Windshield Height

[Patmac6075]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some insight and advice on windshield height. My experience is limited to my XJ750 with a Vetter windshield (every other bike I've owned has been fairingless). With my Vetter, the windshield is very clear and extends well over my field of view...riding at night is a pain, because light reflects off every scratch reducing visibility (during daylight it's crystal clear). On the Venture, the windshield is much more scratched up and kind of cloudy (have tried some plexiglas cleaners to no avail...have had good experience with 3M headlight restoration kit, so that's still an option) plus the top edge is only about 4"-5" above my field of view so if I really crain my neck, I can see over it. Needless to say, this is unacceptable, I should say that even during the best light conditions my current windshield is at best....not that good.

So, my question is: To cut or not to cut? Is it better to get a new windshield or cut down the current glass the 5 or so inches which will allow me to easily see over the glass?

By the way, my current glass is 21" tall and I'm a skoosh less than 5'9".

[Flyinfool]

One option may be to cut down what you have. This will give you the chance to see if a cut down is something that you like. Once you make that determination then you can buy a nice new scratch free screen in whatever height you want.

 

The OEM wind screen has a hard coating on it. I used 2000 wet to sand that coating and all of the scratches out and then went through the progression of polishing compounds to get it clear again. I was able to get it like new. BUT once you remove the hard coating you will want/need to take the screen off and repolish it at least every winter. You also have to be very careful of scratching when cleaning it. I clean mine using only vertical wiping strokes, it is the horizontal scratches that make the worst glare. Cleaning with a circular motion guaranties that there will always be scratches in the worst possible direction.

[orlean1]

Jeff has a good option for you. you can also look at an upgrade on your windshield. One with better optics. I ride with a F4 tall windshield and look through it. Very clear optics and the the rain beads away below 40 and streams off above 40 on the RSV so even in rain you can see pretty well. Im 6'4" and 270 so when there is a lot of wind I still don't feel it moving the shield or moving the bike.

[Karaboo]

I don't think F4 makes a 1st gen windshield, but I bought a standard height replacement from JC Whitney for $75. It is a Slipstreamer, and not available in custom heights, but the price made me think I could replace it every 2 years without stretching my wallet. Then you could cut your original down, like Jeff suggested to see how you like it.

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

I have always cut the old shield down to decide. What I had been taught and followed in the past was to sit in normal riding position.... hold your hand out to the shield at eye level and have a friend mark that height. That is your base height to cut.

I used a corn flakes box in two pieces... traced the original top curve then lowered it down to my mark and trace it over.

Use painters tape to protect below the line and cut with jig saw with fine blade. Block sand after cutting and if you are daring you can use a torch to heat the edge to make it shiny.

easy peasy.

[Great White]

It sounds like your windscreen might be too far gone for my trick, but you can give it a go if you want: Use "sealer and glaze" on the windscreen and polish with a soft cloth.

 

Sealer and glaze is not hte same as using a carnuba wax. It fills small scratches and makes for a smooth surface. These small scratches in the windscreen is what makes it so hard to see through. The scratches scatter the light and make it "bloom" in the windscreen. The glaze makes the rough "white-ish" edge in the scratch that scatters the light almost clear again, so it doesn't scatter the light as much.

 

It's not a perfect solution, but it works pretty good and is easy to reapply if the windscreen starts to "bloom" in the lights again.

[yamagrl]

This is what I did to Big Red.

 

 

I love it!

 

The air passes right above my helmet. (I'm 5-10). I get near zero buffeting and little wind noise increase. Which is saying a lot because quite often I cruise north of 80 (ha, ha, ha mph.. not years). I don't ride 2 up very often but I think the passenger would get more buffeting. Don't waste your time on the Snap-Vents. They don't do much. I have been experimenting/fabricating a laminar lip from the piece I cut off.... hence the fasteners on the top.

 

First off..I did it all while installed on the motorcycle. That way I could monitor things as I progressed. You know... look at it from the front, sit on the seat, stand on the pegs, gaze at it, yada, yada, yada.

 

I removed about 6 inches with a laminate trimmer. Do not attempt to cut acrylic or poly-carbonate (Lexan) with a jig saw. You will not like the result. Just use a router or Roto-Zip with a spiral cutting bit and a VERY HIGH speed. Free-cut/freehand. Just go slow and stay away from the line. Rotary cutting can get away from the best of us. I covered the surface with clear packing tape to protect the surface. Mark on it where you want to cut it.

 

Next, I used a belt sander with 120 grit and I worked parallel with the edge of the windshield until I got the arc of the edge pretty well perfected. Then I used 220 on a random orbit sander to further perfect the edge. Then hand sanded with 320 to further polish the edges. Then 0000 steel wool. The edge looks factory finished. No torch.

