parabellum windshield

[danbrown]

hi everyone. i have beem lurking for a while and have learned a lot. this is a great website. now it is time to ask a guestion. parabellum windshield for the k1200lt. what are the opinions out there? good-bad-ugly? i have looked at cee baily and aero flow on the inter net. they are kinda pricey. (i'm cheep) parabellum has a feature that i think would be nice. what they call snap vents they open to let in air on a hot day. thank you.

[DaveDragon]

I tried the Parabellum when the LT was new and went back to the stock windscreen with the Laminar Lip.

Sue hated the buffeting caused by the Parabellum.

[motorhead]

Contrary to daves opionon, We both LOVE the Parabelum.

I did modify mine by doing a euro cut top, this allows me to look over it when fully lowered, yet when raised wife gets NO buffeting.

Best part is the Parabelum is an even sheild with NO lumps ,bumps or distorsion at ALL !

I will most likely try something else when it's time to replace, but only because of the unknown of what other shields offer.

Would I purchase one again for it's attibututes ... IN A SECOND !

Photo of euro cut mod attached, looking threw shied, NO DISTORSION at all.

Regards.
Scott

[hschisler]

Best part is the Parabelum is an even sheild with NO lumps ,bumps or distorsion at ALL. Photo of euro cut mod attached, looking threw shied, NO DISTORSION at all.
This is timely for me. Thanks for this info.

My LT is a month old. I rode it for 2 weeks, it was in the shop 1 1/2 weeks (new clutch -- see a different post), and I have ridden it twice since then with the BMW tall windshield installed during the clutch repair. The BMW tall windshield has tons of distortion -- very disconcerting, especially for this new rider. I would classify it as "unsafe for use". The dealer has offered to replace it with the same (no thanks), an Aeroflow (which they recommend) or something else.

Your photo shows a perfect windshield, as you say. Fascinating.

I know that windshields are one of these topics that open up a ton of opinions. I'm longing for a better, distortion-free, larger shield (to reduce buffeting) that will let me wear an open-face helmet. Perhaps I should switch to a full-face.

Appreciate any ideas you all may have. In the meantime, I'll read about Aeroflow and Cee Bailey; lots of you folks have them, but how do you pick which one?

[bmwusmc]

Just stumbled onto this thread..thought I'd input my experience with Parabellum..
Bought it about 3 weeks ago(standard size)..installed it but found it to be too tall for me..called and sent it back for a 2 inch reduction in height..Got it back 10 days later..liked the fit after the re-installation..

Alas, went out for a long ride today and had it crack and score around the top screw fittings..This occured after a large truck with a large frontal area passed me in the opposite direction with a crosswind from left to right..He must have been moving and I was doing about 80 mph(indicated)..The blast of wind that hit as he passed really rocked my LT and caught me by suprise..The guys behind me noticed that I was really shaken up when the truck passed me..Didn't notice the crack until about 15 minutes later as we were cruising on a lonely strectch of road..Couldn't believe my bad fortune..
Gonna call Parabellum and see what they will have to say..Maybe I should have gone CB's..
Anybody else have any windscreens crack like that with excessive wind force??

[tazz56]

Do any users of the parabellum shield get better gas milage as advertised on their site?
Jeff Johnson
2002LTC (deceased due to an SUV)

[bmwusmc]

After putting on about 800 miles with it, I still had the same mpg figures that I had with my stock shield..
The airflow did seem bit quieter than the stock..

[pjessen]

Caint sleep. Should be working in the shop. Thought I'd work on your's instead, Motorhead...now we can both dream of being back in Idaho along the Lochsa River headed for Lolo, MT! No distortion here!

[grifscoots]

I rode with a Parabellum for about 40 thousand miles, thru all conditions. They shut IH10 down behind us because of wind and on passing large trucks in a cut in West Tejas the blast was so bad that the Unigo lifted up and the bike shimmied like a Road King with 3/4" axles at speed.

These are basically aircraft windshields and if one cracks at the mounting point, you've over tightened it.

The vents don't let air in, they relieve back pressure. The beauty of this set up was, that on a long trip I could put the shield all the way up to create a calm air for Sandar the mag and the back pressure just wasn't there.

They are optically clear until they get old with road blast and rock chips. The only reason I ride no mas with one is the right, bottom corner broke off (along with the motor assembly and arms) in a 60 mph get off. Trying a Cee Bailey cause I never had before.

[Malki]

Love the look of the screen, but what a crap website, no prices, PDF files that don't download (catalogue), no bigger photos - geez. :sleep:

[rixchard]

I have one and have no complaints.

[motorhead]

Caint sleep. Should be working in the shop. Thought I'd work on your's instead, Motorhead...now we can both dream of being back in Idaho along the Lochsa River headed for Lolo, MT! No distortion here!

*** Ah, now thats sweet !!! going to be headed that way this summer ... so maybe not as strange as that nice cropped picture :p

[TBob]

Just stumbled onto this thread..thought I'd input my experience with Parabellum..
Bought it about 3 weeks ago(standard size)..installed it but found it to be too tall for me..called and sent it back for a 2 inch reduction in height..Got it back 10 days later..liked the fit after the re-installation..

