The reveal at the bottom of the shield looks consistant all the way across. Betcha that's the positioning Mark had in mind when it was designed.
Roughly, how much gap do you have across the front?
What is your inseam?
Thanks!!!
Printable View
The reveal at the bottom of the shield looks consistant all the way across. Betcha that's the positioning Mark had in mind when it was designed.
Roughly, how much gap do you have across the front?
What is your inseam?
Thanks!!!
Girlfriend and I went for a ride Sunday. Nice day but gusty. As Bruce indicates you really need a calm day (clean air) to accurately judge the change in wind protection with different shield angles. Overall for me the 16" Madstad is a big improvement over the previous 11" Baggershield. At 16" I get really good protection (quiet) at just about any angle and or height. Problem however as stated before is I can't see over it. Girlfriend indicated the wind was now hitting her on top of the head instead of in the face. She seemed to prefer the shield tilted all the way back (normal shield angle).
With the Madstad you can hear the engine and tranny and the noise of the wind going over and around the windshield. This is however much quieter than all the wind buffeting noise around the head and ears previously with the Baggershield. For the price and height the Baggershield does a decent job. Biggest problem I had with the Baggershield was even more noise & buffeting when I wore my half helmet. Even though the Madstad shield is narrower than the Baggershield it seems to provide as wide if not wider protection from side to side.
Last week I asked Mark to ship me the 11" shield, waiting to hear back as to when that might ship? This will give me a height adjustment range of 11-14". I really liked the height (great visibility over the shield) and sporty look of the 11" Baggershield. If I can get that and the calm air it would be great. We shall see.
Bruce,
Got looking closely at your 13" shield install and it looks as though you have the shield (brackets) adjusted up as high as it will go, is that right? I ask because when my 16" shield is adjusted all the way down then the top of the shield is approximately 16 inches above the rubber strip that mates the base shield to the faring. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong but it appears as though your shield (brackets) will only adjust down from the 13" height while mine will only adjust up from it's 16" height ???
Scotrod,
Looking closely at the bottom contour for Bruce's shield it is quite a bit different than mine (looks like a much better line). I'm trying to get an answer from Mark but no contact yet.
I don't see these on the Madstad website yet, how are you guys ordering these and how much are they?
Top of Madstad Home Page select "Motorcycle Products" then select "Honda" then select "GL1800 Goldwing". There is no specific F6B page. Prices are $280 to $300 dollars.
I think they are still trying to get their act together with the F6B product??? The shortest shield they list is the 16". I suggested to Mark this was too tall for the F6B but took his word for it. Looks like what I got differs some from what Bruce posted pictures of but have yet to get into contact with Mark at Madstad.
I spoke with Mark at Madstad late today and didn't get an answer to my basic question as to why the difference in bracket height adjustment between Bruce's bike and mine. Now I know he has been out of the office (on the road) and he sounded tired tonight so I wasn't going to beat someone up on the phone in that condition.
I tried to take a pic of my bike at the same relative angle and height as Bruce did. It's pretty clear the bottom of each shield is about even with the the gasket that mates the faring to the base shield. It's also clear that the bottom contour (relief) on Bruce's shield is much more gradual and looks better.
Now Mark at Madstad says these two shields are the same except for the height (Bruce's 13" and my 16"). Mark claims Bruces 13" shield is the same as mine Just that he has 3" cut off the top. Mark claims the distance from shield mounting holes to the bottom of the shield are the same on all shields. Seems if that were the case the brackets on both shields would be adjusted in the full down position. Note that Bruce's brackets appear to be adjusted full UP and mine are in fact full DOWN. It was clear that Mark and I were not on the same page as I explained this and we never reached any type of agreement.
Supposedly Mark will send me an 11" shield that will be exactly like my 16", just 5" cut off the top. If that's the case then it will be 11" above the faring gasket in the down position and 14" in the up position which is what I'm looking for. If it turns out like Bruce's then it will be 11" in the full up position and adjust down to 8" which is not what I want. I tried to explain to Mark that something is off here but just was not getting across. I tried, guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and wait to see what I get. I'm not too optimistic since I tried to tell Mark before placing my original order that the 16" shield would be too high.
Can any of you guy's explain why the vertical bracket adjustment is at opposite extremes on the two bikes ????
Bruce's Bike
http://hondaf6b.com/attachment.php?a...8&d=1382427355
d-shark's Bike
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w...022_162959.jpg
Yo...D-shark, take a very careful look at the difference between the two windshields. They are not the same. The very bottom edge of the windshield on Bruce's bike is a straighter line cut. But the same area on your windshield has a arch or curve cut into the middle of the bottom of your windshield...almost as if it was to fit around a round 7" headlight. Not saying that is what it was designed for, just that is what it "looks like" it was desgined for.
