Need a new windshield

[Willsmotorcycle]

@K-Cro The forks should be set about like this, and if you can put it up on the center stand and a jack under the belly to get the front tire off the ground, take the friction from the pads off and make sure the wheel is spinning smooth.

 

[K-Cro]

SO many great responses. Thank you all.

 

[Michael J]

So in the most terrifying moment of my short time riding, a box truck being used by a landscape company with the door half-open (one of those deals where they bought a former Uhaul or Budget truck and removed a few of the door panels so it is only half a door at the bottom and is never truly closed...) had a socket drop out on the highway and smack the windshield this morning.

A nice spidery chip just left of center on my stock screen. I'm grumpy.

It looks like the windshield forum has been dead for a while, so is there an updated cluster of suggestions for good aftermarkets with minimal buffeting and decent fit?

I have replaced my stock windshield (2005 1300) with a V Stream windshield. Very strong, watch the video where they hit the screen with a sledge hammer. Good wind deflection, works well in the rain too.

 

[Arkansasscott]

I just bought my ST (2009, w/30k miles) a few weeks ago & have the "wobble" on highway at 70+. It is definitely the "front wheel wander" & not the rear getting squirrely.
I previously had a VFR800a (man, I loved that bike, but so did the thieves who put it in a truck & drove away with it) & it was always ROCK SOLID at all speeds (even past 150...)
And I see so many "mine is rock solid" post that I know something must be wrong on mine. It has never been wrecked, so no frame tweak.
This definitely feels like buffeting from turbulence, & way worse when near/behind large vehicles, but clean air does not cure it either.
Tire pressure good, preload set on rear shock, I've tried it with and without the top box (same), I am adding a fork brace later this week, am going to make sure the front wheel is step-by-step tightened correctly & was doing windshield research when I came to the conclusion that the one I have on there - installed by previous owner - is for Goldwings (!?). It is a Vstream ventilated windscreen & when I go to their site, the only one with the built-in vent is for a Goldwing. It is already too tall for my liking & I plan to cut it down a couple inches - I am 5' 9" & even at the lowest am always looking through it & don't like that, but could this be the heart of my "wobble"...?

Could I simply have just way too much/the wrong windshield? Was this one simply not meant for an ST? Or did Vstream make this for the ST & no longer do? (for reasons like wobble?)
So I plan to take 3" off the top of this, but would love to know if others t hink this is the wrong screen for my bike, because this wobble/wiggle is a whole lot of BS, and I'm not having it.
A 700lb bike that wiggles in the wind? C'mon. I have 40 years riding & plenty of highway time, so I know what it's like to get pushed around by the wind, but know this isn't right.

And how do you START a post? (I can reply to others' posts - I think- but can't start one of my own) I know my first one has to be vetted, but I simply see no "post" button anywhere on this page/interface

Hi! Just curious what you found out on that. Mine has a large v-stream windscreen and I’m definitely getting pushed around by the wind. I just took it out for a ride without any windscreen and it felt great. I think the big screens are like a sail in the wind. A smaller screen seems like the fix for me.

 

[K-Cro]

I actually pulled mine off and drilled a new set of mounting holes, lowering the minimum height about 2 inches. Seems more stable, but still a bit wiggly on the highway. In Clean air, less so, turbulence from other vehicles ramps up the wiggle. I still have to try no screen to be sure. I have also confirmed my tires are unevenly worn - with theoretically about 5k miles on them - from previous owners, so I need to re-shoe her soon. The last guy owned it for a year & only put 800 miles on it, which might've been a red flag (but he also had an old KW Concourse which he loved), so maybe he was just freaked about the "wiggle," & had read "ST1300 death wobble" articles, so he thought "OMFG it's gonna kill me" & didn't bother to troubleshoot it. The movement it definitely NOT the "death wobble" symptoms I've read about (and that issue was supposedly well-solved by Honda in 2007[?] and later models & mine is a 2009)
It is nice to have a large windshield to hide behind when it start to rain a little, is chilly, etc, but I'd rather have unquestionable stability & given the ability to raise it, even with a smaller screen, there is still a lot of optional protection, if need be. More than my Interceptor 800 ever had, & I was fined with what it offered. Thanks for the response. I will take mine off & try it.

 

[MidLife]

I actually pulled mine off and drilled a new set of mounting holes, lowering the minimum height about 2 inches. Seems more stable, but still a bit wiggly on the highway. In Clean air, less so, turbulence from other vehicles ramps up the wiggle. I still have to try no screen to be sure. I have also confirmed my tires are unevenly worn - with theoretically about 5k miles on them - from previous owners, so I need to re-shoe her soon. The last guy owned it for a year & only put 800 miles on it, which might've been a red flag (but he also had an old KW Concourse which he loved), so maybe he was just freaked about the "wiggle," & had read "ST1300 death wobble" articles, so he thought "OMFG it's gonna kill me" & didn't bother to troubleshoot it. The movement it definitely NOT the "death wobble" symptoms I've read about (and that issue was supposedly well-solved by Honda in 2007[?] and later models & mine is a 2009)
It is nice to have a large windshield to hide behind when it start to rain a little, is chilly, etc, but I'd rather have unquestionable stability & given the ability to raise it, even with a smaller screen, there is still a lot of optional protection, if need be. More than my Interceptor 800 ever had, & I was fined with what it offered. Thanks for the response. I will take mine off & try it.

Do you still have the original suspension on the front?

It is on the very soft side and there is a chance that the aerodynamics of the screen causes it to compress/expand in turbulences, disturbing geometry and stability.

My 1300 became much more stable after stiffening the front.