sweeps back a bit. The Clearview shield was pretty much straight in line with the chrome strip. To the point that you actually had to flex the shield back a bit in order to remove the chrome. This one sweeps back probably an inch. Not saying that is a good thing or a bad thing, just a difference that I wanted to point out. Also the bottom of the wide part of the shield angles up just a bit. Where the Clearview shield is pretty much straight across where the width extends at the bottom ... aligns with the top of the fairing...this one angles up maybe 3/4" or so. Again, not saying that is good or bad but a difference. I THINK I actually like the Clearview better in this one regard but this is something that F4 could probably tweak if it turns out that everybody feels the same way that I do about it. After I put a few miles on it, I may end up liking it this way. We'll see.

 

Anyway, this is my intial report. The shield is well made, fits nicely, secured very well with all holes and no slots. As for it being highly scratch resistant and shedding water so well, only time will tell. They did show me a demo of a shield with a windshield wiper wrapped in steel wool. He said they had run the wiper for over 100 hours with the steel wool scrubbing the shield and it was not scratched at all. It IS a very clear shield and I've noticed no optical distortian at all. That wasn't a problem with my Clearview either but some with the new swept back version of the Clearview have complained just a bit about it.

 

I will report further after I've put some miles on it. If you want to know more, the F4 Custom website is:

 

http://www.f4customs.com/

[gibvel]

Vent, no vent... Tint no tint?

[BoomerCPO]

Thanks for the heads up on this new product Don.

 

May I suggest that you keep the shield long enough for them to forget about you.....and ship that sucker to me?

[Freebird]

No vent and no tint. I really don't care about the tint. My Clearview was tinted and to be honest, it wasn't a big deal. You really can't even tell unless you put another shield right against it. That being said, I would have gotten a tinted one if available but it's just not a big deal to me.

 

As for the vent, I will not buy another shield with the Goldwing style vent. They are VERY hard to keep clean as the bugs and grime get between the vent flange and the shield. Plus, mine stop opening and closing correctly a couple of years ago. I will use the round pop out vents from now on and would just as soon install my own. It is very easy to do.

[ColoNavy]

Did F5 give you an estimated price for the 19.5" model? How does that compare to other, i.e, CLearview, windshields????

 

THanks for researching the F5.

[Eck]

Quote:

They did show me a demo of a shield with a windshield wiper wrapped in steel wool. He said they had run the wiper for over 100 hours with the steel wool scrubbing the shield and it was not scratched at all.

 

 

Wonder if they every thought of making reading glasses.........??

[gibvel]

No vent and no tint. I really don't care about the tint. My Clearview was tinted and to be honest, it wasn't a big deal. You really can't even tell unless you put another shield right against it. That being said, I would have gotten a tinted one if available but it's just not a big deal to me.

 

As for the vent, I will not buy another shield with the Goldwing style vent. They are VERY hard to keep clean as the bugs and grime get between the vent flange and the shield. Plus, mine stop opening and closing correctly a couple of years ago. I will use the round pop out vents from now on and would just as soon install my own. It is very easy to do.

Yeah, I know your feelings on the goldwing style vent. Just wondered if you got it with the vent installed or not. Will they allow you to put the round ones in this shield though? (Rephrase: will they let you put them in the test shield that you have)

 

Is tint even an option on these. The purpose of my question was 2 fold (and you were supposed to, with your god like attributes, divine this from the question)

 

1. did you get these two things and 2. are they even going to be options on the RSV windshield.

Edited September 17, 2008 by gibvel

[stardbog]

Don't know about tint, but they offer vent as option. It's same as clearview.

http://www.f4customs.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=20&category_id=16&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

And they offer tinted shields for goldwings, so i can't see feason why shouldn't be offered for RSV.

http://www.f4customs.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

[Freebird]

They sell the vents but do not currently have them pre-installed for the RSV. I have emailed them about pricing and the option of tint.