The bottom edge of these two windshields are quite different.
I undersdtand that this was not the reasoning behind your post, because...yes...there is a difference in the positioning of the adjustment bracket. But I wanted you to see that there is also a difference in the actual windshields.
There is a slight difference in the curvature /shape of the base.
Look between the mirror and the edge of the shield on both bikes.
Does the base have holes to mount it to the bike with no adjustment or are there slots like a 'normal' Full G-wing shield?
Yes the contour on the bottom of Bruce's shield matches the faring better and looks better. Also noticed the different contour of the base shield next to the left mirror. When I installed mine it does have slots and I installed it in the lowest possible position. So guess the bottom line is that Bruce and I have different shields and base shields. I think both our shields were shipped on the same day. I like the contour on Bruce's shield better and the contour on my base shield better.
I sent these pics to Mark at Madstad tonight but have not had a lot of luck getting email responses from him. It's a little frustrating.
I'm attaching some more pics of my brackets and the position I'm finding works well for me. I will also try dropping to a lower position because, if that works, I'd like to have the top of the shield a bit further below my line of sight. As you can see, I still have a fair amount of adjustment available on each end of the slot. I chose some reference points to measure by when trying various heights so that I could take notes and repeat what I found worked the best. Harbor Freight has a $4.99 inclinometer (located by the levels) that I found helpful in being precise. Really helps when trying to repeat what works. This is the 13 inch shield. I'm 5' 9-10", and have a 30" inseam. From the top end of the movable part of the bracket (in line with the slot) to the top edge of the tightening nut, is 2 1/8 inches. Any reference points could be used in trying out different settings. I just chose those. Rake is 60 degrees.
( A quick edit. Just saw that somehow I posted each picture two or more times. I have no idea how that happened but it's best that I don't mess with it.)
Attachment 2739Attachment 2740Attachment 2741Attachment 2742Attachment 2743Attachment 2739Attachment 2740Attachment 2741Attachment 2742Attachment 2743
Bruce's upper brackets are attached to different holes in lower brackets than D-sharks pic in post 39:
http://hondaf6b.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2664
Well that solves part of the mystery as to why things look different. Thanks for the photos Bruce.
The question I had for Mark which remains unanswered is why does the bottom of both shields appear to be about even with the Faring to base shield gasket when my shield is in the full down position and Bruce's is raised at least 2 inches? When I raise my shield 2 inches the bottom of the shield is well above the faring to base gasket.
Bruce, Measured the distance from the bottom of my shield to the lower mounting hole and it's 3-7/8" or in other words close enough to 4". That seems to make the different bracket adjustments between our two bikes an even bigger mystery. Could your base shield be shorter than mine. Measuring from the bottom edge of the faring / base shield gasket to the top of the base shield is 10" on mine.
Mark emailed me back this morning and I've tried at least three times to send him pictures of the two bikes. He gets the emails but no photos although the photos show up in the archive copies in my Gmail. I even forwarded a copy of the email to myself and the photos were there no problem. I think his email server must be stripping out the photos due to size restrictions ???
As a last resort I forwarded Mark the web link to this page. I sent him the link last week and he claimed it did not work. I asked him to copy the link and paste it into his browser this time around. Have not heard anything back from Mark since that email.
IMHO:
The 2 bases are different.
D-sharks is larger/taller than Bruces.
Bracket distance to OEM rubber strip should be compared. Bruces looks to be just under 2 inches from bracket edge to rubber strip.
http://hondaf6b.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2742
D-sharks shield is too dark to determine the dim via photo's
Bruce, here are measurements of my base shield. From the top edge of the Base shield to the bottom edge of the faring gasket is 10". From the bottom edge of the base shield bracket to the bottom edge of the faring gasket is 3-3/4". How does this compare to yours? You guys didn't know I had 3 hands, 2 tapes and 1 phone to take the photo.
I should note that I raised the shield to it's full up position for this picture so the tape measures can be clearly seen.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...023_124040.jpg
Bruce,
Thanks for your time and effort providing photos and measurements. Your measurements explain why the difference in Bracket height adjustment between our two bikes. Your base shield is 2" shorter than mine so you have your brackets adjusted approximately 2" UP to adjust for the difference, makes sense now.
What doesn't make a lot of sense is that we both ordered basically the same 3 piece product kit (base shield, brackets, shield) and got different things. Your base shield is approximately 2" shorter than mine. Your brackets came assembled differently than mine. The bottom of your shield has a different and more pleasing contour IMHO. What baffles me even more is that Mark at Madstad does not know for sure exactly what parts were sent to either one of us.
