Calsci Wind/heat Deflectors

[Fireball18]

I have had a set of the Calsci wind deflectors on my bike for over a year now, as has my wife on hers. I thought I'd post my impressions of them here. While they are relatively inexpensive and seem to work, they are pretty fragile! Both of the ones on my wife's ST cracked, starting at the bottom where the plastic is creased to make the bend. We just got back from 3 weeks on the road, and in mid trip I had to cut them off as both of them became junk. The left deflector on my ST has done the same thing, only it did it before the trip. I removed it and stop-drilled the crack and then attempted to "glue" it using some silicon sealer. That gave up the ghost during our trip and a friend let me use of other sealer/caulking compound. So far it seems to be holding together, but not for long. It's a shame because the deflectors do seem to work. Unfortunately they're not very durable. BTW, when they cracked, the cracks were about 3--4 inches long. To get the same effect, I am now looking at having to spend $200++ on each bike! Ouch.

[CruisingDog]

Could you not send them back to CalSci and claim them to be defective ?

[Fireball18]

I conatcted Mark and he is willing to replace them. This was in reference to the one that failed on my bike. I'm sure he'd replace both sets, now. I do, however, believe that the material they're made from is a bit fragile. I suspect that the wind coming back makes the deflector vibrate, then it eventually starts to crack at the bottom end. I'd guess that the bend, which is actually a crease, greatly weakens the structural integrity of the plastic. We'll see.

[NormanPCN]

He makes the under mirror deflectors out of polycarbonate. At least it was polycarb when he first started to make them.

[Fireball18]

These are the fairing wind deflectors, made of some sort of black plastic. Has a smooth and a crinkly finish side.

[NormanPCN]

The fairing/heat deflectors are basic ABS plastic.

[Fireball18]

Thanks, Norman. Too bad they're so fragile, cuz they work well.

[NormanPCN]

I wonder if the ABS plastic is degraded by UV light, or whatever.

[NormanPCN]

Fireball, I just noticed where you live. My grandparents lived in Star. Spent many summers on the ranch when I was a kid. Lots of great fishing. Heck I even fished the irrigation canals.

[Fireball18]

Gee, it's only been 6 months since your last post. Sorry. I forget where I've posted sometimes. I go through Star all the time. We've lived here for only 3 1/2 years, and really like it. Unfortunately it's growing by leaps and bounds, so it's getting crowded. Star is becoming one of "the places" to live. Lots of upper end homes going up.