Is that the HD frame bag? The P&A catalog says it only fits up through 2017 models so I'm a bit reluctant to order it.

 

:-) Now that sounds like a VERY good idea!

On the HD rolling Tourpak that you got..... I have friends with them that I toured with last year and they were great. Just park up the bike, take the bag off and roll it along to the hotel. Much better than me struggling along with my helmet and two detachable saddlebags. I do a lot of international travel, so my rolling Rimowa cabin trolley is my best friend. I want that same convenience on the bike.

That HD bag will give me enough space to pack for at least a week before I have to do laundry, which is perfectly good enough for me.

I am also ordering the taller sissy bar for the same reason as you. The shorter one looks like it won't support the bag very well and I want the bag as quick release as possible. I know I will need to strap it down, but I do want the neoprene strap/sleeve over the sissy bar to do as much work as possible.

 

Deleted double post. Sorry!

 

On windshields...

I got the Harley 15" compact windscreen and installed it. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. First -- I love almost everything about it. It looks fantastic on the bike, the height is just perfect for matching the mirrors, the color is slightly smoked, and most importantly it doesn't look like a hackjob add-on, like the National Cycle DX looked on my last bike. The wind protection is great -- it totally shields your full body, including your shoulders. It fits the vibe of the bike. It's great. Except...

I don't like the amount of helmet buffeting I'm encountering. The small shield has a recurve at the top that flips up the air to act like a bigger shield, and it does; it just seems to send that turbulent air to right about mid-helmet height on me. It's fine up to about 50, maybe even 55 mph, but after that I find it a little bothersome. I intend to spend a lot of time at 75, and while the wind protection is absolutely stellar, I find the level of buffeting to be more than I want to deal with. Now, if you're taller or shorter than I am (about 5'8") the wind will hit you in a different spot, so you might love the 15" shield. I have ordered the 19" to give that a try, and will make the 15" available for sale here if the 19" works out.

I am optimistic, because if I scrunch down on the seat just a few inches, the buffeting totally disappears. Makes me hope the 19" is the right size for my height. We'll see. I expect it won't look anywhere near as cool as the 15" compact shield, but then again, it's instantly removable and anyway, how cool is the bike with a giant rolling tourpak on the back? Heh.

Truthfully, the 15" shield is fine for most any use. I just want perfection. I'm hoping the 19" gives that; I'll report back for anyone else who's on the fence between these two products.

 

That's great info - many thanks.

I have held off buying exactly that windshield as I wanted my dealer to have demo units in for me try first - which they haven't yet. I also intend lots of time at 75+ mph.

I do want something to lift the wind blast for touring. On my 2014 Fat Bob I had a Phil Birch quarter fairing which worked well. I wear a full face helmet for touring though, and the fairing lifted the wind off my chest without making it turbulent enough to cause buffeting. I think a windshield would be better though (giving a nice quiet bubble to sit behind) - but I was a little bit cautious about the 15" one due to the fairly low profile.

By the way - Phil is about ready with his quarter fairing for the 2018 Fat Bob. I should have the first pre production unit next week and will post about it

I rode a few Street Glides and absolutely hated the buffeting I got from the stock wind shields. I know you can more or less fix it with fairing "fangs" and different height screens, but for me a "proper" touring bike should just do a better job in the first place.

I am the same height as you, so will be really interested in your take on the 19" unit vs the 15" one. I agree that the look of the 15" is much better, but if the 19" does the job for long motorway hauls, then I am fine with that as it can come off very quickly when I get where I need to be.

One question though. Have you tried riding it at buffeting speeds and then putting one arm kind of horizontally in front of your chest to see if the buffeting is coming up from underneath rather than over the top? I have read on some of the touring forums that if this is the case, it can sometimes be fixed with small deflectors on the front of the bike somewhere - i.e the space between the triple trees for example.

 

I’m using the HD cruise control. It’s in the accessory catalog. It’s a replacement for left side switch gear. Works great.

 

Yeah, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to windshields, and the thing is, they're VERY personalized. Meaning, it all depends on your height, your arm length, how close you sit on the bike vs. how far away, etc. The turbulent air gets compressed from off the shield and rolls off the top and it's gotta hit somewhere; ideally it would go over the top of your helmet, and in second place it would hit below your helmet (resulting in some beating on your shoulders, but your head rides in clean air). If you sit closer to the shield it changes everything; the closer you sit to it, the shorter it can be and it still works. So if you have shorter arms, the 15" might be absolutely perfect. If you have longer arms, it may not be so great. Then there's the notion of where your height is; even if we're the same height, if I have a (for example) 28" inseam and you have a 34" inseam, then my torso would be 6" longer than yours, and my head would probably sit 6" higher than yours -- even if we were the same height.

So there's no easy answers, it's all basically down to you trying it and seeing how you like it. I believe fdh161 has the 15" and loves it. And M8_Softails shows pictures that look like the 15", and he says it works very well. So maybe the 15" would be fine for you; just no way to know for certain without trying it.

I have to repeat -- the 15" shield is pretty fantastic. If it wasn't for the fact that the turbulent wind hits me square at nose level, I'd say it's the best compact shield I've ever had or seen. So don't rule it out just because it didn't fit me perfectly; you might love it.

It's expensive to buy these things, I mean ... $420 for a windshield is pretty nuts, and now I'm buying a second one... I hope the 19" works and the 15" will sell for a reasonable price, that'll take some of the sting out of it.

Yes, as I say I'm OCD about it so I've tried everything. The harsh wind is coming off the top of the shield and hitting be about nose level. There's a little that comes up from the front of the bike, and a surprising amount is coming up from below, like from behind my legs and coming up that way. It's filling in the vacuum left by the shield. It seems to me that there's not any rough air coming in a way that fangs would help. The Harley shield is actually really good that way because it's deflecting the wind completely around the rider; my old National Cycle DX took the wind off my chest but pushed it onto my arms. The Harley shield cuts a wide swath all the way around the rider, which is great. If I duck under the turbulent air, the ride is bliss; that's why I have high hopes for the 19", it may be just enough.

Now, I said I tried everything... In fact, right now I'm running it in a higher configuration than normal; I found that if I cheated in the mounting, I could raise the shield up by about 2". Instead of mounting both rings behind the headlight nacelle, I moved the top ring to the top of the forks, and slid the bottom ring up to match. The result is the shield rides about 2" higher, and it provides a "vent" under the shield and over the headlight, so the headlight nacelle directs some air up the back of the shield, kind of like a Madstad. I had high hopes for that, but it didn't alleviate enough of the head bobbing. It was better, definitely, and if anyone has a 15" windshield and is on the fence about it, I'd say that you might want to consider this alternative mounting (although obviously you do so at your own risk). But raising it up 2" gave me a bit of a preview of what I hope the 19" will be like (and, if necessary, the 19" could be raised those 2" as well.) So between the taller screen, and the ability to "Madstad" it, maybe there's a spot of perfection in there. I'm hoping, because man this bike would be fun to ride with the wind blast rectified and no head bobbing; it's probably the #1 comfort mod if I can get it "just right".

 

Aha! That looks excellent. Definitely going on my wishlist once I get the rest sorted out. Thanks!

 

Yes it is HD. I did not have any issues installing it on my Fat Bob or Deluxe.

 

Excellent thread. Thanks!