As a side note for you, when I installed my Base Shield it had slots and I installed it in the full DOWN position. Don't know if yours had slots and can be raised to a similar height as mine? In any event if yours is working probably no need to mess with success.
Our apologies, it turns out we sent you a GL1800 setup by mistake, and it just so happens that our mounting plate for the GL1800 fits into the F6B fairing (but wouldn't work the other way around). That's why it looks like you and Bruce got two different systems, because you did. Brackets are the same, shield and base plate are a bit different. We'll ship you the correct plate and another shield tomorrow, and that should set things right. Sorry for the confusion, we do make mistakes now and then. We appreciate your patience. - Mark
Closer now than I've ever been! :icon_biggrin:
I have at least (1) real hurdle before I can commit.
~New~ seat (RDL) arrives the 30th. Need to test and tune with it to determine if I'm higher/lower/same, etc. Doubt that there will be any significant changes along those lines, BUT, with luck like mine,,, (JINXED is my middle name!!!!)
You mentioned you thought about getting a med tint shield ISO the light tint. Why?
Bruce B,
Regarding night time visibility with the dark grey. I was riding home the other night during dusk (remember now that I am currently looking through my 16" shield) and the lowered visibility was annoying. My previous shield was an 11" dark Baggershield which was no problem at night since I was looking well over the top of it. Point here is if you are looking far enough over the top of the shield then night visibility is not an issue (not for me anyway).
If u get a madstad and look thru it, u missed the point and might as well get a tall cheap shield. U should be looking way over it...
OK, I'm sure you folks have sensed my frustration over the differences in the Madstad kits Bruce and I received and what I felt was a lack of any acceptable explanation from Mark at Madstad. After sending Mark a number of Emails with photos of both bikes where none of the photos were visible on his end I suggested he come here to the Forum. Mark did that but evidently photos are only visible to registered members so he registered and had to wait for administrator approval before logging in (this explains why a response to my questions took so long). Now that Mark is a member and has seen all the photos he and I are finally on the same page as indicated by his post here yesterday afternoon.
I would like to give Mark credit for the time he has spent reading my emails, answering my phone calls, registering on this forum and dealing professionally with my impatience. After Mark got on the Forum yesterday and saw the photos we exchanged a couple of very informative emails. Some of that information I will try to paraphrase here.
Mark reminded me although Madstad manufactures a lot of shield kits, the F6B kit is new so they are still experimenting and or trying different things to see what customers respond to. As an example he mentioned they have sent out three different windshield shapes with different contours to get customer feedback. I made Mark aware that given a choice between mine or Bruce's top shield I vote for Bruce's. Now that Mark is a member here I'm sure he will follow this thread so others should express their preference as well.
As mentioned earlier I am waiting for an 11" shield that has shipped and will arrive next week. This shield mounted on my current base shield will measure approximately 11" from the top of the shield to the faring / base shield gasket in it's lowest position and approximately 14" in it's highest position which is a good range of adjustment. I really liked the height of my previous 11" Baggershield, I was looking well over the top of it and reasonable wind protection for most riding. I expect the ability to raise the Madstad shield up for long interstate runs to be a big plus. The 16" Madstad provides a big bubble of calm air at just about any angle and or height. I'm guessing the 11" shield effectiveness may be a bit more sensitive to height and angle adjustment???
Mark has offered to send me the shorter base shield as seen on Bruce's bike and I'm not sure I want to install that for a few reasons: First of all with the taller base shield when the shield itself is adjusted all the way down the bottom of the shield is generally in line with the faring / base shield gasket (this looks nice). Seems to me this would be as low as one would want the shield to go any way. Seems to me like a lower position would start to choke off the air gap between the shield and faring? Also seems to me if the bottom of the shield is adjusted below the the faring gasket it's just not going to look quite right? Also adjusting the bottom of the shield below the faring gasket seems like there may be a risk of inadvertently contacting the faring. Also, I just find the taller base shield top contour visually more pleasing compared to the shorter base shield on Bruce's bike (just me). And finally seems to me the taller base shield would make the whole system more aerodynamically effective, especially when the shield is in it's full up position compared to the shorter base shield??? Others should express their feelings as I'm sure Mark would appreciate the feedback.
