Results are in!
Results are in!
Okay, fellow GK guys. The new windshields are HERE! Seven passed my inspection (one had a cutting issue, it was too close to the edge of the sheet and has a flat spot).
I installed one on my GK. It's SWEET!!!
Crystal clear, clean edges, and very strong.
It took two of us to bend it and install it. In part because my screws are too short. (see my post in TIPS section about acorn nuts)
I started at the side and used 6mm x 1.0mm x 40mm socket head chrome screws and acorn nuts from boltdepot.com for the mirrors. They worked great! I used some galvanized washers I had here on the back side of the fairing.
I used 6mm x 1.0mm x 25mm socket button head screws for the main parts of the shield with acorn nuts, but they are TOO SHORT! I will order either 30mm or 35mm ones and then I can use the chrome washers I ordered on the front side.
The washers are too small for the back side. You need a larger surface area to spread the force out on the fairing, else you risk pulling the nuts through the plastic.
When you install, be sure to put the side with the solid white plastic on the OUTSIDE of the shield, since it is the abrasion resistant side. Be careful when removing the clear coating and cleaning the back side, as it does not have the same abrasion resistant coating.
The difference between this shield and my old 1/8" polycarbonate is incredible! Not just the area where I had the stress cracks

.
At night following my cousin on his bike, the very edge of the shield, where you can see the thickness, remained dark, almost like a very thin outline that made it very easy to tell where the bike was pointed, leaned, etc.
My butt tells me how the bike is leaning, but it was still interesting.
I cleaned the shield front and back with Maguire's Cleaner Wax and we rode in the fog and a little rain. It shed water quite nicely in very tiny beads. When I stopped and looked at it from the side, it looked almost like pollen. I couldn't really notice it at all when riding.
After seeing and installing this shield, I have no reservations at all in offering these to you guys. The holes were a PERFECT match! The CAD/CAM guys marked up the original and I could see where they marked the adjustments for the holes on the homemade one I had previously.
And, yes, I was able to use the bushings in the holes, too. (They look like little pieces of pipe)
Note: Don't use bushings in the mirror mount holes, it prevents the mirror mounts from tightening properly.
I will bring a couple to the rally. If you're coming to the rally and want to save the shipping (I have to call about that price tomorrow), drop me a line here or via PM so I don't miss you.
We're leaving Wed am.
- John