so I have never been a big fan of windshields on cruisers but also not a fan of being blow off my seat by 80 mph head winds on the freeways. Thought I would purchase a new windsplitter windshield. I liked the 15 inch windsplitter. Man what a nice well made windshield. Here is the problem. I am about 1/2” over 5’ 10” and while it works great keeping the wind off your chest but dumps it right into my face. So if your 5’ 10” or taller you really may want to consider the only other HD option which is the 19 inch windsplitter windshield. Looks like I am gonna have to consider it as well. I hate it as I only have about 150 miles on this windsplitter but I just don’t know if I can continue tolerating getting blown in the face while riding. If your around 5’ 9” or less this would be perfect size. So if your considering the new HD windsplitter for your new FatBoy also consider your height. They are really good windshields and installation is a breeze with removal a ten second operation. Safe riding!

 

I actually ended up buying both. Started with the 15" (for FXFB), and l love almost everything about it, but yeah, the wind hits me right in the nose. It causes some buffeting, which made me question whether it was worth it. So I sprung for the 19". Originally I was concerned the 19" would be too tall, but on my bike, it only comes up to my chin. I don't have to look through it at all... And I'm not tall (5' 8"). So, for wind protection, I'd advise everyone to look at the 19", unless you just want a "sporty" windshield -- the 15" definitely takes all the wind blast off your chest and arms, and if you crouch down behind it you can have a blissfully peaceful ride. But it's louder because it puts all that wind right at ear level. If you're 6'2" it might sail under your ears, but for me I found it very loud (and lots of buffeting) at 5' 8". The 19" is 4" taller, so it moved the wind from my nose up to the top of my helmet. It's a lot quieter. I still get some buffeting, which is annoying, but I have verified it's caused by wind coming up from the tank area and will be getting some fangs to block that off. With the wind blocked off (I tried some experiments to verify) it's a very pleasant ride, even at 80+.

 

 

 

Sorry for the late response. Here's some pix.

Frankly, the two windshields look pretty much the same; they're pretty much identical in all ways except that the 19" is 4" taller (and the 15" is very lightly smoked). Here they are, detached, side by side:


Here they are mounted on the bike. I tried to keep the angle reasonably similar, but it looks like I screwed it up, sorry.


As for how they look in person -- like I said before, they're very very similar. If there's anything that stands out, to me, it's that the 15" looks just a little more like a bikini fairing (well, a big bikini fairing) and the 19" looks a little more like a touring windshield (but a small touring windshield). The one thing that I notice on the 15" is that it's just about the same height as my mirrors, whereas the 19" sticks up notably above them; it's that little change that makes a little bit of difference in the character or perception of the windshields. Then again, my mirrors are on Krator extenders, so they're a bit higher than most folks' mirrors, so maybe that wouldn't apply if you have stock-height mirrors.

Here's another view, from the side -- where I apparently managed to get two totally different angles, but hopefully you can make out the difference.



So between the 15 and the 19 -- the 15's a little darker, more compact, and seems to feel more like a large bikini fairing. The 19" is the same shield but 4" taller, and that height provides a little more wind/rain/bug protection, but the 19" looks more like a "windshield". Both do an outstanding job of keeping wind off the body and arms, and both contribute more head buffeting than I care for, although I do think the 15" has quite a bit more than the 19". Doesn't really matter, neither is truly satisfying to ride behind (unless you crouch down a little behind the windscreen, where the ride becomes utterly peaceful). But, I've narrowed the buffeting problem down to wind coming up from below the windshields, so I've ordered a set of custom lowers. Don't know when they'll arrive, but hopefully they'll fix the buffeting entirely.

I wouldn't worry about selling off the 15" just yet. It's entirely possible that the lowers will fix the buffeting problem. If it does, I might prefer the 15" over the 19". But then again, I guess it comes down to how you plan on using your bike -- if it's for around-town stuff, the 15" looks sportier. If you're going long distances, the 19" will have more rain/bug protection. Neither comes within a mile of encroaching on my eyeline, so (even at only 5' 8") I look over the top of both, easily. I even (briefly) fitted the 19" up "Madstad-style" (about 2" higher) and my eyeline was still a little bit over the top of the 19" windshield. Meaning, even though it's taller than the 15", it's still not what I would consider a tall windscreen. Harley's marketing calls them both "compact" windshields, and I'd agree with that.

 

Fatbob what a nice thing to do. Man that is a great review. Thanks for going to all that trouble. I have ordered the 19 inch and think I will do exactly what you mentioned. Run the 15 around town and the 19. On longer runs on freeway. Thanks so much.

 

Glad you found it helpful!

You have a Fat Boy, so you'll have an easier time getting fork-mounted wind deflectors; JES Customs already shows them as being orderable (but maybe not quite shipping yet) for the 2018 Heritage, Fat Boy, and Slim. The fork deflectors appear to be the key to getting a smooth ride. I test-rode by blocking the wind coming up from the gas tank just by sticking my legs out forward as if I had highway pegs, hugging the gas tank, and ALL the buffeting disappeared. It was glorious. So hopefully when the fork-mounted wind deflectors arrive I'll have that bliss with both windshields. Or, if someone wants to buy a barely-used Fat Bob windshield, hey, I could sell one of these and live just fine with the other.

If your 19" doesn't give you the results you expect, you may want to look at the fork wind deflectors. I'm highly optimistic that they'll solve the issue for me at least.

 

Very cool post. Thanks a lot!

I'm on the fence with these and my local dealer doesn't have both available for a "try before you buy", so I don't want to drop the coin.

I am 5'8" like you, so am following this with interest.

For my touring in previous years, I have just butched up and dealt with the wind blast for thousands of miles, but I'd like a windscreen for long highway days.

 

 

Fangs.