I would like to thank both Novistretch and "IB Cristina" @ internet brands for sponsoring a contest on this forum. They gave away a set of Novistretch Protective Covers.

I am also thrilled that I was selected as one of the winners of their contest! I never win anything, until now. I received them yesterday and installed them today.

Short answer- Based on my experience, I will pass on the Novistretch covers.


Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, a textile expert, nor a professional painter/detailer. But I am no stranger to maintaining a clean, polished vehicle.
I have, for 40 years, at any given time, owned at least one motorcycle and/or sports car. I maintain my own vehicles. I currently have 2 black HD motorcycles and just recently sold my '04 Corvette Z06, also black. I own both a DA polisher and a buffer. I am no stranger to the 6 to 10 hour: wash, clay bar, polish, seal and/or wax process. First time I detailed my wife's car, I had to polish it 3 times before waxing, but all her friends thought she had bought a new car.

I was given a pair of Novistretch Saddle Bag Covers and a Novistretch Fairing Mask. I installed them on my 2012 Ultra Limited, per the instructions and after watching the installation videos on the Novistretch website.

http://www.novistretch.com/collections/harley-davidson

The pros:
1) Very nice, soft material with a lot of stretch.
2) They are well made, the trim and stitching looks like it will last.
3) They were easy to put on and remove.


The cons:

Fairing Mask
1) When installed, it does not make contact with the portion of the fairing behind the passing lamps. It fits nice, but when stretched to fit, it can't follow the inward curve of the fairing. In places it was close to an inch off the fairing. To me this suggests that the cover will move when exposed to wind and at freeway speeds. It has been my experience that anything touching paint, that moves, will at least cause swirl marks in the finish and at worst eventually wear through the paint.

2) When I took the fairing mask off, the sticky edges that aid in installation, left a gummy/waxy film on my fairing that took a little effort to remove.

Saddle Bag Covers
1) Their demo shows the covers going on a 2014+ saddle bag lid. I have a 2012 with the old style lid. When stretched to fit, parts of the cover are covering the rubber seal along the inside lip of the lid. It made it a pain to close/latch my lid. Just too much of a hassle.

2) The cover also needs to ride up over the hinge. On my bike, it is exposed to view, leaving an unsightly elastic band over the hinge.


I wanted to like these, but I decided I wouldn't ride the bike with them on.
I do not want to test ride with the fairing mask, only to find out I now have to polish or fix the paint behind the mask.
I will admit, that if you have a light colored Harley, you will not see swirl marks as easily as they show up in black paint. You might want to give this a try.

The saddle bag cover interfered with latching my lid enough, that I didn't even put on the second cover. (If you watch their install video, the guy looks like he has to really muscle the lid latch to get it to work)

i will pass these onto one of several (maybe all) of my friends who have baggers. If they have a different opinion than mine, I will be sure to have them post their thoughts/experience...

Thanks again for the opportunity to try them, sorry I couldn't give a glowing recommendation.

 

Always good to see am honest review

 

Hey how about sendin me the fairing cover to try ???

I also entered the contest hoping for the fairing cover, mine is for my road king and needs paint so I figured a cover would look better than. I will happily pay shipping !!

 

had to say it - put a picture is worth a thousand words

 

I just got back from passing it on to a friend of mine.


I thought about a few pics right after I took it off.

I'm not sure how I would have taken a pic, to show the air space behind the cover...... so I didn't bother to reinstall it to take pics....


Sorry guys...

 

Well if your friend does not like them send the fairing cover my way, I will cover shipping !!

 

I had thought about these for my bike but I was worried about the covers letting dirt get through them as they are porous. After reading some reviews about guys having them on cars, I think I will pass also. Several reviews I seen mentioned just that. They stated they had to repaint the surface that was covered due to dirt and debris getting through the cover which acted like sandpaper just as I had expected. Good idea, just not for me unless I get damage that cannot be fixed with a little elbow grease.

 

Thanks for the honest review.

 

Hattitude,

Thank you so much for a really honest and impartial review (that's rare these days).

My name is Andrew and work with NoviStretch. Its appreciated that you shared your experience.

Wanted to quickly confirm a question or two -

We did indeed discover a small issue with the "non-skid" strips, where there was an adhesive used to hold the material in place during sewing and it in fact did on a couple of occasions transfer to the painted surface. It was able to be removed doing no damage to the paint or clear coat but was a pain to get off. That problem has been resolved.

You are correct the mask/bra does leave a small pocket on the lower, inner fairing where there is a converse curve. The velcro one-wrap straps can be tightened to minimize that. But your thought is completely understandable. The mask is design to fit super tight and and to not move at speed so there is no rubbing or chaffing of the paint or clear coat.

Also on the question about debris behind the mask, there was an issue with a version of an earlier automotive mask where after several days in severe conditions and extended travel at highway speeds some grit had worked its way behind the mask chaffing the clear coat. However, that material was a perforated mesh - the Harley material is a flat non-mesh fabric and heavy gauge material. And that issue on the automotive side has been resolved as well.

Also, both the auto and Harley products are made to go on and come off super quick and easy so they can be removed and cleaned and the surface inspected with no hassle. We wanted something for our bikes that was easy and not permanently installed/attached so we could take them on and off on the road when we needed or conditions required.

And you are also correct that the lid covers fit best when adjusted by hand to work behind and around hardware. They do fit tight but the stretch material should allow to accommodate different factory or aftermarket hardware and some variation in lid size. hopefully.

It's worth noting that we did take care of the auto customer who had the issue - its what company's should do (even though they don't always).

Totally know that there is no perforce product on the market but wanted to try and develop and American made cover, that basically unlike traditional leather or vinyl covers they are design to fit very tight so as not to chaff or allow grit behind, easy to put on and take off to that the painted surface can be easily maintained and the covers cleaned and easy to store so they don't take up valuable space when not needed.

Working for them I'm not objective of course, but experience has been really good and again so appreciative of your really honest, objective and quality review.

And myself or others can always be contact through the web site with any questions or needs. Inserted a couple photos that hopefully help too.



cover worked behind hardware





synched behind side lights and over air-deflectors

 

You are welcome... I was thrilled to have won the contest. I don't win much.. unless I change my screen name, I probably won't win much in the future....

Honest is the only way I know how to be. I reiterate that I found it to be a well-made product , just not for me....