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What works for you, doesn't work for me. I simply said being done south may be different than what it is up here. Not a complete leap of insanity.
Were not talking about a thermostat here , were talking about wind management. When Im riding in 35 degrees down here in winter its no different than you riding in 35 degrees up on that peninsula.
I went to short recurves for riding in evening when dewey. My used bike came with 6-8"? today I put on the 10-11. I think good compromise for me. When I slouch as riding I am behind the windhsield. But if I need to I can sit bolt up right and see over.
My FLHR, I gave it a good polish last year with mequires, and I thought that helped at night.
I understand many people like looking over. I like looking through. I clean my windshield every night, and bring pledge on trips. Which is a story, I could tell when on a indian resercation with drunk indians when polishing windshield.
And maybe you have more cold riding experience than me. Up here the salt and ice keep you off the roads. My riding this year has been at 40. I still need to work on boots. My work boots with composite toe are not ideal.
I have a RK with a full fairing, I wanted a shield that did not cause my head to bounce around. A friend of mine had a Klock Werks and swore by it. I thought I would try and find something else thinking there must be others out there that are good. I tried three different LRS and hated all three of them. Didn't like the shield that came with the fairing and tried a couple of others and then decided to try a Klock Werks.
Should have just listened to my buddy, would of saved myself a lot of money and time. Klock Werks is the only way to go. I will not go any other way.
I like the curved windshields from Klock Werks, the curve helps a lot. I prefer the windshield to be below my eye line, I do not like looking through the windshield. It is going to take some trial and error to find the one that works for you.
^^^^^What this man said^^^^^
You never want your windshield above your eye line. Ride cross country in all types of weather and you will figure out why.
Both my Ultra Limited's have 8" windshields. I tweaked for a while and that's what I ended up with. Wind doesn't bother me at all and I wear a FF helmet.
Inclement weather isn't an issue either. I've ridden in thunderstorms, rain, sleet and snow.
Youre height is also a pretty big factor in determining what windshield works best for you. Try a freedom shield and if you dont like it, they will send you another one until you find the one that works for you. They encourage you to try it out. Just dont remove the protective film from it until you find the one that you want to keep. Went from the stock streetglide windshield to a 7. Night and day difference.
You are right about height being a factor. BUT WHICH height is the more important factor: Sitting height or standing height? The sitting height is the one that matters. It measures how high the top of your head is when you are sitting in the saddle with your arms on the Grips...I.E., YOUR riding position.
The problem with Standing Height is that it's the ENTIRE height of the body. The Standing height has "almost" nothing to do with the ideal windshield eight for one particular person. I'm 6'2' tall. If I ride my 2015 Ultra with the stock shield, I get a lot of air hitting my face. The stock shield changed from earlier models ad I didn't realize that until I rode the bike out on the Interstate. The stocker was 11 " tall. I put on a 12" shield and all was well again.
You never want your windshield above your eye line. Ride cross country in all types of weather and you will figure out why.
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Its a prefrence and I realize most are the opposite of me, and like looking over. I have rode around the country and like big windshields. Only time it was really an issue was coming bike from artic circle at 2am, was light out but was dewey.
Riding at night with the dew, is why I decided to try a lower windshield. I keep it clean. Will also use MqQuires 10 17 once in a great while. Should do it more on 22 year old wind shield, or get a new one.
I suspect someone's height doesn't completely effect it, it is trunk height. Not sure how much that varies. Freedom shields says take painters tape and put it across yours and go for a ride. That seemed to work for me.
For me personally, it also comes down to if slouching a little or bolt upright. My last bike came with two shorts. I put the other on yesterday. I am kinda below in my normal riding, But can sit bolt up right and really get over it. That is probably my personal preference.
The shape of the windshield and the distance your head is from the windshield plus the height of it all comes into play here...
Not so much if you are in the south or north part of the country
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