| Author | Message | ||
     Sugarmcguinnmsncom |
I'll preface this thread by stating that this isn't a rant, or whining, but a true inquiry on the subject... Long ago I road Honda's, Harley's, and mainly "cruiser" type bikes... Lots of touring and whatnot... I bought a Memphis Shades windshield back in the day, road with it for a few days and removed it... It's still sitting on top of cabinet out in the garage... (anyone want it?) When I got the Uly it came with 3-windshields, the stock one, a high one, and that little "decorative" one that was painted black on the back side... I tried the 2 shields endlessly for that first year. The short one made my head bobble all around and the tall one hit me just so the top of it cut my vision of the road in half... I either had to hunch down, or stretch to look over it... I had decided that I probably needed one of those adjustable windshield outfits, like Madstad, or Palmer... I ended up buying a Madstad from a fellow Badwebber... But before it actually arrived, I had a tour with a few buddies coming up... So, rather than be uncomfortable or unsafe, I opted to throw that little "shield" on and call it good for the trip. Honestly, I couldn't have been happier. My Schuberth was WAY more quiet, and my back would last longer in the saddle (from the wind pressure) and my neck WASN'T sore. Back home I received the Madstad... promptly installed it and gave it a whirl... I hated it... (no, you can't have it just yet) I've adjusted this thing six way from Sunday.... I even went on a 3,000 mile tour, adjusting all the way... and I could just never get it right. What I mean by that is that the turbulence is pretty much always moving my helmet around, which is interesting because with NO windshield, my helmet doesn't move around at all... No, of course the answer seems obvious, but... I will admit, I like the rain an bug barrier, but could do without the sore neck and loud wind.... Am I missing something? Am I just not adjusting this thing correctly? Am I a NO WINDSHIELD guy? Any Thoughts? | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
you are missing the Memphis shades side deflectors.. I wouldn't have believed either till I got them.. they are very effective blocking out the wind coming from under the madstad sides. all of a sudden I don't need ear plugs.. it really fixed the buffeting and noise, I'm real happy with them. the little smoked things behind the signals..  | ||
| Sugarmcguinnmsncom |
Huh.... I never considered that... Do you get a lot of turbulence around your head? (how tall are you?) Are those side things universal? Attach to the fork tubes? | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
I'm 5'10" this on an XT.. no turbulence.. search the site for Memphis shades.. if you don't find it I can look up the part #'s.. don't have time now I'm deep in sorrow/stereo listening to Johnny Winter, RIP! | ||
| Uly_man |
"I opted to throw that little "shield" on and call it good for the trip. Honestly, I couldn't have been happier. My Schuberth was WAY more quiet, and my back would last longer in the saddle (from the wind pressure) and my neck WASN'T sore". Ah the old classic. This is because the wind now hits you in the chest and your head/ helmet is in "clean" air. But you need a good aerodynamic helmet for this to work good. I am 6' 7" and can ride at 100 mph all day because of this. I also tried big screens myself to little effect. It also affects the steering as it is not fixed to the frame and vibrates like mad due to the way it is mounted. The mounts were not designed to handle very large screens in std form. | ||
| Trevd |
+ 1 on the Memphis Shades deflectors... do a search - lots on info on here somewhere. | ||
| Motorfish |
Here is the part #s: MEM9890 (mounting brackets for a Honda VTX) MEP5810 (lowers in clear). Do a search, there is a lot of info here on them. | ||
| Britchri10 |
Lowers are the best single addition on my Uly. I paired them with Madstad brackets and an 0g screen. | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
those are the part #'s and the plastics come in colors (with different #) one source is DennisKirk.com | ||
| Panhead_dan |
I am a no windshield guy. I see so many people trying to ride behind a giant windshield and then complaining about buffeting, noise etc when they caused all that discomfort themselves by installing the barn door! Think you need a big windshield to ride behind? The truck has one, ride it. You do wear your protective gear, right? No windshield needed or wanted. Rest your body weight on the pillow of oncoming air and enjoy being one with your surroundings! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I like a nice windshield. I'll save my workout for the gym. My lower back can't take being without a windshield on an all day ride. And when I ride upwards to hundreds of miles in a day I'm not weary from a death grip on the hand grips. All the power to those that ride without a windshield but I got to have one. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I have the Buell tall windshield, Zero Gravity tall windshield, Cee Baileys tall windshield and after trying all of those I've went back to the stock low windshield. I enjoy the air and my helmet keeps me comfortable. Sometimes I put the Cee Baileys shield on in late fall when riding is cold out bit I actually hate that shield for everyday riding. I get a headache from the air hitting the top of my helmet! | ||
| Etennuly |
I have a "barn door" BAW(Big Ass Windshield) that I use for winter time riding. I get a laugh at my riding buddies when we are out on a 40F morning where we ride into some of those cold spots that you know are below freezing. They shiver for a long time when we stop. A lot of folks don't like it.....but hey.....it's my bike, I'll do as I please. It gives no buffeting at all, I get just enough of a flow of air under the windshield that keeps my face shield and the windshield from fogging up. It sure keeps the cold wind and rain from ruining my day. For the benefit of you newer BadWeB members it looks like this.  It is actually quite clear, it was covered with frozen rain/sleet when this picture was taken. (Message edited by etennuly on July 20, 2014) | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Etennuly, You sir are a steely eyed missile man. Not because of the windshield but because of what I see as "groundcover" in that picture. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
