How does the power windscreen mechanism work??

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I guess this is a question to those that have tore into them. A while back I recall reading about someone who was looking into replacing the plastic gears with metal ones. That seemed to have died off so I assume it has been determined to be too complex or the needed resources were not available. Over the weekend I was thinking about this and something crossed my mind. I think most efforts have been at reverse engineering a poor design to reproduce it with stronger components. A problem with this is the components that were being looked at were failed components. Another approach to this problem would be to redesign rather than reverse engineer. What if we redesigned how it worked with a better drive?

What I am looking for is come more information at this point as to how it works. I think there are cables that are attached to the movable parts now. These cables could possibly be reused or if needed replaced to relocate some components. This is what I am focusing on at this point. Can the cables be removed at the motor side and be driven by something else? Also what is the current range of motion of the windscreen. Since mine is shot, I can't move it anymore to determine this. I know that currently it is limited by relays or switches. This was done in an effort to prevent the plastic gears from stripping. I guess it didn't work :p:

This weekend I was sitting in a deerstand with lots of time on my hands to think about this problem. This is when I got the idea to redesign rather than reverse engineer. I was thinking about the possibility of replacing the motor and gear box with a lineal actuator perhaps something like this. Link to spec sheet This was the first one that I came across that might work in this application. It is available in 2", 4", 6", 8"+ range of motion. It is a screw drive so it could be reversed at any point. It supports a static load of 500lbs and a push pull load of 110lbs, 25% duty cycle with a .5"/sec speed. I haven't looked at what the current range of motion is of the windscreen to see which would be the best model yet. While it may be possible to retain the current circuitry that limits the range of motion now, we still don't want too big of a unit in there. I think the issue Honda was trying to engineer a way around was having too big of an assembly. For instance in order to get 4" of travel the actuator ranges in size from 9 3/4" to 13 3/4". This is pretty big and may mean that the actuator may need to be relocated. The nice thing is that since I think this is currently cable driven we might be able to relocate it pretty easily. We have lots of plastic to hide this under. We just need to find a place for it. Honda probably wanted to keep the assembly as small as possible so that explains why they designed it as they did. It doesn't give them an excuse for plastic gears though.

So what do you think? I'll bet we can come up with a better design for this thing using off the shelf components.
 
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sennister
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I did some searches it looks like the range of motion might be 7.4". So to retain full motion we would have to go with the 8" working off the Honda limiters. Of course someone might point out that the windscreen changes angles as well as height. I am aware of this but it is accomplished by the track design and since this would remain intact that would not change.
 

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SENNISTER - The problem maybe with the unit's total length if you go for the 7" range. It looks like 413mm ~ 16 1/4 inches - pretty long for the space available (if I read the specs correctly). I've been looking for something similiar for a power windshield 'driver' for the ST1100 but no joy yet. You might look at automotive power window motors that use a cable to do the up and down.
 

wjbertrand

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There have to be hundreds of cage electric window motor assemblies out there that could be adapted. Last one I looked at didn't look any more robust than the one in our STs though. All plastic mechanicals and plastic tape/cable.
 
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Looks like AzDesertRider encountered the same problem just about 2 years ago.

Check out this post, thread No. 16 has the photos.
Sweet!!! That is what I was looking for!!!. Thanks!

From looking at these photos, I see why no one was able to come up with a new set of gears at this point.

That gear is going to be tough to make. Not impossible but it will take some specialized tools. I have some but not all of what would be needed. The other problem is that the labor involved would be pretty extreme. It also doesn't help if the cable is worn because it is the other half of the gear. Based on how mine is failing it is likely one of the teeth in the gear on the motor. If they only sold that part. I suspect that the cables are fine in my case.
 
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SENNISTER - The problem maybe with the unit's total length if you go for the 7" range. It looks like 413mm ~ 16 1/4 inches - pretty long for the space available (if I read the specs correctly). I've been looking for something similiar for a power windshield 'driver' for the ST1100 but no joy yet. You might look at automotive power window motors that use a cable to do the up and down.
Yeah. I am aware overall length is likely going to be an issue. Like I mentioned. I think the reason they went with this design is to reduce the size of the assembly the good thing is that we have lots of plastic to cover up an ugly linear actuator. Since it looks to be cable driven as I thought. It might be possible to extend the cables and install the actuator where we have room to hide it. Of course this spot would have to be verified on both the ABS and non ABS bike. Plus there is the chance that someone has a farkle taking up the space. There are other types of options here as well. The car power window drive for instance is another good option. It is very possible that Honda lifted what they are using in this application from something else. I wonder what the power window assembly looks like on a Honda Civic ;)
 

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SENNISTER - There's a particular power window assembly that hot rodders are find of but I can't remember what model. It is supposed to hold up well and be adaptable. I'll have to prowl around in my windshield notes when I get home. I do have a very nice adjustable windshield prototype from MadStad Engineering on one of my ST1100s now. I hope that he will make it a production product for those that are interested.
 

