Slip Streamer Windshield

Slip Streamer windshield

CYCLE WORLD EVALUATION

Windshields are neat. Once upon a time the plain shield, a slightly curved assembly that attached to the bars and forks, was all the weather protection you could get. Then modern plastics and fiberglass and production techniques and more reliable bikes came together in the frame-mount fairing and the windshield was what the old guys used.

Except that touring fairings got bigger and better and heavier and more expensive and pretty soon the same production skills and improved plastics gave us a new kind of windshield that will do most of what the fairings do, but cheaper and easier.

For example, the Slip Streamer. The windshield shown here comes from one of the older firms in the business. The shield is made of Lucite acrylic, a clear, strong plastic. The mounting system is supposed to be universal, in that there are upper struts from the bars and lower struts from the fork legs. The struts slide into clamps and the clamps plug into holes in the shield. It's a tidy system and because the struts slide and swivel and are longer than they need to be for most applications, Slip Streamer claims this shield will fit nearly any bike that has tubular bars. And it will.

Except that in our case, we made some changes and learned a valuable lesson.

Remember the lectures you used to get from the grown-ups, the ones along the lines of Don’t do as I do, do as I say?

This is one of them.

We ordered a windshield for a Suzuki GR650, the new Twin. Slip Streamer sent two, one clear and one tinted. The GR is a conventional bike in most respects, but it’s small for a 650 and it has a relatively high steering head. The bars and instruments and headlight are also high. The clamps on the fork tubes and bars fitted properly, all the hardware was in the package and the shield went on with no problems.

Except it was too tall. The shield sits above the headlight,which as mentioned is high for the size of the bike. Not even the tallest riders in the place could see over the top and the top was higher than the screens on the Honda Aspencade and Yamaha Venture Royaie.

We’ve all read glib references to trimming windshields orscreens to size. Easy, we're always told, and most of the time the job is basic: mark and cut.

The top struts were so high they were in the rider’s field of vision. So we figured to open up the center recess and lower the complete shield about 4 in., then trim another 4 in. off the top.

One of the guys brought a saber saw from home. The shield was marked, guarded with masking tape, then cut along the dotted lines.

Here’s where caution wasn’t used. The saw cut so fast it left a trail of melted Lucite, a molten slag that hardened as it cooled.

Our man tried to pop the supposedly removed section out. Instead, he managed to snap the shield, a clean, irrepairable break. The windshield, $99.95 at dealerships everywhere, was junk.

That’s when it’s nice to have a company charge account. We pulled the other windshield out of its box, marked it, and cut again. This time we took it slower and got good, clean cuts. No problem. Just a $100 lesson.

Now, the actual evaluation:

The windshield does its job, that is, keeps the wind off the rider. Trimmed as shown it directs the blast over the rider’s head and off his chest and hands but not legs. It's small enough to not produce the reverse pressure generated by some larger shields or fairings. The Lucite cleans up well and is close enough to optically true as to make no difference.

There was one minor problem. With the shield its original size, the GR was taken on a Sunday ride that included gravel roads. Such travel should be a predictable part of a motorcycle’s life. The unpaved road was rough and the shaking loosened the shield's clamps.

The shield began rattling and finally lost one of the snap-in connections between the shield and a strut. The windshield’came with an alien wrench.

If we'd taken it along, and if we’d tightened in time, probably the connection wouldn’t have broken. Even so, we were disappointed.

There's also a trade-off: On a long, fast trip, with the proverbial headwind most of the way, miles per dropped to the low 40s, from the 50 returned in daily service.

To check the indicated increase in aerodynamic drag, the GR went through our flying half mile test, with shield and without, with the rider sitting up.

With shield, the GP clocked 95 mph.

Without, it did 99. So there is some added drag and the windshield costs mpg as well as speed. Also the rider reported a slight weave over 90 mph with the shield, but not with the bike bare. The extra wind pressure is putting force on the bars. In the GR’s case, 90 being as fast as the bike likes to go anyway, the risk is minor. But the windshield does effect handling.

So. The Slip Streamer windshield does its job, adding to rider comfort. It can easily be removed or put back on, the mounting system works with attention and the extra fuel burned seems reasonable to us. Trimming to fit requires care, but overall, the windshield is $100 well spent.

Or more accurately, the suggested retail prices are $99.95 clear, $109.95 tinted. At local dealers, from Slip Streamer, Inc., 9835 W. 69th St., Eden Prairie, Minn. 55344. BS