Madstad windshield or.......

[Mykllee]

Hi everyone. My bike came fitted with a 20" Clearview, and at 6'3", it isn't working for me.......buffeting. So I've read through all the windshield threads, and am leaning towards the 22" Madstad. Except I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the barn door size screen, which Madstad told me was about 24.5 at the widest and then tapers up. To anyone with Madstad experience, do you have any negatives that bother you? Any effect on gas mileage, or stability at high speed? How do you like the way it looks, as I know sometimes things look different from pictures?

I was and maybe still am considering the 24" Rifle, as I like the streamlined look, and it's much cheaper. However they haven't yet responded to my inquiry as to whether it's in stock, or what kind of lead time I'd be looking at. Don't really want to wait a month or two. Another larger Clearview would be my last choice.

I appreciate any and all thoughts!

 

[Larry Fine]

Can you add a temporary extension mock-up to your windshield to determine the ideal height, and perhaps added width?

 

[Erdoc48]

That’s my brother in the pic- on the red 2000, that’s the OEM screen and a cheap eBay windshield extension and on the gray 94, I believe that’s a Clearview (bought it used) and put the same windshield extension- they’re pretty inexpensive (like $26) when I got them a couple of years ago (I assume a bit more now) and you can see over them (I hate looking through the shield). Just a thought if you were looking to save some money. They work well and limit buffeting quite a bit.

 

[Hound]

I'm 6'3" and had a Clearview on my ST1100, with a Laminar Lip, and had no buffeting. I expect one of those extensions would do a similar job on the Clearview (I currently have a similar extension on my VFR1200X) and would be a cheap experiment before committing yourself to a MadStad or Rifle.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Pop-Pop has the Madstad setup on his ST1100 - you might PM him if he doesn't come along shortly.
BTW, I was the original ST1100 guy that got MadStad to make their setup.

 

[Mykllee]

Can you add a temporary extension mock-up to your windshield to determine the ideal height, and perhaps added width?

Good idea, but no, I don't have anything that would work for that.

 

[Mykllee]

That’s my brother in the pic- on the red 2000, that’s the OEM screen and a cheap eBay windshield extension and on the gray 94, I believe that’s a Clearview (bought it used) and put the same windshield extension- they’re pretty inexpensive (like $26) when I got them a couple of years ago (I assume a bit more now) and you can see over them (I hate looking through the shield). Just a thought if you were looking to save some money. They work well and limit buffeting quite a bit.

That would probably be the most sensible thing to do.......save a little money! Yeah, I don't want to look through the windshield either.

 

[Mykllee]

I'm 6'3" and had a Clearview on my ST1100, with a Laminar Lip, and had no buffeting. I expect one of those extensions would do a similar job on the Clearview (I currently have a similar extension on my VFR1200X) and would be a cheap experiment before committing yourself to a MadStad or Rifle.

What size Clearview do you have? Mine is a 20". My bike also has a custom seat that is an inch lower than stock, so I have to figure that in.

 

[Mykllee]

Pop-Pop has the Madstad setup on his ST1100 - you might PM him if he doesn't come along shortly.
BTW, I was the original ST1100 guy that got MadStad to make their setup.

Ahh, thanks for doing that! I was looking at Madstad a few years ago for a Suzuki DL1000, and the concept of an adjustable bracket seemed to make sense. Decided not to keep the bike though. Am keeping the ST, and am thinking the expense would be worth it, instead of possibly buying more than one windshield, or dealing with returns and restocking fees or whatnot.

 

[Uncle Phil]

One thing about Clearview (unless they have changed) is you can order a windshield from them and as long as you do not remove the protective plastic you can test it to see if it works. The return 'freight' would be on you but at least you could try and send it back if it's not tall enough.
I'm 6'2" on a good day and I use Clearviews on all of mine (XL IIRC).

 

[Pop-Pop]

Pop-Pop has the Madstad setup on his ST1100 - you might PM him if he doesn't come along shortly.
BTW, I was the original ST1100 guy that got MadStad to make, . their setup.

Yea, I like my Madstat. It's quite stable. It's nice to be able to put it low when it's hot. The guys that make and sell them are also bike guys. Very honest, character filled men. Now, the problem... The st is approx 25 yrs old, and Madstat seems to have lost their touch on making them. A few guys here ordered them and the fit needed a lot of jiggling and replacing parts. Now, I told you they were honest and of good character because they are. They worked with me and the other guys to correct the problems and most were. My brackets are still bent wrong and the shield screw holes were drilled inaccurately. I said to hell with it because i was leaving on a tour. They overnighted my replacement brackets to me because I was leaving. Again, good men.
To be honest, I adjust it rarely. I usually have it all the way up and out to deflect anything a freighter might kick up. The Clearview was a better fit, but non adjustable.