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I think the cable operated power window regulator, like this one, could be adapted pretty easily. I may see what I can come up with over the winter. This one is used on chevy pickups/suburban/tahoe etc. Readily available. $45.00

 
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I think the cable operated power window regulator, like this one, could be adapted pretty easily. I may see what I can come up with over the winter. This one is used on chevy pickups/suburban/tahoe etc. Readily available. $45.00

Hmm, I have some of those out in the shop. Of course they are in my truck ;)

That might be a good idea. A lot cheaper than the aftermarket ones that I was looking at.
 
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Ok time to dig this up again. I have been thinking about this and have an idea to fix it. I still need to tear into things to see if this will work or not but here is my idea. What if I were to make a set of shims to lift the motor and gear up a little so it is riding on a new spot on the teeth of the gear? This won't help if the issue is the cable but in my case it is the gear. I have a lathe so I can make the shims whatever size they need to be. I can turn some aluminum down to size for the gear and for the mounting for the motor. While this isn't a fix it should extend the life of the assembly. My current one has over 80k miles.

What are your thoughts?

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EASt

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I'm not mechanically or electrically inclined, but found this idea interesting. I just wanted to add that the worm drive in the ST1300 allows the windshield to travel upwards in a sort of "arc" as opposed to a straight line which would move the top of the windshield into the driver's face.

Just a thought. Maybe your idea already takes that into account.
 
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I'm not mechanically or electrically inclined, but found this idea interesting. I just wanted to add that the worm drive in the ST1300 allows the windshield to travel upwards in a sort of "arc" as opposed to a straight line which would move the top of the windshield into the driver's face.

Just a thought. Maybe your idea already takes that into account.
Yeah, my idea would change nothing about how the track works as the track and cables are not touched. Of course people have said that the cables wear as well and this could be the next weak point but I read that it might be possible to swap the cables from left to right as they only wear on one side. It all depends on how they attach to the brackets. Until I tear into things (after the holidays) I won't know for sure. From what I have seen in photos it might just work. I am just lifting the gear and motor about 1-1.5mm. Pretty much all it will be is a washer for the gear to sit on and washers of the same thickness for the motor to sit on. I might need longer mounting bolts for the motor but again, I won't know until I get in there.

Over the last month or so I have been banging my head over complete replacement ideas then I thought there might be an easier way of doing this. I thought of this a couple days ago and looked at the photos again of one disassembled and don't see why it won't work.

I won't know though until I can rip mine apart and machine up some shims. I could go washer route but I want all the shims the same thickness and I don't know what that thickness is just yet. It all depends on where the wear is on the drive gear and how much lower I can shift it. That is the only problem that I can think of with this idea. From the photos of worn gears that I have seen, it appears it can be shifted a little bit. It might just be enough to get on fresh teeth. If I can do that, it won't be a fix to resolve the issue but should it work it will extend the life once you start having problems. Then if it dies again another solution will be needed.
 

EASt

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Well Dave, if the average ST lasts 200,000 miles, that's your resilience target for durability. :D
 
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Mileage is one thing but loading is another. A +5 Clearview constantly ridden near the ton is pretty common around here. :D
I tend to agree. I have a Clearview GT Large with the Goldwing vent that was on my bike when I bought it. I think it puts too much of a load on the mechanism and I pulled it off when I got back to MN from buying the bike. I noticed that when going down the interstate on the way back I couldn't move it up while underway. I went to the stock and haven't looked back. Though I try not to adjust it while at high speed even with the stock screen. When I noticed mine fail, I was sitting at a stop light and tried to bump it up a little higher.
 
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Yes you can shim the gear in order to provide a new location for the cable to operate. I also place shims behind the cable moving it closer to the gear. These modifications provided an additional season of use (10,000 miles). I then created a new gear and got a partial riding season before the cable wore enough that the mechanism started slipping. I then found a deal on a new lift unit.

I think adjusting at speed induces excessive stress on the gear and cable design and larger screen only increase this stress. Many cage window mechanisms operate the same general manner, however, they don't see the same type of loading from the wind. Prior to the failure I adjusted the screen often and at any speed, now adjustments only happen when not at speed.

Good luck with the modification.


Jeff
 
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