Need new underwear and a windshield

[Ignacio]

Anybody else ever lost a windshield??

Many times. And many times the windshield has popped off instead of contributing to damage to the rider or destruction of the windshield because of the deliberate design and specific tightening specifications.

Haven't heard of any at speed though.

I'm remembering back to the first time I got that Yamaha specifically designed the windshields to come off under certain conditions and fully endorse unloctited stock fasteners torqued correctly and all in place after one particularly infamous get-off in 2006. No damage to the rider, the windshield, or the bracketry.

In your case I'd first wonder about what pieces you've added to the stock configuration (Rifle stuff) and think hard on whether the way you've installed is somehow compromising the intended design in any way. Second, I ride with a barn door type windshield too and have gotten some extreme buffets and cringed. Although I haven't had a windshield pop I've grabbed it before and held it until I was clear of the zone of death I didn't want to be in with the semi anyway.

Sure people can change to metal fasteners, but do it only if you want to second guess what Yamaha engineers designed on purpose.

 

[Brodie]

One other thing...

When overtaking a large vehicle like a big rig truck or motor home in stiff winds, their bow shock that you pass through can be rather abrupt. I've gotten into the habit of reaching up and holding on to the top edge of the windshield. This keeps it from violently whipping fore & aft in the turbulence. That barn door that I ride behind is so big that I could see it doing damage to the lift mechanism (or shearing off the mount screws) if left to flutter like that.

Now that you need to get a new one, are you going to try a different shape/brand, or are you staying with Rifle?

Brodie

 

[semongtaulie]

I really appreciate everyone's concern and tips on what to check. I've tried multiple windshields in my search for the holy grail of less buffeting, looks, etc. All the plastic screws were installed and at the time of install, tightened. I'm with the poster above that I don't think you can overtighten due to stripping out the head. The tuning block is the only modification to the windshield but I may remove those after what happened.

With the plastic screws covered, they were not part of my pre-ride check. I'll start checking the two trim bolts though.

Again, I appreciate everyone's input and concern.

 

[BigOgre]

Anybody else ever lost a windshield??

Yup. Although it was parked at the Commodores at the time.

 

[bergmen]

This is the main reason I went with metal screws (STUPID error will not allow me to post pictures in the same manner I do on EVERY OTHER FORUM).

I have no worries about me hitting the windshield, I do have worries about it coming loose like in the OP. Also, don't want a failure if I hit a bird.

Just my opinion, just my decision but that is how I'm mounting my windshield.

Dan

 

[Fred W]

When I purchased my lightly used (at that time) '05, the previous owner had replaced a bunch of the faring screws with some bling blue alloy hardware, including the 7 windshield screws. Folks on this very forum convinced me of the safety benefits of the breakaway screws in the event of a crash. Realizing that the shield is supported by so many fasteners, I figured that there was a reason for that, and that all seven of those screws would need to be in good shape to support a jumbo shield in the cold months

I bought a package of 100 nylon screws online for about the cost of seven from yamaha, so now I can periodically swap out the screws when switching back and forth between winter and summer height windows. The screws are white, not gray like the originals, but that doesn't particularly bother me and at least they are no longer blue...

 

[gixxerjasen]

Where'd you pick up that bag of screws Fred?

 

[Fred W]

I did not mention as I'm not positive, but I think it was at McMaster Carr. I'm sitting in a tire shop waiting for some new skins to be put on mi lady's chariot right now

 

[lonerider]

When I bought my CalSci barn door shield some years back, it came with stainless steel screws. My assumption was either CalSci thought the wind load of that big shield was too much for nylon screws, or they just made a mistake. I guess it's a tossup what's more likely-screws failing and having the shield impact me at speed, or the bike stopping faster than me and getting thrown into the shield.

 

[gixxerjasen]

or the bike stopping faster than me and getting thrown into the shield.

Based on your sig...shouldn't you have some experience on the topic?

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

Gotta agree with all who've posted that using anything other than nylon screws is a monumentally BAD idea :nono: . Being hurled into a piece of sheered polycarbonate plastic can cause a LOT of unnecessary bodily damage. When installed and torqued correctly, the chance of failure is tiny. You CAN over tighten a nylon screw before you strip it. The result is usually what happened to the OP. My suggestion is: shop around for a better price on OEM screws...or ask your local stealer for a break (pun partially intended

) then make sure you properly torque. Don't recall the spec but it's inch pounds, not foot pounds.

 

[Brodie]

Oops, duplicate post.

 

[Brodie]

When I became a hood ordiment to that '2000 Silverado four years ago my CalSci barn door had the SS pan head screws in place. The wrecked bike - what was left of it still had several dagger shaped pieces of windshield firmly attached to the severely mangled framework.

I'm glad I am running my Rifle with the 7 nylon screws these days.

Either way, when the moment of impact happens you're in much better shape if you have your heavenly Co-Pilot along for the ride. Better to be born twice and die once than to be born once and die twice.

Looking back at that collision, I shouldn't be here.

Brodie

;-)

 

[lonerider]

or the bike stopping faster than me and getting thrown into the shield.

Based on your sig...shouldn't you have some experience on the topic?

LOL. I guess the two forest rats that impacted the fronts of my bikes weren't massive enough to stop the bikes suddenly. Both times the bikes went down, but I stayed in the saddle till the bikes stopped sliding.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I've never hit one myself...and not really all that excited to do so. All I know about those accidents is that usually the bike, the deer, and the underwear are all totaled.

