ST1100 New Windsheild - choice A or B?

Oldschool1

Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
199
Location
Nor Cal
Bike
2005 ST1300A
I posted this here as i'm not sure if the Windshields section gets enough visibiltiy (can we move this later?).

After much, much, much research and screens available to try out locally, I've come to two chioces based on economic pain.

A) National Cycle shield with curve up lip at a total length of 20"

B) The Laminar Lip Combo - though at the same hieght as the stock screen I'm not sure the lip will overcome my height.

When I'm seated in riding position my nose is 5" above the top of the shield (shall we standardize on a dimmension rather than our height - nose to shield). The stock shiled is pure misery due to noise even with ear plugs, and it drowns out the ST purr - no fun!.

I put a broken but funtional 19" (prehaps a Rifle) shield on for about two weeks and it was a vast improvement over the stock. I still felt a bit of buffeting and felt like ducking down about 2" at 50+ mph speeds so it didn't quite get to where i need to. Yesterday I put the stock shield back on and immediately the ride was misery (forgot how bad it was!) - the ugly broken one is going back on immediately!

So I'm thinking the National screen at 1" longer than the 19" will buy a little, and the flip up at the top of the screen may buy a little more benefit.

Then as a recourse if the National Cycle doesn't satisfy I can add a Laminar lip to it and gain (I hope) a substantial benefit and not have a big bulky screen as well. I think the National cycle may be better than the Laminar combo because it is taller than the stock by a few inches (not sure how much though).

It seams a large percentage of ST11 owners have some sort of laminar lip / shield combo.

So with this in mind and i'm limited to about $100 for the shield, does this sound like a wise direction?

Thanks,

Paul
 
If you are willing to test with the 'broken' shield you might cut a piece of Plexiglas, bend and attach it to find out what it would do for you before you spend the money.
Try a 4" piece and see if you can make it have about a 2" gap in the center of the shield.
You don't say if you want to look through the shield... if you do *not* want to look through it you might try a piece of cardboard instead of plastic for your testing...
 
You could go another direction, I have cut down mine to a minimum actually 6 inches. The windstream drops below my head and I get undisturbed air across my helmet. Much quieter but many more bugs on the helmet.
 
I don't want to look through the shield and also don't what a sail that big. I have a unfaired Nighthawk 650 which I belive i'm tall enough to get smooth air. I can deal with it for 1 hr rides but after that I really want out of the the stream. Also even in clean stream of air, with well fitting earplugs I still hear the wind more than anything else above 40 mph and it is so much more fun to hear the engine and surroundings.

So my ambition is to get a screen that i can look over, get a clean stream of air to the helmet and then slow that stream down as much as possible. I think that is the best solution if you don't want to look through the screen.

Then the question is will a National Cycle screen and the lip be the best chance at achieving this?
 
I'm also on the tall side (6ft 3in) and am interested in these two options. Is there any other input?
Oldschool1 - what was the outcome of your research?
 
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The stock shield is 16" straight up the center of the screen. From memory, Rifle sells +4" and +6". They also do not flair out at the top or sides. As mentioned, you could tape a piece of stiff cardboard or plastic to simulate the additional height. When riding notice if it bends at speed. I don't recall the Laminar Lip being 2" from the shield, it was more like 3/4"-1". But it's been a while since I looked at one.
 
I've accumulated quite a bunch of windshields:
"Old style" stock
"New Style" Cat-eye stock
Tall Rifle (+ 4" I think)
Tall/wide Clearview with G/W vent
Laminar Lip (most recent)

I'm 5'10" or so and find the 2 stock an the LL have the wind hitting my head just above eye level. The tall Rifle puts the air pretty much over my head. My eyes are just above the top of it.

The Clearview is about the same as the Rifle, just wider. Annette doesn't care for the the Clearview (when we are 2 up).

I think I'm gonna take the lip off of the LL and try it on the tall Rifle and see how that will work for the trip to Moonshine. I haven't tried that combo yet.

I *really* need to work on the electric adjustable windshield idea that's been lurking in a dark corner of my brain...
 
sirepair said:
I've accumulated quite a bunch of windshields:
"Old style" stock
"New Style" Cat-eye stock
Tall Rifle (+ 4" I think)
Tall/wide Clearview with G/W vent
Laminar Lip (most recent)

I'm 5'10" or so and find the 2 stock an the LL have the wind hitting my head just above eye level. The tall Rifle puts the air pretty much over my head. My eyes are just above the top of it.

The Clearview is about the same as the Rifle, just wider. Annette doesn't care for the the Clearview (when we are 2 up).

