BMW Luxury Touring Community - Third Party Windshield for the R1200RT

PDA

View Full Version : Third Party Windshield for the R1200RT

falconspirit

Mar 7th, 2009, 1:35 pm

BMWphreak

Mar 7th, 2009, 2:12 pm

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/R1200RTprod.html

The quietest one on the market IMHO.

cwillson

Mar 7th, 2009, 2:15 pm

renegade

Mar 8th, 2009, 5:28 am

http://www.ztechnik.com/

keith1

Mar 8th, 2009, 10:17 am

alzyck

Mar 8th, 2009, 4:33 pm

Add California Scientific to the choices too. I changed to a CB +2 +2 (I am 6') and while it was very effective at reducing wind / wind noise, I found it a bit to effective. It served me well for 20K KM last Summer, but I just took it off an installed a CalSci.

Waiting for the snow drifts to shrink before I will know if the change to CalSci is a good choice.

Craig

I had a mixed experience with calsci.

Riding wising, it's a terrific design. Low noise, no buffeting, good coverage.

Durability wise, not so good. The first one I purchased was fine until late fall when the temp dropped. When the temp dropped, it cracked at the mounting holes. I figured I must have over tightened the mounting screws. I like it so much, I purchased a second and made sure I didn't over tighten it.

That windshield cracked, too. Mark at calsci sent me a third windshield on warranty. I put it on the bike the night it arrived. I didn't complete the install that night. The mounting screws were just hand tight. Over night we had a cold spell and the temp in the garage dropped from about 60F to 35F. When I came out in the morning, the windshield had cracked between the mounting holes and between the mounting holes and the vent.

I replaced it with a CB. Seems to be working OK.

cwillson

Mar 8th, 2009, 4:54 pm

I hope your experience is not mirrored here. I routinely ride to -10C (mom never bragged about her bright son) - if the roads are dry and the ice rink I laughingly call my driveway is clear I will ride.

Stay tuned for a cold weather ride report. I figure two weeks should see the drifts down to a point where a ride may be possible.

Craig

OU812

Mar 8th, 2009, 10:32 pm

I ride year around when the roads are not snow/ice covered. I am going to try this one as the stock has more noise then I had with my stock LT.
http://shop.ztechnik.com/cgi-bin/ztech/Z2403.html?search_model=bm-046

sfarson

Mar 11th, 2009, 1:22 am

I had a mixed experience with calsci.

Riding wising, it's a terrific design. Low noise, no buffeting, good coverage.

Durability wise, not so good. The first one I purchased was fine until late fall when the temp dropped. When the temp dropped, it cracked at the mounting holes. I figured I must have over tightened the mounting screws. I like it so much, I purchased a second and made sure I didn't over tighten it.

That windshield cracked, too. Mark at calsci sent me a third windshield on warranty. I put it on the bike the night it arrived. I didn't complete the install that night. The mounting screws were just hand tight. Over night we had a cold spell and the temp in the garage dropped from about 60F to 35F. When I came out in the morning, the windshield had cracked between the mounting holes and between the mounting holes and the vent.

I replaced it with a CB. Seems to be working OK.

Wow. I use the CalSci only in winter when I want a little extra protection up front, and in the cold riding temps... teens, 20's, it has worked great. No issues, three winters of active riding.

ATDRS

Mar 12th, 2009, 5:07 am

I have had great luck with the Aeroflow but not during the warmer months.

Bob1200rtc1

Mar 12th, 2009, 8:04 pm

I never had a problem with the Calsci in the cold.

alzyck

Mar 13th, 2009, 7:52 am

Here's some photos of my last calsci windshield. I took these in the a.m. The night before I put the windshield on the bike and tightened the mounting screws finger tight. This is what I found in the a.m. The bike was never taken off the center stand.

This is the right side...

http://alzyck.smugmug.com/photos/490510369_EvF5o-X2.jpg

and this is the left...

http://alzyck.smugmug.com/photos/490510298_nHJyK-X2.jpg

falconspirit

Mar 13th, 2009, 8:12 am

Hi:
Thank you all for your responses. The CalSci looks promissing, however I am concerned about the cracking in cold weather. I am riding to and from now and this morning it is -7. Also, the CB looks promissing, however I think I will do a little more research and test a couple out at the rally.
Thanks again.

DonD

Mar 16th, 2009, 7:05 pm

I have a Cee Bailey's and just love it so far. It is the Euro Cut # 2 w/light gray tint, +1H, +2W (my height is 5' 7"). About 2" from the top of the screen it goes more vertical and wind totally flows over my helmet and with the screen halfway up it is like being in a sound cocoon. :D

How is visual clarity? On my last bike (a C model) I tried several windshields and they not only didn't help the airflow, they distorted visually, especially around the edges.
I know I'm not asking for too much, b/c I rode a rented Harley on vacation and there was NO distortion in the w/s whatsoever.

bghubr

Mar 17th, 2009, 11:25 am

alzyck

Mar 17th, 2009, 3:34 pm

I see the pictures of the cracked screen. What I don't see is the mouting strips removed from the old windscreen and put on the CALSCI windscreen. I see screws mounting the windscreen on the bike without the mounting strips.

You mean I wasn't supposed to have parts left over. :histerica :)

I took the mounting strips off to take the photo of the cracking. The mounting strips covered much of the cracking and would have prevented seeing the full extent of the problem.