Alas, went out for a long ride today and had it crack and score around the top screw fittings..This occured after a large truck with a large frontal area passed me in the opposite direction with a crosswind from left to right..He must have been moving and I was doing about 80 mph(indicated)..The blast of wind that hit as he passed really rocked my LT and caught me by suprise..The guys behind me noticed that I was really shaken up when the truck passed me..Didn't notice the crack until about 15 minutes later as we were cruising on a lonely strectch of road..Couldn't believe my bad fortune..
Gonna call Parabellum and see what they will have to say..Maybe I should have gone CB's..
Anybody else have any windscreens crack like that with excessive wind force??

Be thankful you didn't go Cee-Bailey they do not warrantee for cracks.
Did Parabellum offer to replace it?

- TBob

[KEPASA]

I just received the stock height Parabellum. optics excellent ,buffeting reduced greatly , took a 400 mile ride yesterday on aroute I routinely drive and saw a 4 mpg increase, from 35 to 39 mpg. I had the BMW tall shield w poor optics and noise. However I could easily see over the shield in lowered position by nearly 3 plus inches. Not so w/ Parabellum. I need to trim 1 to 1.5 off of Parabellum or just go w/ the -2 shield.

[meese]

You really need to try an Aeroflow windshield first, or at least sit on a bike with one installed. The distortion is significant, though they claim you can leave it low enough to never look through it. I bought one used, and took it off 100 miles later because I felt it was disconcerting to the point of being unsafe. Other love them and have put many miles on them. But this one you just have to see in person before laying down any cash.

[motorhead]

FWIW,
In the 2 years riding behind the Parabelum, yes it has cracks around mount screws .. It will be it's reason for replacement tho :o

Next time will make a rubber backer to better match sheilds profile so arms & screws don't tweek the shape & crack it again.
It still has NO scratchs ... No distorsion ... No issues wanting me to dump it for something else.

With ALL the issues coming to light over past few years with most of the other shield manufacturers, will most likely purchase another Parabellum and try to get them to do the euro cut top profile in house. :p

Regards.
Scott

[Saxon]

Noticed a parabellum for a 1200LT on ebay last week. Buy-it now for $179.00. Don't know if its a good deal or not or if its still there!!
Mike

[Steve_R]

I've been running a full size Parabellum for almost a year now. I've ridden cross country with it, Nebraska with the side wind and big trucks with all sorts of air blasts. I haven't had mine crack. I've only heard of one other person, CeeBaileys, say that he had cracking. IIRC, the Parabellum instructions warn against over tightening the screws that hold the windshield in place. I go snug and then stop as I don't know what overtight is.

I'd send Charlie an e-mail and see what he says.

Good luck.

[bmwusmc]

I did send an email to Parabellum..waiting for a reply..just took it off and repalced with my old stock w/s.. All four mounting holes were scored with the upper left having the 2 inch crack above the screw and a 1 inch crack below..It's a great w/s with no distortion when looking through it..Even before I had it cut down 2 inches..I sure did like the air flow noise reduction..made the music even clearer when cruising at 70-80 mph..Ah, well, back to the drawing board..

[bmwusmc]

OK..follow up to my problem with a satisfactory resolution..
After several emails back and forth, they are sending me a replacement..
Seems that this is the first failure they have heard of with their product for the LT..They have a one year guarantee which they are honoring..
I sent them pics of the windshield and explained the situation..
Their customer service handling was great and their responses to my emails were prompt..
They get my vote for great customer service..

[TBob]

Glad to hear it. I know from personal experiance that that would not have been your outcome dealing with Cee-Bailey. Looks like a Parabellum is in my future. Thanks for the follow up post.

-TBob


OK..follow up to my problem with a satisfactory resolution..
After several emails back and forth, they are sending me a replacement..
Seems that this is the first failure they have heard of with their product for the LT..They have a one year guarantee which they are honoring..
I sent them pics of the windshield and explained the situation..
Their customer service handling was great and their responses to my emails were prompt..
They get my vote for great customer service..

[zgmpl]

i have2 windshields ceebaylies 1 is 2- stok end 1 is parabelom. in summer i can't raid with the parabelom i dont have air et oll.end its verry hot.the parabelom is olso not nice heer is my lt with the -2 stok lait grey

[bmwusmc]

Glad to hear it. I know from personal experiance that that would not have been your outcome dealing with Cee-Bailey. Looks like a Parabellum is in my future. Thanks for the follow up post.

-TBob

I surely hope your experience in dealing with them is as good as mine was..Brenda was my contact point in the emails and as I said she was reponsive to my questions and needs..Ride safe, often and always watch your backside..

[Bruce_Yates]

I've read this thread, and am curious about how the Parabellum compares to the K1200LT windshield by Aeroflow, which I've been using for several years now (and quite like). The distortion is not an issue for me -- got used to it quite quickly (I simply don't let my gaze rest on the portion that's distorted) -- but I still occasionally have a problem with the fact that it is...er...ummm...how can I say this........butt ugly. :eek:

If the tall (+2) Parabellum actually works as well as the Aeroflow (to reduce pillion turbulence in particular), I'd be inclined to try one (seems reasonably priced). BTW, don't try to talk me into a shorter version; I'm 6'5" and have had my seat custom-made with extra foam, so it's about 4" above the normal "high" LT setting, so I feel like I'm sitting in a two-wheeled SUV -- there's no such thing as "too tall" a windshield! :D