Motorcycle Windshields

By

Dellann “Fire Dog” Stutsman Leather & Lace MC National Road Captain

I know there are many of you who do not like to ride with a windshield for a variety of reasons, like looks, Heat, and Wind in your hair.  There are also a lot of us that once we tried riding with a windshield will not ride without one again.   The thing is there are things you should know to help you pick the right windshield for your bike.

Some windshields are permeant mounted, but there also Quick release and Snap on Windshields you can get.   The quick release and snap on ones are nice because you can take them off if you don’t want to use them for short ride and it also makes it easier to clean them.

Windshields come in different sizes both width and height.   The width of the shield will be what determines how much wind goes around it and hits you or not.  If you have a very wide one you may not feel much wind at all but then again it may act like a sail in windy conditions.   You also want the width to look right on your bike.  If you have a skinny front in on your bike, a wide windshield may not look right on it.  The height will direct where the wind goes.  If you have a short one it will direct the wind into your body or face, a tall one will direct the wind over your head (and sometimes into the face of your passenger).  You can angle a short windshield, so it directs all the wind over your head, but that doesn’t help in the rain.  The ideal height of a windshield is tall enough for you duck behind and become aerodynamic, but short enough for you to comfortably see over it if you need to.   With Bugs, rain, and road grim you sometimes need to see over the windshield because you can’t see through it.  I was recently riding in the rain and if I looked through my windshield it looked like nothing was in front of me but when I looked over it, I could see a Semi in front of me.  

You can also get windshields tinted in different colors.  That is all personal preference and local law.

Here are some pros and cons of a Windshield:

Pros of windshields:

1. Less Bugs hitting rider.
2. Not so much wind pushing against rider
3. Rain and Wind protection.
4. Less Road grim to clean off face.
5. Less rider fatigue

Cons of windshields:

1. Wind and jet streams push around windshield like a sail
2. When dirty it can be distracting and distorts you view
3. Traps heat in summer.

Here is a good video from J & P cycles that gives good info on windshields, https://youtu.be/0jF860tDI9E