 

Don

[RJD]

to be competive with the Clearview. These shields are made of a polycarbonate material. This is their claim to fame as far as "no scratching". They liked the round vents when they saw them. Obviously they have made no decision as far as putting them in or not and as Don said, they have the Goldwing vent.

 

I also know they set up at many bike events through the year and have people available at some of them to install the other shields they sell. They can advise everyone when, where and if installation will be available. I want to be careful not to claim they are going to do something they may not plan to do. I just know they do some installation at the shows they attend and they have seen the round vents in the stock windshield.

 

Bob

[KiteSquid]

Is there a difference in the rake back angle of the F4Customs windshield compared to stock? When my bike with the factory windshield still installed was parked next to one with a Clearview, I noted that the Clearview angles back more than the stock windshield.

[dfrank330]

Hi Folks,

My name is Don Frank and my son Dave and I own F4 Customs LLC. I will try and answer your questions however I don't want to over step my bounds by making this sound like an advertisement.

The shield is not currently offered in a tint as the tint on a Polycarbonate is dark enough that you may not want to look through it at night. Also we make them from polycarbonate not acrylic so they are safer in case you get hit with a retread, rock, or are in an accident. Polycarbonate will not break.

As far as the vents we don't offer them installed however you can cut our shield if you like and if enough folks want installed vents we can look at putting the goldwing or round vents in them for you.

The pricing will be posted on our web site very soon for your review.

The benifits are:

Sheds water

Clean with paper towels and windex and rub as hard as you like

No Distortion....optics are perfect

Won't break

Thanks for the questions and I will try and answer any others for you that I can.

Kind Regards

Don Frank

F4 Customs LLC

330-995-3279

[juggler]

Hi Folks,

My name is Don Frank and my son Dave and I own F4 Customs LLC. I will try and answer your questions however I don't want to over step my bounds by making this sound like an advertisement.

The shield is not currently offered in a tint as the tint on a Polycarbonate is dark enough that you may not want to look through it at night. Also we make them from polycarbonate not acrylic so they are safer in case you get hit with a retread, rock, or are in an accident. Polycarbonate will not break.

As far as the vents we don't offer them installed however you can cut our shield if you like and if enough folks want installed vents we can look at putting the goldwing or round vents in them for you.

The pricing will be posted on our web site very soon for your review.

The benifits are:

Sheds water

Clean with paper towels and windex and rub as hard as you like

No Distortion....optics are perfect

Won't break

Thanks for the questions and I will try and answer any others for you that I can.

Kind Regards

Don Frank

F4 Customs LLC

330-995-3279

 

Thanks for the info.

 

One negative against you is not installing the vent. I have the XXL with vent and tint from Clearview. I will not buy another without the GW style vent. So as best as I can tell the only thing you have over Clearview is that your shield does not scratch as easy. While that is a good thing, not having the vent is a show stopper for me.

[gibvel]

Also, the question was asked about the rake in your shield compared to the stock.

[TheKid]

I have seen your sheild at many different bike events and rallies. I really do like it and my father does also. The only thing is that my dad could have bought one already because he is on a wing. I have emailed you a couple of times about the shield for the RSV and got response back saying y'all were working on it. I am glad to see that you have some prototypes out for use riders to try. I would agree have a vent would be nice I like the round vents much better than the wing vent. Thanks for working on this for us RSV riders. I look forward to see the shield and how it works out for us.

[Mike Rice]

I have to agree, even though some bug guts may encroach in my cockpit through the open vent it still out-weights not having the extra amount of air in the hot summertime.

[GunnyButch]

Don

Would you post a couple pictures?

[dfrank330]

Thanks for the info.

 

While that is a good thing, not having the vent is a show stopper for me.

 

One negative against you is not installing the vent

The vent installation can be done for the rider if thy want one. This is just a CNC machining change.

So as best as I can tell the only thing you have over Clearview is that your shield does not scratch as easy.

The benifits are as follows:

• Sheds rain as if you have rainX on the shield and if you want to put RainX on you can without any ill effect. Chemically sealed.
  