ET, I for one like that big windshield of yours. When I first got the ULY I couldn't stand riding it over 50mph because of the buffeting. I ended up modifying a CeeBailey tall windshield with a jig saw and heat gun and added slip streamer supporting rods and that is what made the ULY a pleasure to ride all these years to this day. That was a long sentence. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/220984.html | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
http://www.slipstreamer.com/motorcycle/#touring | ||
| Sugarmcguinnmsncom |
WHOA! ET, I'm guessing with that shield and winter-time gas you're looking at, what... 10-12 MPG?!?!?  | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
shouldn't you have snow tires? I like the w/s too. | ||
| Turbo6bar |
Ain't no windshield. It be a snowplow!  | ||
| Etennuly |
It was originally intended to ride into Florida during love bug season. I did that one year for a rally in the panhandle, I had to go to a carwash to debug my riding gear and bike before I went to the motel. It was the most grotesque piece of riding I think I ever have done. Problem is that it blocks the body cooling wind. It was too hot to ride with it on in the summer. But then it became the greatest thing in the winter. It does not really affect the fuel mileage. when you look at it from the front with my fat carcass on the seat, it follows the contours of my arms and shoulders ending at about the middle of my face shield. It actually is a smoother form than I am so it works pretty well in that respect. It does not buffet from traffic any more than without it for the same reason. Big, Yeah that was a special day in the snow. I use my Uly for my business in moving box van type trucks around. I ended up fifty miles from my shop when the snow came on. It started as sleet and hail, turning into big white fat flakes. It had been cold for a few days so the road froze over quickly. It was the kind of snow that as you step on it it squeezes into ice. It takes Tennessee DOT about a full day to get any salt on the roads, so it was clean snow fun for hours after dark even! Pilot Road IIs are a good tire. Better than most even, but this was a nerve racking ride. The cool part was as I was stupidly riding a stupid motorcycle on ice, there were cars and trucks spinning into the medians and ditches everywhere. I thought I was doing pretty well keeping it upright at 15 to 20 mph for most of the trip, when a guy on an older Sportster passed me!  I remember thinking what a dumb ••••••.....then I thought I am only five miles per hour smarter than he is! Snow tires? Nah.....how about just leave the bike at home for snow events! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Used to ride a Hodaka back in the 70's throughout the winter and also a Honda CB350. I remember the spokes on the Hodaka being so full of snow that the bike would bounce down the road until the snow would explode out and then the wheels would be in balance once again. Half the time the rear wheel would be California drifting up next to the engine but the bike was so light that is was no big deal. Iowa City, Iowa winters were cold and snowy. | ||
| Xbimmer |
It was originally intended to ride into Florida during love bug season. Had no idea what those were so I looked them up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug I like this part: This species' reputation as a public nuisance is due not to any bite or sting (it is incapable of either), but to its slightly acidic body chemistry. Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die in large numbers on automobile windshields, hoods, and radiator grills when the vehicles travel at high speeds. If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become extremely difficult to remove...the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female's egg masses, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly removed. Yugggch. Reminds me of riding through Yosemite one spring, clouds of ladybugs along the river. Quite beautiful actually in the sunbeams through the trees, until the stink from them smashing into my face shield started reaching my nose. BOT, one of the solutions for my Uly was to mount my Laminar Lip directly to my flyscreen. For warmer weather riding it was buffet-free for me, just a PITB to r/r with the DualLocks, so I'm back to stock now. | ||
| Reepicheep |
There is a great quote to be kept for prosperity!  | ||
| Etennuly |
When I lived in Florida I worked in dealership bodyshops most of that time. We often had to refinish the forward edges of any painted surfaces on a LOT of customer cars. Some even got done under warranty. I always kept a five gallon bucket of soapy water at the door of my garage. I pulled in the drive and washed the front of my Z28 and later my Vette every night. The DOT even put in free carwash type pressure hoses at Interstate rest stops to clean your windshield and radiator. It was more than necessary at times. When you hit a cloud of love bugs for the first time at about 80 miles per hour on the bike,(some of these clouds can be over a mile long of thicky massed sexually adjoined bugs) the first problem is you can not see, the second is the gooey mass that just covered the front of you is just gross to the max and some of it is still moving, then the acidic smell hits you. The best I can describe it is that smell you get on the first burp after barfing from drinking too much whiskey. If you get where you are intending to stop the biggest mistake you could make is letting the goo dry. It would chemically bind to anything and if left a couple of days it's acidity would etch into a windshield and even the best of factory paints and clearcoats. Bare or polished aluminum didn't stand a chance. Are we off topic yet?  Well this is why I originally built the BAW. |
