Photos of yet another sucessful resuscitation of an old OEM windshield

[cruppelt]

Here are finally some pics of my original OEM windshield after some cutting and painting. I got this thing sent in a big box by the bikes previous owner with some missing parts and another windshield (the bike had a CalSci mounted already), and when I unpacked it it was so scratched that I knew I'd never put it on the bike like that. I bought another pristine OEM shield from a fellow forum member to get the full experience of summer windshield buffeting. It's just amazing how good the OEM looks on the bike, and how horribly bad it is at the same time once you start moving with it.

Long story short, I finally cut the scratched OEM shield down to try for good airflow. It went way beyond my expectations; it provides very nice clean air over my whole chest and head in the down position; in the up it moves the solid airflow to the lower edge of my Arai visor and above, with still zero buffeting. I call that great success and am enjoying it immensely on my commutes home from work. It's already a bit chilly now on the way to work in the morning, so I usually have it all the way up. Since the shield itself still had all these scratches I decided to paint the inside so I would not have to look at them. I might cut my pristine shield next year and apply some car tinting foil instead, we'll see.

For the outline I simply used a sharpy tied with some string through the center mounting hole to determine the upper edge, then I mixed that up with the lowest side mounting holes for the side cuts; this worked quite well.

Shorty in down position

And in up position

 

[RadioHowie]

Café Racer!!!

 

[cruppelt]

Café Racer!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[majicmaker]

That Car Window Tinting thing is not a bad idea! I might look into that myself.

 

[allrider]

Ridin around with those Hardleys is starting to rub off. That's the same cut off sheild i see on lots of them. You gotta make it opaque black so you can't see through it. It's not as impo-tant to see where your goin, it's all about bein seen.

 

[cruppelt]

Ridin around with those Hardleys is starting to rub off. That's the same cut off sheild i see on lots of them. You gotta make it opaque black so you can't see through it. It's not as impo-tant to see where your goin, it's all about bein seen.

OK, that's going to outright mean territory now. Just because I'm parking next to Hardleys in front of my work doesn't mean I'm riding with any of them...

I guess I was posting this for Harald so he can see what a shield looks like painted opaque (from another thread I did not want to hijack any more).

I thought this was a quite effective experiment for the next month or so (then it get's too cold in the mornings anyway), before cutting down my still pristine shield for next year (with no scratches and therefore no need to paint - read my original statement), instead you get completely hung up on the black paint looks... thanks a bunch for your encouragement.

 

[stealth1]

I think it looks good.

Any windshield you have to look through is too tall anyway imo.

 

[cruppelt]

That Car Window Tinting thing is not a bad idea! I might look into that myself.

Hi Majicmaker, this is what I'll buy for my next attempt: Gila Tint Film @ Amazon

Pretty cheap that way, and enough material to do it three times over if I need to - or if I like the 35% enough I could also add it to my CalSci...?

I think it looks good.

Any windshield you have to look through is too tall anyway imo.

Thanks Stealth, I don't think it looks bad either. But I probably made my mind up over my lunch ride that I don't like it opaque for long term; when it's all the way up it just seems a bit too much like tunnel vision...

 

[Canadian FJR]

Looks good, I had my stock '03 shield painted black and I'm very happy with the results.

Canadian FJR

 

[Gary]

I did that on my FJ1200, hid the radar detector quite nicely...

 

[ehc0720]

What tools did you use to cut the shield?

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

For the outline I simply used a sharpy tied with some string through the center mounting hole to determine the upper edge, then I mixed that up with the lowest side mounting holes for the side cuts; this worked quite well.

I like it! I have a larger aftermarket shield on now but I still have the stock shield. I wouldn't mind doing this mod to my shock shield that's sitting in a box my shop. I like the sportier look of it and if the air flow is clean I don't have a problem with the wind.

What tools did you use to cut the shield?

Yes what tools did you use? How exactly did you cut it, buff the edges, made sure you didn't crack it?

 

[Harald]

Thanks for posting the pics, Chris. My cutoff stock shield has a very similar profile on it. Now I just need to decide whether to take the time to paint it or take the time to polish out the scratches (thanks son :angry: ) that are on my shield.

Cutting shields is easy. Start off by covering the plastic with painters tape so that you don't scratch it up and then mark the shape you want to cut. Clamp the windshield so it can't move (I used towel covered wood blocks inside my vise). I used a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw to cut along the line (cut just above the line if you want to end up exactly at the line). I then used a fairly fine grit belt on my belt sander to get a nice rounded edge. Depending on how pretty you want the cut edge, use successively finer grit paper on a sanding block to smooth the edge. You can get it clear if you want.

 

[majicmaker]

That Car Window Tinting thing is not a bad idea! I might look into that myself.

Hi Majicmaker, this is what I'll buy for my next attempt: Gila Tint Film @ Amazon

Thanks Crup! I might just give that a try!

 

[cruppelt]

What tools did you use to cut the shield?

Yes what tools did you use? How exactly did you cut it, buff the edges, made sure you didn't crack it?

Cutting shields is easy. Start off by covering the plastic with painters tape so that you don't scratch it up and then mark the shape you want to cut. Clamp the windshield so it can't move (I used towel covered wood blocks inside my vise). I used a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw to cut along the line (cut just above the line if you want to end up exactly at the line). I then used a fairly fine grit belt on my belt sander to get a nice rounded edge. Depending on how pretty you want the cut edge, use successively finer grit paper on a sanding block to smooth the edge. You can get it clear if you want.

Harald got all the basics laid out well. I also used blue painters tape and a jig saw with a metal blade.

My differences were that I did not feel the need to clamp the shield down, but I had it resting on a couple of bunched up microfiber towels instead. I also used a medium grit sandpaper on my belt sander to get the edges smoothed out.

After I rode with it to work the first time and decided that I was very happy with the airflow, but did not want to get distracted anymore by looking at all the nasty scratches, I took it off and took it into the metal shop at work. I polished the edges just a bit with a polishing wheel on a stationary grinder (didn't need a lot, just had 2 sections where the saw cut wasn't super straight that needed a bit more work). The big secret for me is to gently use some Acetone on a rag to go over the edge, then clean it off with alcohol (IPA). With that the edge looks as good as any aftermarket shield that I have seen.

You can also flame polish the edge to get it as nice looking as the OEM shields, BUT you have to have a VERY steady hand for that when holding the blow torch. I've watched some plastic fabricators work on machine enclosures, so I know what's possible if you know what you're doing. But if you want to try that at home don't say that I didn't warn you

Of course after the edge treatment I proceeded to the paint booth and rattle-canned the inside. Not seeing the scratches is a plus, but as I said when it's all the way up I'd like it to be less then opaque...

 

[escapefjrtist]

Nice job Chris! Short enough to get some air but just tall enough for those cold PNW mornings.

--G

 

[Rollie]

Chris, how much of the windshield did you cut off? What's the total lenght remaining?

It's interesting that with the reduced height of your windshield, that even in the up position it's now quieter than the OEM. Elusive stuff, that buffeting.

 

[twistedcricket]

Chris, how much of the windshield did you cut off? What's the total lenght remaining?

Yes...what he asked

My OEM is just sitting on a shelf...I have the tools. Looks fun.

 

[cruppelt]

Sorry, meant to measure yesterday but forgot. Since I still have a pristine shield as well for now it's a simple measuring of total length on both. I'll post over the weekend.