Mark explained to me that they went with the shorter base shield on the F6B to avoid limiting forward visibility since the base is completely dark for this model (this is thick heavy material that provides very good support for the brackets). Mark seems to think the taller base shield could be s safety issue for shorter riders and thinks sacrificing adjustment range is an acceptable trade-off for improved visibility. For me having full usable height adjustment range is a key feature!!! I had a number of friends ride my F6B with the 11" Baggershield that was dark and everyone said they could easily see over it just fine. My taller Madstad base shield is only 10" tall measured from the bottom edge of the faring gasket to the top of the base shield. Thoughts from others on this subject my be helpful to Mark.
When I have a chance to install and ride with the new 11" shield next week I will report back. Thanks to Bruce, Mark and everyone else here for their helpful input.
chipmaker,
You are right. This has become a long thread but earlier I stated I ordered the 16" shield at Madstad's advice and it turned out it was way too tall (am looking through it). Madstad is sending me an 11" to replace it.
Can't wait to get one for this bike, I'll let u guys figure out the final product choices...
If I had not received the taller Madstad base shield by mistake that allows full up & down bracket adjustment of the shield that would have been an immediate deal breaker for me. I looked hard at the Windbender which is a very nice product with a claimed vertical adjustment of 4". I want to be able to slam the shield down when riding mountain twisties and up on long interstate hauls. Which I assumed both of these products were capable of prior to my Madstad purchase.
For me Madstad edged out the Windbender with it's simple yet elegant rake adjustment. If you compromise the vertical adjustment range of the Madstad then I think I would have to go with the Windbender.
Bike with 11" shield at 60 degrees, set approx 1" up from full down.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W...028_194715.jpg
Windshield full up,red tape 58" (my eye level).
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Q7...s=w649-h865-no
Windshield approx 1" up, red tape 58" (my eye level).
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/u6...U=w649-h865-no
Windshield full down, red tape 58" (my eye level).
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U...028_193844.jpg
Windshied full up, 60 degree tilt.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-k...028_194458.jpg
Windshiel approx 1" up, 60 degree tilt.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5q...=w1153-h865-no
Windshield full down, 60 degree tilt.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...028_194529.jpg
Beautiful day today in Central IL, UPS delivered shield at 3pm so I got out for 2 hours of riding. First of all the 11" shield adjusted approx 1" up from the lowest height setting and tilted at 60 degrees is every bit as effective as the 16" shield was despite the fact that I'm looking well over the top of it. Wind protection is also good set in full UP and full DOWN positions. In the full UP position I have to sit up just a tad to see over the top of the shield. So with this combination (tall base shield & 11" shield) this works good for me being 6'2". The full height adjustment range is usable for me.
With my old 11" Baggershield the stereo was useless above 55mph. Today on the interstate at 75mph I enjoyed the stereo without having to crank it to ear blistering levels. Also tried my Half Helmet which produced a ton of wind noise with the Baggershied. Only slightly more noise with the helmet compared to no helmet.
Photos from the riders seat give you an idea of how the tall base shield looks relative to the forward field of view. I think a rider would have to be very short for the taller base shield to present any kind of forward visibility problem. I personally like the proportions of the tall base shield and 11" top shield. At my request Madstad shipped me a top shield with the gentler bottom contour which looks better IMO.
My opinion for what little it counts. The Madstad looks like it is about 3 inches forward of the stock shield and less of a angle most likely why u need a shorter 1.
The smaller shield does look better!!!
D-Shark, what's your inseam?
So far, it looks like I'm either an 11 or a 13 shield sze w/Madstad.
Scotrod,
I am 6',2" tall with an average to perhaps slightly longer torso length and 34" pant inseam. To select the proper shield height you have to first know exactly which base shield Madstad is going to ship to you. I received the 10" tall base shield by accident (as measured from the bottom of the faring gasket to the top of the base shield). Mark at Madstad said they should have shipped a base shield that is approx 2" shorter as seen in this thread on Bruce's bike.
If you look at Bruce's bike he has his brackets adjusted approx 2" UP to get the bottom of the shield approx even with the faring gasket. My guess is that the top of his 13" shield is approx 13" above the bottom of the faring gasket. This leaves Bruce with only 1" of additional UP adjustment (so the full usable adjustment range for Bruce is 13" to 14" above the bottom of the faring gasket). So if you get the shorter base shield as Bruce did then you have to choose your shield height very carefully because of the very limited height adjustment. When I discussed the limited height adjustment the shorter base shield imposes with Mark at Madstad, Mark seemed to think it was no big deal, I have to disagree, (that would be a deal killer for me).
In my case I have the taller 10" base shield so when the brackets are adjusted all the way DOWN the bottom of the shield is approx even with the faring gasket. I can set my 11" shield so the top of it is anywhere from 11" to 14" above the bottom of the faring gasket. I appear to get excellent wind protection through that entire adjustment range with the taller base shield. My concern is that a shorter base shield may degrade wind protection when the shield is adjusted full UP? I have no way to prove this, so make your own choice.
