Words of Phrase ,"Clearveiw"

[Guest KitCarson]

I have been looking at these shields and was planning on getting a clear shield.

 

Most seem to be getting the tinted shield. Is their an optical advantage or is it just about the appearance?

 

Also, I want a lower shield that I can see over. How does the medium compare to the show chrome windshield?

 

No there is not one bit of optical advantage for a tinted shield over a clear one. As a matter of fact a tinted shield is one tiny bit of a disadvantage at night..........It just looks cool, especially on the midnight or the silver ventures.

[gibvel]

Yes, we ride it two up all the time, in fact as soon as Miss Brown Eyes gets up this morning(that will be 9 a.m.) we are going for a three or four hour ride, through the national forest and up to a Lake we have not visited for awhile.

You can hear a lot of things, sure can, and I am guilty of saying things that may not suit someone else's situation also. There really is no one solution. Brown Eyes is like five foot 4 and about 110 pounds, and the venture passenger seat puts her up to where she can see over my helmet, just like the driver can see over the windshield(or should be able to!!) So each rider and passenger has to kinda work out their own solution.

The common equation seems to be though, the tall windshield, for whatever reason it was built that tall(and clear view even makes one taller......????) pushes a lot of air and creates a lot of turbulence. The turbulence or buffering, buffeting whatever you call it is constant, all the time and never lets up , it is not just when the big semi-rolls past at 90, it is all the time. Hey do you know the difference between a buffet and a buffet" at a eating joint? One serves a drink with the meal, the other you have to buy it :rotf:.

A vent will relieve some of the negative pressure behind the windshield, but again let me try to show you the whole picture. When caught in the rain, and if it is a warm summer rain and a relief from the heat and you decide to ride and enjoy it, what happens is the road spray from the traffic.......you know that sticky scum that coats your bike....makes it dirty so you have to wipe and polish it for two hours.......sticks to the windshield also..........front and back as in 30 to 50 mile per hour speeds through town, four lane roads at major towns, one is not going fast enough to set up the airflow and allow physics to take over and work for you. So one is constantly trying to clear the windshield to see........in the rain, (and I wear glasses too-they will fog up sometimes-which adds to the whole deal) and trying to concentrate on swiping the shield right quick and also do a semi emergency stop in the rain because some idiot person in a car , just for no reason stops in the middle of the road, can be quite an experience.

 

So there really is not one solution to any of this, each rider and passenger has to come to their own solution. Maybe I was wrong to jump all over this skyscraper windshield so hard, I just could not fathom how designers, engineers, people who are supposed to know about this stuff, would put a bike out with one like this. Our recent Touring bike(the fix or repair daily Harley) I know I cut the windshield down on it 2.5 inches...as the rear passenger seat is lower on those machines......as is the leg room (but that is another story) So even with that one, we had to custom work on the shield.

 

Kit

 

See what you mean. I guess I've not been caught in the situation that you describe with the 99. I have, however, been caught in that situation with the 89, the windshield of which I can see over, and the same kind of thing happens with the helmet face shield so it wasn't all that much of an advantage when I could see over the shield. Guess I've got some more experiencing to do to find out about which windshield would work best for me. Good thing I don't need a new shield right now.......hate to get the wrong one.

 

Sounds like other companies have the same design engineering solutions though.

[hig4s]

OK, there have been two replies to the question of how a Clearview works in the rain and fog. One said there could be a problem, and one mentioned the issue with riding slow and getting road grime and mist on the windshield.

 

But what I want to know is, does the shape of the clearview push the rain off the shield at freeway speeds?

 

It seems the bike with a stock shield is aerodynamically challenged. Even at 60+ mph the water just sits there, even though I keep it waxed and the water beads fine.

 

I try not to ride in the rain, but we all know that is not always possible. I was planning on getting the xx-large as I like the calm air of a tall shield and I don't mind looking through the shield. But if the Clearview has the same aerodynamic issue I would need to get a shorter one.

 

Thanks Al

[SaltyDawg]

But what I want to know is, does the shape of the clearview push the rain off the shield at freeway speeds?

 

In a word "YES". It's a lot better than the stock I can tell you for sure. The moisture ie rain, fog blow up and off although some does come down on the inside but it's still a lot better than stock. I have the shorty and it is actually 1 inch shorter than the stock wind shield but it is angled back so I actually see over it when sitting on the bike normally. Not so with the stock I have to sit up straight and actually lift my butt off the seat to see over it.

 

This shield is no better than stock for shedding rain/fog at speeds under 50mph though. Above that and the shape of the shield creates a pressure difference across the front of the shield and blows the moisture off.

