I know this must have been covered before but I did not find what I was looking for in the archives.

The windshield on my '97 Convertible is hazed and has a lot of small scratches that makes it almost impossible to see through in the rain or at night.

Is there a lot of difference in wind protection between a fairing and windshield? It seems that the fairing would not give a lot of protection from the wind. I guess I am getting old and comfort is becoming more important than the wind in my face feeling.

 

If it's not scratched terribly, just use it and add some lowers. You should be looking over it anyway, not through it. Most people have no clue how to set up a windshield on a bike!

 

Sorry, not a lot of time on previous post. You want to see about 80 to 150 feet out in front of your bike(personal preference) when seated in normal riding position. Put a mark on your windshield at that distance, then draw the line you want to cut the shield down to. Take your time and cut it with a metal cutting hacksaw blade. Then dress up the edge with a mill file(fine file). It will appear factory cut.Next buy or build a set of lowers. This keeps the wind from running up your shins and fighting the air coming over your head. With a little fine tuning of the lowers and the shield angle, you will find the right combination that puts you in a "bubble" of calm air. Anyone who ever said that a windshield is not worth having or "does'nt work" has never been on a bike that is set up properly. It's like a whole other riding experience. You can hear things that you never could before at 60 MPH, no glasses buffeting around and the cigarettes in your pocket don't try to jump out!!!! PS you can put masking tape on the shield to draw the line with and it also protects the shield from being scratched if you make a mis-stroke with the hacksaw. I built a set of lowers out of stainless and plexiglass on the last bike and on this one just used stainless and polished them to a chrome like finish.

 

I am one of those who do not know how to set up a windshield. I have leaned it back as far as possible.

Are you saying that if the windshield is set up right that I should be able to see over it and still be protected from the wind? What is the lowest it can be and still be effective?

I am looking for a set of lowers also.

Thanks, Pete

 

Why don't you just replace the windshield?

Depends what kind of fairing you put on there. If its the small sport faring, no it will not help with any protection. Merely for looks. If you put a "batwing" on there, you be it would offer a lot of protection.

 

Replacing the windshield was my first thought but I was looking at options.
The replacement is only about $140. That is the route I will probably take.

 

I've ridden a goldwing-type bike where you had to look through the windshield and I've ridden bikes that the windshield was setup so it sat just below your eyes, which allowed you to look over it. Either way isn't wrong. It's preference.

Not sure if you can sand/polish the scratches out. Not sure if thats a lexan type plastic or not.

 

If you know your going to get a new shield, then you should get lowers on the bike first, then lean and cut down the old one to get it as short as possible and still have no buffetting problems, then you will know how short to cut the new one. You don't want to look through your windshield, you want to look over it! And you can play with the lowers also, by angling them some. You want to keep as much wind off of your legs as possible, so the longer they are the better, even shielding your feet would help. The air is driven up your legs to your chest/head area causing the buffeting.

 

Not wanting to get in a pissing match, but you don't want to look through a windshield unless it has windshield wipers on it. Unless you never ride in the rain or fog or frosted up conditions. If the shield is set up right, you look over it and the wind goes over the top of your helmet 3 or 4 inches. With lowers, you can have the shield quite a bit lower than your line of sight and still not get hit in the fface by wind or bugs.

 

I have a detachable Memphis Shades Sport Shield and I love it, detaches in seconds, I like the look of my bike without the windshield but when the bugs are bad , colder weather ,its nice to have a windshield. I can also buy a new shield and use the existing mounting hardware if it gets scratched.