Big Bike Parts Windshield Restoration Kit
BIG BIKE PARTS WINDSHIELD RESTORATION KIT
EVALUATION
Because time is money
IT SEEMS THAT UNCTUOUS BUSINESSman in "The Graduate" was right when he told Dustin Hoffman that plastics were the key to financial security. And if you have any doubts, some of these prices for OEM replacement windshields ought to convince you—and stop your heart in the bargain: Honda GL1500, $182.40; '87 Suzuki GSXR-750, $137.78; Kawasaki ZX600, $163.20.
But there’s no need to take out a bank loan to replace a windscreen that’s been rendered opaque by daily volleys of road grit and gravel. Instead, look to Big Bike Parts (313 W. Knapp St., Rice Lake, WI 54868; 1-800-826-2411) for its Windshield Restoration Kit. Included in the kit are two 11-by-9-inch sheets of extraordinarily fine abrasive paper (one slightly more coarse than the other), and bottles of rubbing compound and silicone-based wax.
You supply the most important part of the kit—elbow grease. In simplest terms, you sand down any deep scratches, replacing them with progressively finer ones that can then be rubbed out with the compound; the more and deeper the scratches, the longer it takes to remove them.
And remove them it does. To see just how well the kit works, we assaulted a faceshield with a 3M Scotchbrite pad and a fork. After an hour’s worth of sanding and polishing, we were able to see a remarkable transformation—in about a 4-inchsquare area.
Which points out the kit’s only real shortcoming: the amount of time and effort it takes to use. Yet, compared to the cost of a new windscreen, the Windshield Restoration Kit looks like a bargain. At $16.95, it’s only about one-tenth the cost of OEM replacements, and is even much cheaper than aftermarket shields, which run from $50 to $100 depending on the application.
Overall, the kit makes good on its promise to restore badly scratched windshields. Moreover, it works on colored plastic parts, too, provided the color is impregnated in the plastic rather than sprayed on. In short, Big Bike Parts Windshield Restoration Kit amounts to a sound investment. And it proves that time is indeed money, after all.
