Windshield "Tuning" Block

[Fred W]

Hey gang,

Some of you may have noticed that I gave away one of my Rifle Tuning blocks to kick start the Pay It Forward thread.

I could not explain the reason that I was able to give that little jewel away at that time:

One of our forum members, ftompa, contacted me a few weeks ago (by PM) asking for me to send him one of my 2 tuning blocks so that he could make a close facsimile of it to use on his own 1st Gen FJR. In consideration of that, he also made me one and sent it back when he returned me the original. I like his version better than the original, hence my willingness to give it away. He has now given me permission to show-off the block that he made.

Well, first off I want to tell you, ftompa does some very nice work. The block is precision milled from aluminum, and nicely painted (powder coated it looks like) flat black. The two stainless steel flat head allen screws are slightly longer than the original for more thread engagement. Here's some pictures of the block that he made for me.

I'll copy/paste in the description of what these blocks do from my Pay It Forward thread:

The tuning block is installed between the two windshield brackets as a spacer to tilt the windshield away from the bike at the bottom, and thereby tilt the top edge closer to the rider, and produce a shallower angle at a given position. It creates a space at the bottom which allows better airflow up the back of the windshield and minimizes the vacuum and turbulence, reducing buffetting.
 
It can be used with any windshield desired but only on 1st Gen bikes (03-05). I ride with the block on and the stoick windshield in the summer and stay nice and cool. With the barndoor on in the winter the spacer makes the backpressure and turbulence bearable.
 
Note that this tuning block is essentially unobtainium. You can't buy it without also buying a windshield from Rifle. I think it is better than using spacers (even metal ones) as the angled faces of the block put the brackets in the correct angle in relationship to each other to minimize stress on the brackets and fasteners.

The block maker, ftompa, said that he would be willing to "help out" some other forum folks if there was an interest.

Remember, these blocks are not available anywhere else. If you purchase a Rifle windshield they do send you one that is similar to this, but theirs is not precision milled, does not come with stainless steel hardware and it is not powder coated. This one is clearly significantly different.

If you are interested in having something like this you may want to contact ftompa via PM to work out any details.

 

[03silverbullet]

I had the Rifle tuning block with the supplied hardware. The bolts broke off while I was riding causing the windshield to flap around creating a major distraction. This happened twice with me and as well as other members incliding Turbodave. One of the reasons for this is that bolts were to short and did not fit all the way in the tuning block.

I am sure the redesign of the tuning block along with the hardware will solve this problem.

 

[Fred W]

I had the Rifle tuning block with the supplied hardware. The bolts broke off while I was riding causing the windshield to flap around creating a major distraction. This happened twice with me and as well as other members incliding Turbodave. One of the reasons for this is that bolts were to short and did not fit all the way in the tuning block.
I am sure the redesign of the tuning block along with the hardware will solve this problem.

Do you remember how long the bolts were on the bolts that broke? I believe they might have sent out longer ones with their later blocks. The ones in the Tompa block are a little longer still.

 

[Pierre]

Never had any problems with my Skyway spacers :worriedsmiley: , you really think I should change hem for the block ?

 

[03silverbullet]

I had the Rifle tuning block with the supplied hardware. The bolts broke off while I was riding causing the windshield to flap around creating a major distraction. This happened twice with me and as well as other members incliding Turbodave. One of the reasons for this is that bolts were to short and did not fit all the way in the tuning block.
I am sure the redesign of the tuning block along with the hardware will solve this problem.

Do you remember how long the bolts were on the bolts that broke? I believe they might have sent out longer ones with their later blocks. The ones in the Tompa block are a little longer still.

I don't remember how long the bolts were. It was a long time ago and I no longer use the tuning block. However, I think bolts should be at least 5 mm longer than the ones sent to me from Rifle.

 

[Fred W]

I'm curious if it was the upper bolts that broke off or the lower ones? I suspect it was the supplied screws in the upper location. I think this may point to the root cause; The crux of the biscuit if you will, and that is: which bolts are supposed to be installed where?

They are the same diameter and pitch screws, and so could be exchanged, though the new ones were (may still be) shorter.

The 2 shorter flat head screws that are provided with the tuning block should probably be installed through the two countersunk holes of the block and into the threaded holes in the lower (bottom) windshield bracket. The reach below the countersink is pretty short, so the shorter screws should still get good penetration. The (longer) original bolts that were taken out of the bike should be run through the holes in upper windshield bracket into the threaded holes in the block. The upper frame is thicker, so need the screws to be longer.

When you receive a tuning block the supplied screws may have been threaded into the threaded holes of the tuning block for safe keeping (like in the 2 pictures above).

This is all purely speculation and mental gymnastics. I have no evidence or proof that this is the case. So, just where is that CSI team when you really need em?

Sorry to bore everyone with my rambling...

Never had any problems with my Skyway spacers :worriedsmiley: , you really think I should change hem for the block ?

Hmmm... Well, I never had a problem with my CCT. But I'm doing something about it a'fore I duz.