Quote Originally Posted by F6BPDX View Post
Scotrod, as you can see from D Sharks photo Chris is giving you a line of bull. If my base doesn't wind up being 10" from gasket (like I specifically called and requested) I am going to come unglued a little. I took the extra effort to request it, and was assured that the 10" base was now the "standard" and no need to specify.

Guess we find out tomorrow...
F6BPDX: I wrote extensively on this subject and spoke with Mark at Madstad several times hoping to save others here all the grief I went through shipping shields back and fourth. Here are a few points that may help you as you communicate with Madstad.

First of all I learned I had to tell the nice folks at Madstad what I wanted and not simply hope that they would send me something that works. So if you feel strongly about the Base and or Shield you want then insist on it and they will accommodate you as they did me. Keep in mind that Madstad does not have an F6B to do road testing on so it's up to us.

Turns out Madstad shipped me the GL1800 base by mistake (took them 2 weeks to figure out exactly what they had shipped me which was not real encouraging). I mounted it on my F6B and they were surprised it fit (I did use a larger diameter washer to capture the center mounting slot machined into the Base). You can see a comparison between the two Bases at the Madstad site if you go to to the GL1800 page and compare photos to the F6B page.

The GL1800 Base is not only taller it is also wider which I think is very important. I have the 11" shield and can adjust the Shield Full Up with no loss in wind protection (in fact wind protection may be a little better in the up position). As a reminder I'm 6'-2" tall. Scotrod states his wind protection begins to deteriorate when approaching the Full Up position. Mark at Madstad also indicated to me in a phone conversation that wind protection would deteriorate if the Shield were adjusted too high relative to the Base. Based on Scotrod's experience I don't doubt this is true with the shorter and narrower Base installed.

I can tell you without any doubt that with the GL1800 Base mounted on my F6B there is no reduction in wind protection when the Shield is adjusted full up. I have also stated that calm air extends well beyond each shoulder to the left and right as well as good protection around the hands. I think the added height & width are responsible.

I'm on a business trip right now but when I get back I'll take some better photos of the GL1800 Base on my F6B. However if you compare closely the photos I have posted to those by others you can get a good idea of the dimensional differences. I think it's the added Base Height & Width combined that work so well on my bike.