 

I put my stock on for a test to see how much air I was getting and whether or not my head buffeted around because I am going on a long trip to Florida and have had neck surgery. Well I can tell you this, it fogged up on me and I couldn't see at all, had to strain to see over the shield and MAN WAS IT HOT. No air flow, no buffeting either, but I'll take air flow and buffeting any day over that heat. Put the Clearview back on that evening.

 

The clearview allows more air to hit both riders, at least the shorty does. I don't have any experience with the taller ones. Once Beer 30 gets some riding with his new one and forms an opinion on that, I might consider going to a taller one with a vent.

[hig4s]

In a word "YES". It's a lot better than the stock I can tell you for sure. The moisture ie rain, fog blow up and off although some does come down on the inside but it's still a lot better than stock. I have the shorty and it is actually 1 inch shorter than the stock wind shield but it is angled back so I actually see over it when sitting on the bike normally. Not so with the stock I have to sit up straight and actually lift my butt off the seat to see over it.

 

This shield is no better than stock for shedding rain/fog at speeds under 50mph though. Above that and the shape of the shield creates a pressure difference across the front of the shield and blows the moisture off.

 

I put my stock on for a test to see how much air I was getting and whether or not my head buffeted around because I am going on a long trip to Florida and have had neck surgery. Well I can tell you this, it fogged up on me and I couldn't see at all, had to strain to see over the shield and MAN WAS IT HOT. No air flow, no buffeting either, but I'll take air flow and buffeting any day over that heat. Put the Clearview back on that evening.

 

The clearview allows more air to hit both riders, at least the shorty does. I don't have any experience with the taller ones. Once Beer 30 gets some riding with his new one and forms an opinion on that, I might consider going to a taller one with a vent.

 

Thanks for the info,, I think I will go with the XX-large with a vent. As long as it clears some at freeway speeds I think I will be happy.

[Guest KitCarson]

OK, there have been two replies to the question of how a Clearview works in the rain and fog. One said there could be a problem, and one mentioned the issue with riding slow and getting road grime and mist on the windshield.

 

But what I want to know is, does the shape of the clearview push the rain off the shield at freeway speeds?

 

It seems the bike with a stock shield is aerodynamically challenged. Even at 60+ mph the water just sits there, even though I keep it waxed and the water beads fine.

 

I try not to ride in the rain, but we all know that is not always possible. I was planning on getting the xx-large as I like the calm air of a tall shield and I don't mind looking through the shield. But if the Clearview has the same aerodynamic issue I would need to get a shorter one.

 

Thanks Al

I have ordered an medium 19.5 inch high shield (clear view measures from front of tank fill) tinted with a vent. As it appears it will take some time to receive this eagerly awaited new addition, I will have to wait a bit to make a report.

 

I can however report on the stock shield. I am exactly in my riding boots six foot tall exactly, normal build, and my windshield is a real pain, if I had not already promised it to another member I would drill holes in it like a termite!! It is hot behind this skyscraper shield, I went for a ride one day when it was 107 degrees, motor heat, no air flow.....whew it is a hot one behind this boy. Also I get a whole lot of buffeting with this shield that is supposed to be high to prevent buffeting??? At least this is what they tell me it was for. The air does not flow up and over this shield, it whips around the side and beats you first in one side of the head and then the other, it is like semi trucks passing you all the time, this is a constant thing .

 

And the biggest thing with this shield is safety. Yes I like yourself am allergic to rain. I will pull over and wait it out, go home, stop at a motel........something.......but as you have said sometimes one just simply gets caught in the rain for a bit. When you do with this shield, rain just sits on it........at slow speeds like through town, it gets road grime on it.......and I wear glasses also, so they fog up gee!!. The thing is I can put my glasses in my pocket and still see, I cannot see over this windshield at all, I have to stand up and scoot my butt up on top of the seat, stretch my arms way out to see over the shield. Or try to ride side to side in an unbalanced way and look to the side of the shield. So to me the most serious thing with this one is the safety part of it. I could live with the hot, just perforate it like a termite........the safety issue is not a fun thing.

 

I will write a detailed report of the clearview when and if I ever get it.

 

I am pretty sure it will be much better. I had an Harley Ultra Glide before the Venture(sorry I like to pick on harley riders now too!!) and I cut the shield on it down to just at eye level, maybe 3/4 of an inch above......so I could see over it if I needed to. It much improved the ride....instead of buffeting, I got a steady air flow pressure, much cooler, and about two miles to the gallon more mileage. The venture at the moment gets 44.3 miles to the gallon. It may or may not improve without that stand tall shield.......will let you know Kit

[1BigDog]

I love my Clearview!