• Does not scratch even with 0000 steel wool so cleaning is easy and no more looking through swirls when lights or the sun hit it
  
• No distortion in the shield. Optics are perfect
  
• Polycarbonate not acrylic which means it will not break in a crash or if hit with a rock or re-tread
  

The shield has the same form and slant as the stock shield.

Thanks for your comments and questions we hope you will give us a try.

Ride Safe

Don Frank

F4 Customs

[ahoutzer]

Don,

 

The ClearView is also optically very good. Whether it is perfect, I may not be able to judge, but against others such as the stock Victory Vision shield, the ClearView is great. So that puts you even with the competition on that feature.

 

Scratch resistance is something that your product definitely has over both the Venture's stock shield and the ClearView, according to the information you are providing. So that's one up for F4Custom.

 

About standing mostly upright like the Venture stock shield and about shedding rain: I want to know more about that. The ClearView is swept back further, which helps with shedding rain. The Venture stock shield is just plain dangerous in the rain -- especially a night rain, where oncoming headlights turn the thousands of stuck raindrops on the shield into a thousand glaring points of light. What more can you tell us about this shield's rain-shedding characteristics? You have a test with a windshield wiper and a steel wool pad to show the scratch resistance -- got any tests for rain? Also, I like the ClearView's swept-back design -- it is probably more aerodynamic, and I really like my 48mpg!

 

Now, about fog: again, the stock shield is dangerous, and so is the ClearView. They fog over easily and when the sun hits them, you have to stand up on the floor boards, making it impossible to brake or shift and see at the same time. Does the F4Custom shield do any better? Got any test information?

 

Thanks for participating here. Your product sounds interesting. If it really sheds rain and also fog, is changed to sweep back and has a vent then I want one.

[Condor]

At first it sounded like a great deal, and wished they made them for the 1stGens. Then I found the price list. I think I'll stick with a stock screen.

[juggler]

Thanks for the info.

 

While that is a good thing, not having the vent is a show stopper for me.

 

One negative against you is not installing the vent

The vent installation can be done for the rider if thy want one. This is just a CNC machining change.

So as best as I can tell the only thing you have over Clearview is that your shield does not scratch as easy.

 

The benifits are as follows:

• Sheds rain as if you have rainX on the shield and if you want to put RainX on you can without any ill effect. Chemically sealed.
  
• Does not scratch even with 0000 steel wool so cleaning is easy and no more looking through swirls when lights or the sun hit it
  
• No distortion in the shield. Optics are perfect
  
• Polycarbonate not acrylic which means it will not break in a crash or if hit with a rock or re-tread
  

The shield has the same form and slant as the stock shield.

Thanks for your comments and questions we hope you will give us a try.

Ride Safe

Don Frank

F4 Customs

 

"The shield has the same form and slant as the stock shield."

 

Well that is also a problem for me. Well my wife. The shape of the Clearview with the little wind kicker at the top keeps the wind from buffeting my wife's head. This has let her ride without neck pain.

 

So since everyone has different needs I'm sure many will like your wind shield. It just won't work for us.

 

Cheers,

[Freebird]

Sorry about the delay. Things are a little crazy here right now. Eileen and I did get a pretty nice ride in the other night with the new shield. So far, I've found no negatives. Now I had the older Clearview and it didn't slant back either but I never had any problems due to it not slanting back. Also, mine was a tall shield, as is this one, so buffeting has never been an issue.

 

Now everybody act like they don't notice that my time stamp on the camera is off just a bit.

 

Sorry, I wanted to install my round vents before taking pictures but....I can't find my hole saw.

[Squidley]

Thats a good looking screen, I'll look forward to your further critiquing

[MAINEAC]

No scratching... I could dig that... My stocker is a year old and has all kinds of scratches. Hey Don if you need another prototype tester you can send one my way..

[LilBeaver]

Don (or anyone that has given one of these a try),

 

Just wondering if it is still holding up as expected after a few more months of testing?

I am in the market for a new (or new to me) shield and this one seems intriguing.

 

Thanks for all you do!!

- Rick M.