 

 

I then proceeded to flare about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the edge. I used a heat gun (not a blow dryer) on high...High... HIGH!!! If you are working with an OEM you will have to get it as hot as Hades and it's still hard to bend. Wear gloves. A torch might have come in handy here... seriously.

 

 

 

[icebrrg3rd]

yamagrl, I tried to use a heat gun and I must have gotten too close and it started "burning" the windshield, I now have a few places that are discolored/opaque. Do you have a distance/time/heat setting that can be used for reference? Did you move it along the whole length of the lip or do it in sections? BTW, my lip is nowhere as nice as yours, where do I send my windshield? Or should I just bring the whole bike over?

 

-Andrew

[syscrusher]

This is what I did to Big Red.

 

 

Pretty impressive. I wonder how well one of those jigsaw blades that have an abrasive instead of teethes would work. I have found Roto-zips to be tricky, there's almost always one spot where they want to diverge from your line even going slow and careful. At 20,000 rpm that roto blade can remove a big piece of plastic you had hoped to keep in an instant.

 

I want to be able to see over the windshield. The windshield is supposed to push the wind over you, if you're in the rain you can duck behind it a little but you don't want to have a junebug splatter across the top of your windshield and make it so you can't see anymore. I had good luck with cutting a semi-circle down from the top center of a too tall shield. I could see and the channel seemed to help airflow and prevent buffeting. I was thinking about re-mounting the chunk I cut out as well, allowing an adjustable gap and positioning.

 

So many projects!

[SilvrT]

Do not attempt to cut acrylic or poly-carbonate (Lexan) with a jig saw. You will not like the result. Just use a router or Roto-Zip with a spiral cutting bit and a VERY HIGH speed.

 

 

Gosh yamagrl, you must have had a bad experience with a jigsaw...?

 

I've cut down several shields using a jigsaw with no problems at all. I'd think using a router on high speed would cause melting, not to mention the difficulty you referred to about following a marked line.

 

Use painters tape to protect below (and above) the line and cut with jig saw with fine blade.

easy peasy.

 

[Prairiehammer]

I have always cut the old shield down to decide. What I had been taught and followed in the past was to sit in normal riding position.... hold your hand out to the shield at eye level and have a friend mark that height. That is your base height to cut.

I used a corn flakes box in two pieces... traced the original top curve then lowered it down to my mark and trace it over.

Use painters tape to protect below the line and cut with jig saw with fine blade. Block sand after cutting and if you are daring you can use a torch to heat the edge to make it shiny.

easy peasy.

 

With the exception, that I used an aggressive, but very sharp jigsaw blade made by Bosch that has "Japanese" saw type teeth with a fairly wide kerf. I used my Bosch jigsaw set at a fairly slow speed and masking tape to protect the windshield from possible scratching by the jigsaw foot. High speed blade action with a narrow kerf jigsaw runs the risk of melting and closing off the kerf with a resulting binding of the blade. If the blade of the jigsaw binds in the kerf, then blade breakage or windshield breakage can occur. Cutting plastic is very similar to cutting a hard wood. One wants to remove as much waste material as possible in as short of time as practically possible. This removes the hot "chip" (and the heat caused by friction) from the body of the object before the material can burn (or melt). When I say "aggressive" I do not mean an cheap, ordinary, coarse, cross cutting wood blade that will potentially chip, crack and vibrate the plastic. I used the Bosch T101D, 6 TPI, with ground teeth.

I used a Sharpie pen inserted into a crude carpenters scribe or compass to follow the original top profile. Cut to the line and smoothed the resulting edge with sandpaper.

[mralex714]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some insight and advice on windshield height. My experience is limited to my XJ750 with a Vetter windshield (every other bike I've owned has been fairingless). With my Vetter, the windshield is very clear and extends well over my field of view...riding at night is a pain, because light reflects off every scratch reducing visibility (during daylight it's crystal clear). On the Venture, the windshield is much more scratched up and kind of cloudy (have tried some plexiglas cleaners to no avail...have had good experience with 3M headlight restoration kit, so that's still an option) plus the top edge is only about 4"-5" above my field of view so if I really crain my neck, I can see over it. Needless to say, this is unacceptable, I should say that even during the best light conditions my current windshield is at best....not that good.

So, my question is: To cut or not to cut? Is it better to get a new windshield or cut down the current glass the 5 or so inches which will allow me to easily see over the glass?

By the way, my current glass is 21" tall and I'm a skoosh less than 5'9".

 

I have an 18 inch Cee Bailey windshield that I bought last year and used about a week and didn't like it, its been in the box ever since. I will part with it if you're interested, pm mail