Hello everyone,
I thought I would post some useful information about Clearview Shields. I recently got in the 18" Clearview in light smoke. It does have the recurve at the top. First the stats;
1. I am riding a 2014 Limited that is stock except for the shield.
2. The bike has 1200 miles, 1,000 of them with the stock shield and 200 with the new shield.
3. I am 5'10" and when seated on the bike the shield is level with my nose.
4. The bike was tested in crosswinds and still air, at speeds ranging from 0-90. Average highway speed was about 70-75. All comments are derived from highway testing unless otherwise noted. Most of the 200 miles are highway, going in assorted directions to determine how the unit performed with varying wind angles.

Now the facts;
1. The quality of the shield is very good. The materials seem top rate and there is zero distortion of the road. I would rate it slightly higher then the stock unit in terms of material and finish. I do seem to perceive a slight miscalculation of the radius cuts along the edge but it is so slight as to make me think it is me or an optical illusion. There was no issue installing the unit.
2. The shield does seem to cut out down the turbulent air directly behind the unit but does not eliminate it. Curiously it seems as if it does not actually raise the turbulence further above your head but somehow seems to lessen it. I will tell you that what it will do is shut down that very rapid head shake you get when going about 70-80. The shake that rattles your glasses, helmet and gives you a headache. You will still get the vortex behind the fairing but for some reason the turbulence that causes the most discomfort is greatly reduced.
3. If your looking for a still pocket of air, forget it. Frankly, I think this is bunk anyway. No matter what your reading out there I can tell you more of the air flow dynamic has to do with the fairing and the bike itself vs. the shield. I have to believe that all of the shields out there are going to have some imperfect quality. With that said, If you are using this shield in high quartering winds you are going to get some turbulence and maybe some head shake. Strong side winds are not as bad. The first day we had 15MPH winds and I did notice that the shield was not doing a great job keeping my head from bouncing around. Today was better, low winds so things improved greatly.
4. Your passenger is not going to notice any difference. Yup, she sits really high and frankly unless that shield is 4 feet tall your passenger is not going to notice anything. At least 100 miles of testing was done with an average sized female on the back and she reported no difference between the stock and Clearview.
5. Does opening and closing vents do anything to add comfort. Not really. If you have the side vents open most of the way, something you would do in hot weather, opening and closing the center vent below the shield seems to have nearly zero effect, even at highway speeds. If you close all the vents then you will get a good amount of buffeting. In short, the vent positions do not seem to do anything in this case. Note that I have the lowers with the moving vents in them. They always stay open. I did not test with them closed. It's just too hot here.
6. Would I spend the $120.00 again. Yes, but I will tell you that if your looking for a miracle to transform the ride by wiping out all dirty air behind the fairing your not getting with this shield. I really don't think your going to get it with any of them out there. It's not the shield, it is the fairing. You just can not expect a shield to create a still pocket, other parts of the bike would need to be designed in unison to work together, that is not happening. You will notice that your head is not getting that rapid shaking though. Not perfect but good.
7. Can I hear my music any better? Nope. Whoever is suggesting that it's quieter behind a larger shield I think might be be incorrect. If anything, it's somewhat louder because you have more surface area to reflect sounds back to the rider. My position is that it's not quieter and may be louder.
8. What about looking through it? As mentioned above, it is optically perfect. I have zero distortion, even with all the curves. The smoke color does not seem to be an issue at all. I had a road king for six years with the same tint. Night or day, it was never a problem.
9. The company, Clearview, does take some time to deliver. Mine took several weeks. They are good folks. They return calls and emails and in my case were going to ship out a second shield because we believed mine was lost in the mail. This is the second time I have done business with them and have nothing bad to say at all.

There you have it. I think I covered it all. If you want me to answer something for you, just ask.

Ed

 

I've bought two shields from them and both were of excellent quality. I also had the same size Windvest with the same recurve and I don't know why but the Windvest was horrible. All the shields were used on two different Street Glides. Like you said Clearview is a great company that has a great product

 

Thanks for taking the time to write up a great review. To this day I don't think there is a better windshield (as far as turbulence and head shake) than the mammoth stock Road King piece. But that's just me. I just recently cut my stock 2013 shield down to a final height of 15 5/8 inches. I am much happier with the overall appearance of the cut shield, and the turbulence is very similar to what you describe with the Clearview. I think the factory height offered cleaner air at the expense of disproportionate styling. My next step will have to be the Clearview. I probably should have kept the stock shield.........well, stock and just bought a 16 Clearview. But what fun would that be. Again, great writeup!

 

so i fi m a tall guy and the stock 04 road king fairing gives me violent turbulance, borderline verdigo.. what size do i go with, taller or shorter?

 

It depends on what is causing the buffeting for you. There are a few different causes...

1. The shield is just the right height that the wind hits you right in the middle of the helmet. The trick to fix this is to get the wind to hit you either above or below your helmet. You can usually go either direction. I prefer to go lower myself.

2. Wind from under the tank. You can either do lowers or fork deflectors. I use both on long trips...

3. Low pressure area behind the shield. To fix this you have to move closer or further from the shield or go higher or lower with it.

Standby and some idiot will come along and tell you to "get a car if you can't handle the wind"...Those guys don't understand the difference between wind blast and buffeting. Buffeting is terrible...

 

I have one on order IF . . . . it ever gets here!

 

Once you ride a bike with a vent in the right height shield you will be amazed at the calm air pocket. The vent absolutely eliminated the neg air pocket that causes the turbulence.

 

So glad you said that about the vent!! purchased and installed a goldwing style vent to put in my clearview and cant wait to try it out. Clearview actually sells a windshield for the batwing with a vent already installed at a decent price. They actually just had a sale on.

 

Hi all,
I just got back from Daytona and have some more information.
If you do not know, I am the original poster, read my review then read this, if you have not already.

I rode up from Fort Lauderdale with a full face Scorpion, the new version. I did have some helmet shake and was not all that impressed at about 77 MPH. This is with quartering winds from about the 10 o'clock position. Don't exactly know the wind speed. The helmet made a snapping noise that may have been the shield on the helmet. Either way, not impressed. I decided while I was there to get the new Pit boss half helmet by Bell. This helmet is the bomb! Has an adjustment wheel like a hard hat! It also has a pull down sun visor in the helmet. It costs $120. Such a deal. Meanwhile I rode this helmet from Daytona out to Mount Dora on Saturday, calm winds, same basic speeds at times and no buffeting. Go figure. In fact, the helmet was so good I think I may get another sent to me. Read my original post, try this helmet, let me know what you think.
Ed

 

Just ordered a clear view for my 14 Limited. Went with the medium size (17") with recurve and smoke tint. I am happy with the original shield height, this should be close to the same. I am 6 foot with 31' inseam. Hope I chose the right size. Had a clear view on my last bike and was happy. They say the new one is even better.