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Posted by greenbarn
- July 01, 2012, 19:12:39 PMLooks like a good project.
Troll, what has it done for helmet turbulence since you put it on?? Or maybe you didn't have any of that trouble with the lowers (you said they've been on since '10)??
I've got what I believe to be a stock Kaw shield on my 800 and the helmet turbulence is something I've been fighting with. Yesterday I put the shield all the way down as far as it would go (it was up about 2" from bottom) and leaned it back as far as it would go (it was approx middle of tilt). Haven't had a chance to ride it yet to see how it does. It was too high anyway - had to look through too much windshield in town when I was looking at the road closer in front of me.
CHief: you mentioned your windshield has a smaller headlight cutout which helps for helmet wind. What shield are you using?? I had thought maybe that was some of my problem before - Where I had mine previously there was about 3" cutout around the headlight. Now it's a little closer...
Posted by Troll
- June 30, 2012, 07:50:59 AMOk, the results are in....the first 65 miles were interstate at 70-75 mph, then the next 115 were in town and rural hiway, including 5 miles of stop and go...mostly 60 mph..........48 MPG! I firmly believe that I should be able to get anywhere in this state on one tank of fuel, or less and now it looks like it might be happening! The place I stopped for fuel was the same place I stopped the first time I took the Drifter on this trip. That time I was concerned I would have to push, this time the low fuel light wasn't on yet!
Posted by marshalldoll
- June 27, 2012, 12:32:49 PMI used Nite Shades sold at Autozone to tint my winsheild. Worked fantastic.
Dan
Posted by Troll
- June 27, 2012, 08:06:21 AMI did that with the windshield I had on the bike...took some getting used to. I don't know, at this point whether or not I'm going to tint this one too. I used testors model car spray paint, and it worked quite well, but it seemed a little fragile. Since it's painted on the inside, it lasted for a year with only one little touch up.
Posted by 49Reo
- June 26, 2012, 19:03:52 PMAre you planning to tint the bottom red on it? If so, I found a transparent red paint that is for motorcycle windshields, as well as taillights. I tried it on a piece of Lexan I scrounged from a glass shop; it works great. You could likely pick it up at NAPA or LORDCO, or some such auto parts outlet.
Regards and such,
49Reo
Posted by chief
- June 26, 2012, 18:09:28 PMYeah, the shield I put on mine has a smaller cutout around the headlight (and is wide). The cutout helped with the drifter helmet bobble problem.
Posted by Troll
- June 26, 2012, 17:54:37 PMLet me start out by saying that this is one big a$$ windshield. Apparently it's the stock F&S size, but it's bigger than anything I ever had before. 21" tall by 26" wide....I thought it might screw with the fuel mileage, but I put about 250 miles on since installing it, and I've been getting about 47 mpg. Aerodynamics is a strange thing, so it looks like it actually cleaned up the front of the bike, and made the air flow smoother. I'm going to Road America on Friday, so that will be a test of mileage over a known route at known speeds...This whole thing started out as a way to put on lowers cheaply. I bought the lowers and mounting brackets from a '99 Nomad wreck on eBay for like $40...Everything came in the package, including the bent windshield framework. I installed the lowers back in '10, and been happy with that but not the national cycle Honda windshield I got used. It was ok, but not what I really wanted. I have a friend who is an absolute genius when it comes to body work, and he straightened the bent frame without messing up the chrome...The only modification I had to make to the bike was to drill,tap, and then helicoil the upper tree for the top mount. The Nomad has bosses cast in to accept the mounts, the Drifter (and the Classic) do not. No big deal..I juggled some spacers around, bought new Stainless hardware for the windshield, and installed it on Saturday. Played with adjustments on Sat. evening, and then took off Sunday morning on the shakedown run. Pics show the mounts and the adjustable door.....