The center screw on each side is located under the mounting strip with a plastic washer that sits gently against the windshield. The upper and lower screws mount through the mounting strip. When the mounting strips came off to take the photo, the outer screws came out. Since the center screws were under the mounting strips, they stayed in.

When the windshield was left overnight, it had the mounting strips installed with those screws also finger tight also.

Your point?

sfarson

Mar 18th, 2009, 1:19 am

I think his point was the thought that maybe the strips from the OEM screen weren't used, thus causing the cracks. I thought the same until your explanation.

alzyck

Mar 18th, 2009, 5:17 am

I think his point was the thought that maybe the strips from the OEM screen weren't used, thus causing the cracks. I thought the same until your explanation.

I bought the first calsci windshield a little less than a year ago. When I bought it, it had glowing reviews for both performance and durability on an RT (IIRC, I saw some positive comments you had written about it, Steve). When I sent Mark the note about the windshield cracking, he had a new windshield coming immediately, no questions. Great customer service, but he didn't seem surprised by the problem. I did a web search recently and found where there were some others that were also having the same problem.

When I compare the calsci windshield to the CB or the stock screen, I notice two things.

a) The drill through on the calsci is much rougher and less polished than the other windshields, particularly the counter sink on the surfaces.

b) The two center holes are closer to the center line of the bike than on the other windshields. That results in the screw standoff on the windshield mount for the center screw pressing very tightly against the outer edges of the center windshield mounting hole.

I wonder if calsci isn't having quality control issues with the recent RT windshelds (maybe other models as well). The three things that come to mind for me are:

1) They changed vendors for the plastic and the new plastic is somehow more brittle.

2) They changed the vendors that are drilling the windshields and the pattern being used is enough different to create a problem.

3) They either changed tooling or are using old tooling that creates a problem cutting that center hole.

The other obvious possibility is that I screwed up the installation. Initially, I was open to that possibility, but it's happened on three different calsci screens. I've had the stock windshield on and off several times with no problem and I haven't had any problem with the CB windshield I used to replace the calsci. If it was an install issue, why no problem with the other brands?

Heli

Mar 21st, 2009, 3:22 am

I've had a CalSci for some time now, and have kept it to put on my new (09) 1200RT :D

It is significantly quieter than the BMW stock screen, and affords much better protection, too. My only issue would be in our summer, it gets fairly hot behind the larger screen in 35C, and was plain miserable last month in 49C :rolleyes:

So far (nearly 2 years of use) it has done all that I need, but it's starting to show a few stone chips: I will get another one later this year, I guess.

RoyK

Mar 21st, 2009, 7:15 am

I previously had a ST1300 and tried every windshield in the book. The best by far was the Aeroflow. Living in Northern Ontario, I never had to worry about being too warm but I did regret getting the tall windshield. If I replace the stock RT windshield, I will definitely buy a medium height Aeroflow. I am 6' tall.

Georgewk

Mar 23rd, 2009, 9:15 am

I have an Areoflow on my '08 RT. I think it is great for lower noise and wind. It does have some distortion toward the bottom of the shield, but once I had ridden some I do not notice this. It is pricey in my opinion but well worth the money. I have not tried the others but from what I know now I will stick with the Areoflow. Just my opinion. George

Zardoz

Mar 23rd, 2009, 9:36 am

Hi,
I am looking at installing a third party windsheild this season that is best suited for reducing noise for the rider and the passenger. It appears that ZTechnik,Cee Bailey and Aeroflow are the top suppliers of windshields for the RT. Any recommendations or comments would be greatly appreciated.
TIA

Have you looked at the Laminar products? I used one on my R1200Rt and was amazed at how much it diverted the wind. I could ride with my visor open at 50mph. Great product.
:D
http://www.laminarlip.com/

Roy

yngvis

Mar 23rd, 2009, 9:39 am

Aeroflow on my 08 RT as well, I also installed the extra spoilers that came with it.
Had a Calsci but wanted to check if I could get even better protection, and I did.
Good design as well.
Maybe the acrylic in the Aeroflow is a bit on the soft side and easily scratches, but nothing to worry about since I managed to polish the Calsi to near perfect gloss with an automotive polisher machine, and I guess I can use the same routine on the Aeroflow when needed.

Lopaca

Mar 23rd, 2009, 5:28 pm

When I bought my 07 RT new, the first thing I did was replace the shield with a Cee Baileys. Loved it then and love it now.

However, I had read reports re the CalSci and ordered one thinking that it would be cooler for the summers. It had a cut out vent net the nose portion of shield to allow more venting for the rider.

First thing I noticed was the edges were so sharp that I thought I was going to cut myself. Second thing I noticed was that it looked to me as if the shield had been on another bike and possibly ridden (mounting marks). The fact that it was already on another bike really didn't bother me, except I did pay for a brand new one. After I installed the screen, and tried it out on the road, I noticed that bugs were marking up the black plastic directly behind the opening toward the bottom of the screen.

I really did not want to bother with that, so I called and he was very great about returning it. The Cee Bailey went back on and has been on now for over 2 years - no issues at all.

As a matter of fact I am considering a bit larger one (wider) for my upcoming trip to Alaska. The size I have now still allows some buffeting on my arms and I anticipate some cold and wet weather up there.

Good luck with your research.