I would recommend the Madstat, but I'd caution you that it might not be a perfect fit, and you might have to work with them a bit to get it almost perfect.
I can send you some pics tomorrow if you need a look

 

[Pop-Pop]

Pop-Pop has the Madstad setup on his ST1100 - you might PM him if he doesn't come along shortly.
BTW, I was the original ST1100 guy that got MadStad to make their setup.

Madstat is still listing shields for the st1100

 

[Erdoc48]

The other thing about Clearview (and I really do like their products- I have a shield on order for the SilverWing with the 5 position vent in it) is the shipping- I didn’t realize (but guess I should have with the high price of gas) how high shipping is- $72 for my windshield (I guess it’s a pretty big box as it’s one piece)- I hate looking through a shield and always want to look over one.

If you get one of the ones on eBay, they have a rubber U that slips in place over the top of your existing shield and then you tighten it down with Allen screws. One last thing is that they come in a wide width as well as more narrow (and there’s another type available with a central metal clip as well). Good luck in the search.

 

[Pop-Pop]

The other thing about Cleaview (and I really do like their products- I have a shield on order for the SilverWing with the 5 position vent in it) is the shipping- I didn’t realize (but guess I should have with the high price of gas) how high shipping is- $72 for my windshield (I guess it’s a pretty big box as it’s one piece)- I hate looking through a shield and always want to look over one.

Yea, that five way vent is worth the extra $$

 

[stgolfer]

I don't have experience with the Madstad on the 1100, but I have one on my Tracer 900. It is by far the cleanest air I've had on any bike with a tall shield. Better than my 1300 with a V-Stream and better than my Goldwing.
I'll second that they are very good people to work with.

 

[Mykllee]

Yea, I like my Madstat. It's quite stable. It's nice to be able to put it low when it's hot. The guys that make and sell them are also bike guys. Very honest, character filled men. Now, the problem... The st is approx 25 yrs old, and Madstat seems to have lost their touch on making them. A few guys here ordered them and the fit needed a lot of jiggling and replacing parts. Now, I told you they were honest and of good character because they are. They worked with me and the other guys to correct the problems and most were. My brackets are still bent wrong and the shield screw holes were drilled inaccurately. I said to hell with it because i was leaving on a tour. They overnighted my replacement brackets to me because I was leaving. Again, good men.
To be honest, I adjust it rarely. I usually have it all the way up and out to deflect anything a freighter might kick up. The Clearview was a better fit, but non adjustable.

I would recommend the Madstat, but I'd caution you that it might not be a perfect fit, and you might have to work with them a bit to get it almost perfect.
I can send you some pics tomorrow if you need a look

Yes, I read through that thread and what you guys went through, and it says a lot about the way Madstad does business. I saw all the pictures in the thread, and how one person shaved a couple of inches off the sides of his screen, which got me thinking it was too wide for my taste. I'm probably just being too picky here. I've had a lot of windshields over the last 50 years, but they have always been the smaller deflector type. Maybe I need a little more comfort in my old age. Thanks for your input!

 

[Pop-Pop]

Yes, I read through that thread and what you guys went through, and it says a lot about the way Madstad does business. I saw all the pictures in the thread, and how one person shaved a couple of inches off the sides of his screen, which got me thinking it was too wide for my taste. I'm probably just being too picky here. I've had a lot of windshields over the last 50 years, but they have always been the smaller deflector type. Maybe I need a little more comfort in my old age. Thanks for your input!

You are welcome. I did three days riding slushy snow and realized the shield was narrow enough to let my hands get cold!

 

[sirbike]

Didn’t have a Mastad but I did mock up a similar setup, a trimmed ST1300 windshield mounted on a base shield in Mastad’s recommended range of angle of attack. It was the smoothest ST1100 set up. And that was substantially enhanced by using CalSci ST1300 under mirror deflectors.
Based on that, if I stayed with the 1100 I would have gone with Mastad.
Just remembered, the main shield also had a laminar lip.

 

[Ron]

I have found the vent to be a non-issue. I couldn't tell the difference except in the rain.

When riding in the rain, my Madstad had rain on both sides of the shield and the wind did not blow the rain off either side. I had to sit up and look over the shield. I didn't stop and try to adjust it.

 

[Hound]

What size Clearview do you have? Mine is a 20". My bike also has a custom seat that is an inch lower than stock, so I have to figure that in.

Sorry, it was 15 years ago, so I don't know. I suspect it was an XL. My seat was also an inch lower than standard.