 

[lonerider]

I've never hit one myself...and not really all that excited to do so. All I know about those accidents is that usually the bike, the deer, and the underwear are all totaled.

I sincerely hope you never do; it's a lousy way to end a ride. Two of the bikes were repairable, the Wing was totaled. Two of the three forest rats died. Won't comment on the underwear, might be TMI for some...

 

[HotRodZilla]

Ok...Brodie's was a good example, but the windshield did not contribute to his injuries. In over 17 years at this job, and riding since I was 8, I have NEVER, not once, seen someone injured by a broken shield. My VTX shield was secured with large allen screws and metal framework. Since I rode more 'in' that bike than 'on' it like the FJR, I would have been way more likely to hit that Memphis Shades shield than any I've seen on an FJR.

Physics says that a sudden-stop front end collision, like Brodie's, is either gonna push me into the tank and up, or up as the front of the bike is pushed downward. Both scenarios move the person away from the shield. This idea that we are going to fly 'through' the shield is far fetched at best. Sort of like car tires causing flaming aluminum and plastic deaths.

So someone, anyone, please post up a link to ANY MC crash where a rider or passenger, was cut, disemboweled, butchered, dismembered, gashed, beheaded, or otherwise injured by a jagged windshield. Police report, newspaper article, magazine article, forum thread, whatever. The forum thread or a personal story has to be a firsthand account. The person who wrote it had to be there and see it firsthand. This is to avoid the story about a cousin's friend's sister's fiancé's mother's coworker's son who was mangled by a windshield.

I totally get the reasoning behind the screws shearing and saving the mechanism, W-piece or shield itself, but I wanna see proof of all the claims of supposed added injury due to a shield that was mounted without plastic screws.

Not trying to be a dick. I'm seriously wondering if anyone has ever really seen this happen or if it's all conjecture. Anything with an almost, could have, should have, will not count, so if someone was totally lucky, it skews the result.

 

[bergmen]

Ok...Brodie's was a good example, but the windshield did not contribute to his injuries. In over 17 years at this job, and riding since I was 8, I have NEVER, not once, seen someone injured by a broken shield. My VTX shield was secured with large allen screws and metal framework. Since I rode more 'in' that bike than 'on' it like the FJR, I would have been way more likely to hit that Memphis Shades shield than any I've seen on an FJR.
Physics says that a sudden-stop front end collision, like Brodie's, is either gonna push me into the tank and up, or up as the front of the bike is pushed downward. Both scenarios move the person away from the shield. This idea that we are going to fly 'through' the shield is far fetched at best. Sort of like car tires causing flaming aluminum and plastic deaths.

So someone, anyone, please post up a link to ANY MC crash where a rider or passenger, was cut, disemboweled, butchered, dismembered, gashed, beheaded, or otherwise injured by a jagged windshield. Police report, newspaper article, magazine article, forum thread, whatever. The forum thread or a personal story has to be a firsthand account. The person who wrote it had to be there and see it firsthand. This is to avoid the story about a cousin's friend's sister's fiancé's mother's coworker's son who was mangled by a windshield.

I totally get the reasoning behind the screws shearing and saving the mechanism, W-piece or shield itself, but I wanna see proof of all the claims of supposed added injury due to a shield that was mounted without plastic screws.

Not trying to be a dick. I'm seriously wondering if anyone has ever really seen this happen or if it's all conjecture. Anything with an almost, could have, should have, will not count, so if someone was totally lucky, it skews the result.

This is exactly my point as well. I still have my 2003 Concours, having ridden it for 11 years. This bike was built for twenty years. Windshield is held in place by ten steel screws. I have been a member of the Concours owners Group for ten years and in not one reported incident has anyone mentioned a safety issue with the windshield mounting. Not one. These owners cover the planet with their bikes and get in all sorts of scrapes, wrecks, hitting dogs, deer, moose, etc. not one single reported issue of windshield mounting being a safety issue.

This has only come to my attention after buying a Gen III FJR, never in the past 50+ years of riding. Like I said, I'm staying with the steel screws, I do not want a windshield to collapse due to strike from a big bird (Raven, etc.) or turbulence, etc.

Dan

 

[bigjohnsd]

Zilla, I changed out a Memphis Shades Fats windscreen on a bike several years ago that the rider claimed to have gone through when he rear ended a car in Sturgis. Speed was slow, they had changed the forks after the crash and came in to purchase a new windshield.

The Acrylic windshield was split vertically between the mounting brackets which were both bent as well.

The rider was not wearing a helmet but was wearing a leather jacket, he was not hurt seriously, some bruises on chest and arms. He ended up on the trunk of the car.

When I had my shop one of my employees wearing full gear hit a forest rat on I-90 doing at least the speed limit on his VFR. He went through the front windscreen. A kind trucker found him unconscious in the fast lane. The bike was totaled, he was unconscious for 30 minutes and suffered bruises and a broken collar bone probably from the landing. The rat perished in two pieces.

I don't believe that the plastic screws provide any more crash protection from rider windscreen impact than steel screws would. It appears to me that the helmet hits the windscreen first, assuming one is wearing one.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Semongtaulie......was the Rifle screen you had a very large one?

I had a CAL SCI Sport shield and it was rock solid in the wind.

I now have a slightly taller CEE BAILEY shield with a reverse lip that wobbles in the wind quite a bit and I was wondering if it could damage the mechanism or cause the screws to come loose myself.