Here is a question for all of you that will help me make some decisions.

The stock Harley windshield is made from a material that is

.117 - .121 inches thick

We have made our windshields to be

.135 - .141 inches thick the variations on the thickness happen as a sheet of plastic is extruded.

I am contemplating moving to a .156 material.

We have the option to make our windshields even thicker, but my question for you all is.

HOW THICK IS TOO THICK AND WHICH IS JUST RIGHT?

there are some shields out there that are as thick as .165 inches but they leave a gap in the faring that is unsightly.

Please weigh in and tell me what you think so that the next generation of LRS windshields is the best of both worlds.

would you rather have the option to purchase a windshield that is either a thick fat windshield or a normal sized windshield.

Or should I just move to making one thick size.

 

Not sure, but I did notice on my Memphis Shades windshield that is thicker than stock, that it is starting to get very small hairline cracks below the horizontal brace.

This is something that I think is from the thickness of the shield, when i clean it, I press down on it with a cloth wiping it, so I think the thickness of it prevents it from flexing as much as a thinner shield.

Just my two cents...

 

the hairline cracks are called chemical stress fractures, your windshield is more than likely an acrylic or polycarb that is not fmf coated. So if you have ever used windex,(amonium) or rainex, or anything with an alcohol, or a petroleum based cleaner then it has caused those lines. If it is a poly carb material, just being out in the sun will crack it like that.

another reason that the windshields might produce small cracks is if the shield is not formed to fit the brackets properly therefore it is under undue stress. We had this issue with some of our road king shields, however we fixed it with the latest version.

 

ply carb is alot more flexible than acrylic so you might be right about the windshield not flexing right.

do you know what that shield is made from.

 

I like the performance of thicker windshields.
You can go so thick that you create wider gaps between the inner and outer fairings just above the speakers.
That would be too thick.

 

if there are gaps between the fairings - Bad - got it. Im guessing that happens right around .177 I am going to test that.

Standby for the results.

 

It's made of Lucite. Never used anything but spray wax on it, it's only been on the bike since march, and I did not ride the bike from march until August as I was away.

The only reason i see the very small cracks is because my shield is blue and in the sun at certain angles if you look real close you can see them. Of course I'm OCD on cleanlness, so I see them.

 

Not just gaps between the fairings, but gaps between the windshield and fairing (either the inner or outer fairing) should be unacceptable.

 

Why not just leave your shield thickness where it is? It would be a bummer if you went thicker, creating a more rigid shield, which could end up creating fitment troubles. Remember you want a shield that has trouble free fitment to every customer you sell to. Your shields are already thicker than stock. Might want to leave it at that.

 

Lucite is a form of acrylic