It was interesting in my conversations with Mark, he stated the Madstad windshield heights they manufacture are simply that, the height of the windshield when placed on a table measured from top to bottom (they make no reference to a point on the bike). On the other hand Goldwing owners when discussing windshield height tend to assume this means the height of the shield measured from the faring gasket to the top of the shield. This is not the case with the kit Bruce received. If he adjusts his 13" shield to full DOWN the top of his shield will be approx 11" above the faring gasket and the bottom of the shield approx 2" below the faring gasket. My point here is that Goldwing owners may be thinking apples while Madstad is thinking and shipping oranges.
I'm taking the time here in an attempt to help forum members understand their choices. I also hope this will be useful and constructive feedback for Madstad. When I originally ordered this product I wanted a shield I could adjust from 11" up to 14" in height (as measured from the bottom of the faring base gasket to the top of the shield). Madstad recommended I order their 16" shield despite the measurements I provided and concerns I expressed about 16" being too tall (granted Mark assured me they would replace the shield at no charge if it did not work out and he has).
My advice would be to order the taller Base Shield, that way if you adjust a 11" or 13" shield full DOWN, the top of the shield will be approximately 11" or 13" above the bottom of the faring base gasket. Then you have a full 3" of upward adjustment (14" and 16" max height respectively) with no apparent loss in wind protection as far as I can tell.
I'm 6-0 w/30 so ~roughly~ the same as 6-4 w/34 (Dad's 6-4 and we are the same height at the table. Different story after he stands up! LOL!)
I have a 'convertable' baggershield which is 19 in the 'raised' position. (11 low, I believe) No problems at all seeing over it @ 19.
Seen some 'Goldwing' shields measured as overall length, including the portion below the rubber strip, while F6b shields are sometimes measured rubber strip up. (Baggershield does this on there website.) Probably a result of OEM Wings having 4 inches of shield adjustment while F6b's have none.)
The range of adjustment you prefer seems to be similar to what the Windbender set up does. Madstad costs less and comes with rake adjustment 'standard'. I can't say there is any clear-cut advantage in function of one system vs. the other as I've never had either one. :iduno:
Scotrod,
Based on my limited riding experience so far with the Madstad there is not a huge difference in added wind protection for the rider when adjusting the rake from the stock angle to 60 degrees as recommended but there is some improvement. Ability to adjust the rake seems to benefit the passenger more than the rider in my case. Just to be clear, the air is very calm at the rider position at just about any angle and or height. I will have to report back after my girlfriend has had more time to critique what's going on from the passenger seat.
I looked hard and long at the Windbender which appears to be a fine product and they have many happy customers. I just went Madstad because it had what I thought was a more elegant rake adjustment already built into their Robo Bracket system. So far I am very happy I spent the extra money for this type of windshield system. It simply adds to an already great F6B riding experience.
A brief update since installing the shorter 11" Dark Grey Madstad Shield in place of the original 16" they originally recommended. I mentioned earlier the 11" shield is every bit as effective for me the rider as the 16" shield was. Yesterday had the girlfriend on the back for an afternoon ride for the first time with the 11" shield. We tried all different angles & heights, turns out with the shield at approx 60 degrees and raised approx 1" from it's lowest setting is the best for both of us. I should note we were not wearing helmets of any kind.
She stated she could not detect any reduction in wind protection with the 11" shield compared to the 16" shield and that both were vastly better for her than the 11" Baggershield installed before the Madstad. She made the observation that when she leans forward to speak into my ear there is wind noise, but when she sits back in a natural passenger position it is much quieter. She commented that at 70 mph she could hear the radio and that really the only wind noise she could hear is the wind rushing over the windshield.
So instead of wind or perhaps more accurately TURBULENCE constantly pummeling the ears there is more of a light fluttering about the ears. We can both hear the engine and trany which is louder than most would realize once the wind noise is gone.
The BaggerShield is a good traditional fixed windshield. I had the adjustable version but never used the top extension since I do not like looking through a shield. Compared to traditional fixed shields, Madstad really kicks wind protection up several levels and can spoil a rider real fast. My girlfriend and I are enjoying a great motorcycling experience (The F6B) even more now.
I'm getting the same great results with my 13 inch Madstad. I couldn't be happier with it. I'm changing from the light tint to the dark gray, just because I like the looks better. Looking way over the top, the dark color isn't an issue. Since we have somewhat different base shields, our mounting looks bit different but that doesn't matter. We adjust for the desired result. My dark gray replacement will arrive on Wednesday and I'll post some pics for comparison.