I think I'm gonna take the lip off of the LL and try it on the tall Rifle and see how that will work for the trip to Moonshine. I haven't tried that combo yet.

I *really* need to work on the electric adjustable windshield idea that's been lurking in a dark corner of my brain...
Click to expand...

Would you be interested in selling the tall Clearview?:D
 
I'm 6'1". I went through several shields on my 1100. The last one was best, MRA-Vario, Maxia. Wish I had used that one first. Could see over the top and yet had hardly any buffeting.

Bill
 
I'm 6 ft. and have the Clearview X/T w/vent. The wind hits me at the very top of the helmet. If I slump about 1 inch, I can't hear the wind, only the whir of the sewing machine.
 
sirepair said:
I *really* need to work on the electric adjustable windshield idea that's been lurking in a dark corner of my brain...
Click to expand...

Pat - See me at Moonshine as I already have some 'experimentation' on that subject. I just can't find the right sized stepper motor or power window motor to do what I want to do. ;-)
 
dudley337 said:
I'm also on the tall side (6ft 3in) and am interested in these two options. Is there any other input?
Oldschool1 - what was the outcome of your research?
Click to expand...
I spent a lot of time researching what windscreen to buy for my 2000 ST1100. I an six foot, short legs and long back and I just found original screen left me with far too much head buffeting and even worst wind noise. The noise level I suspect has a lot to do also with my mediocre full face helmet but as I have a fat head I am limited in helmet choice.
I ordered a CLEARVIEW MEDIUM GT which is 3 inches taller and 4 inches wider (in parts). Took about 3 1/2 weeks from time I ordered for postal girl to walk up in driveway with the box in her hand (leaving footprints in the fresh snow in the middle of April ..... Is there something wrong with this picture? grrrrrrrrrrrrr)
The Colorado based company sent me an email informing me as the screen went into production and the various steps along the way. I think they sent 3 or 4 emails including the last one that gave me a USPS tracking number after it was shipped.
Box came with no dents. Protective foam bits inside really did a fine job of making sure screen arrived in perfect shape. Screen itself is wrapped with a blue protective film which they ask not to take off until a test install confirms all is OK. If you don't like the screen or it is damaged, they will take it back and make you another. You pay the freight only.
I quickly took off the old screen and installed the new one. Took 10 minutes. Easy Peasy!!! Perfect fit. Didn't even use new screws that came with the kit.
As it was snowing, I had to wait 2 days for my test "ride" but sitting on the bike in my garage, I was able to have about 2 or 4 inches of clear view over the top of the blue film so I knew everything was going to be fine. Amount of clear view over the top is dependent upon my slouch or no slouch riding position FYI.
Finally had a small window of opportunity yesterday to take a quick run for 30 minutes. Sun was out and temperature was about 49 degrees.
At in town speeds this screen is very quiet. Nuff said. I fully expected that!
Once on the highway, I ran a two way ride at about 85 mph. One way WITH the wind and one way against a fierce wind that was gusting up to 30mph.
WITH THE WIND I would say that the wind noise was lessened by at least 60%-75% Outstanding!! Head buffeting was lessened by about 50% at least. All of these percentages fall into what I call the fantastic side of things. I do want some noise and a bit of buffeting just to remind me I am outside enjoying "the elements" on a bike.
The real test was the return trip AGAINST THE FIERCE WIND. On a normal day, I would suggest that the results would be way better than those achieved against this heavy wind but against a stiff blow with severe gusts I would have to say that the noise was improved by 40% and the head buffeting was improved by at least 30%
I repeat. A normal day would see these numbers dramatically improved.
SUMMARY
Huge fan of the product and the way the company deals with it's customers. I would HIGHLY recommend this particular model. I did contemplate getting a higher screen but was concerned about the "looking over vs. looking through" factor. I am delighted with my choice. Great Product!
Keep the rubber side down.
Freddy Toronto Ontario Canada
 
Thanks for this detailed review. Really helpful to me--I too have a 2000 ST100 and am looking at getting a new windscreen. I'm 5'-10" and may look at the same Medium GT given that you look over it about 2 to 4 inches. It's a tough call, the Medium or the Small, because I seem to see over the stock screen by at least 4 inches. I really appreciate your description of the dependability of the company and shipping process--this matters a lot to me. Now, If only we could try them on for size before paying out the cash on-line, but this kind of review helps a ton...thanks again!

Oh, by the way, I'm wondering, did you get the vents?
 
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I have the Laminar Lip combo installed by the previous owner. It seems to work well. Wind flow is right at the top of my helmet. I can ride with my visor open at 80+ mph. I'm 5' 10" and it creates just the right size envelope.

;-) Paul
 
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