Memphis Slims
See my earlier post on the Memphis Slims.
With the 17" Slims installed, I had quite a bit of buffeting and I felt the windshield was too low for my height. I looked into a taller Memphis Slim but 17" is the tallest they make. To get a taller shield, I have to move to the Memphis Fats. The Fats comes in a wider variety of heights. I ordered a 21" Memphis Fats windshield off eBay, and installed it today.
The bike-specific mounting brackets are the same between the Slims and the Fats, so I reused them. Remove four bolts from the shield and remove the brackets from the Slims.
Instructions
The Memphis Shades website has downloadable installation instructions, which came in handy.
I noticed the Fats are thicker, more substantial.
The big difference between the Slims and the Fats is the width. The Slims are about 18" across at their widest point, the Fats are about 22". They really have the same overall shape and style -- that iconic "Cruiser Windshield" look that some folks call "The Tombstone".
The shield height is measured in height above the headlight. The instructions say that the top of the shield should be just below the line of sight. That seems like an arbitrary and difficult-to-measure specification -- it's hard for me to visualize when sitting in the garage, what my line of sight will be running down the road.
I know I'm just overthinking it, but I did hem and haw quite a bit about getting the right height. The real issue is that you can't really tell how it's going to feel until you get the bike at highway speed. At that point, you've already made your purchase and you're probably stuck with the result. At the very least I've got a time-consuming "Return Materials Authorization" process to deal with, extra shipping, extra waiting for a replacement shield.
A four-inch jump in height is significant, I might've tried a two-inch increase first, but had a feeling I really needed a taller shield.
Memphis Fats
I need to give it a test drive and see how it feels at highway speeds. Stay tuned.
I hope it works good for you! Just an inch or two can make a big difference. I had one of those 2 shields on my Vulcan 500. It buffeted and would push my handlebars in high winds. I sold the bike instead of replacing the shield, lol.
ReplyDeleteI just put a new seat on my DR650. It raised me up about a half inch. I had to move my Spitfire shield up about an inch to get rid of the newly created buffeting. That fixed it.
I rode to work today. This windshield is definitely better than the last, but I'm still getting used to the wind noise. It'll take more riding at a variety of speeds to get a sense of whether this is truly better.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think back to the Wing, which had the perfectly designed cocoon of air for the rider. That's only attainable with a stock fairing and windshield arrangement -- which of course I do not want. The perfect little cocoon of air for the rider was exactly what I didn't like about the Wing, most of the time. Sure it was quiet, but it was so still inside that cocoon, it was sweltering.
So the Wing's wind noise is one extreme, and the wind noise from a too-short shield, like my old one, is the other extreme.
This new shield is somewhere in between.