I can easily see over the 19 inch combined height of my Baggershield.
Sounds like the Madstad will end up at a more-upright angle than OEM, but even then,,,, kinda getting the feeling a 15 might be necessary,,
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I can easily see over the 19 inch combined height of my Baggershield.
Sounds like the Madstad will end up at a more-upright angle than OEM, but even then,,,, kinda getting the feeling a 15 might be necessary,,
Scotrod,
In my case my eye level seated on the bike is 58" above the floor as measured by my girlfriend several times. In the photo below the top of the shield is 60" above the floor and the red tape 58" (my eye level). Measuring from the bottom of the faring gasket to the top of the shield is 14" (a 15" shield would be 1" taller when adjusted full down). You may want to have someone measure your eye level while sitting on the bike for comparison. My gut tells me a 15" would work for you but it would have to be adjusted all the way down to see over the top. That would virtually eliminate the vertical adjustment feature of the brackets.
The stock shield sits at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. As the Madstad shield is tilted upwards to the recommended 60 degrees the top edge moves up into your field of view fairly rapidly. In the photo below I can't see over the shield when it is set at a 60 degree angle as pictured. When I rotate the Madstad back to a 45 degree angle (close to stock) I can see over it.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Q7...s=w649-h865-no
Any more updates on the Madstad, I just ordered mine. My 13" CB has the wind buffeting the top of my lid creating turbulence and noise.
I have the 13" dark shield and like it a lot. By this weekend I'll be trying the 11" shield just to compare and see which one I prefer. It's a great unit and I like it a lot better than my 13" CB. Put on 260 miles behind it last Saturday mostly in twisties to the Napa Valley wine country, then twisties north to Clear Lake, and then down a long twisty canyon, plus some straight stuff to get to and from the fun stuff. The dark shield works well. Like looking through dark sunglasses when there is a need to look down which is hardly ever. Even on 20 mph corners, I'm easily looking over and to the side of the shield. The dark tint is no problem or distraction at night either. I don't think I'd like the dark opaque shield though. You're going to like your Madstad. You'll like the appearance too. It's a distinctive windshield for a distinctive bike.
I have the 11" coming. I loved the madstad on my RG.
I have the 11" Opaque as well as a slightly higher dark gray one, which I use in the winter but for the hot days of summer the shorty is better and it's easy to see over this dinky little thing. Doesn't matter that you can't see through it because it is such a perfect match for the bike's murdered out black looks but then that's a different type of cool. The great thing about the F6B is that you can take it in any direction you want and it's always a great ride. May be my favorite bike of all time but at 63 I hope to still have time for a few more. Variety really is the spice of life.
You might recall from earlier in this thread that Madstad shipped me the 2" taller GL1800 Base Shield by mistake. Mark of Madstad after realizing what had happened wanted to ship me the shorter F6B Base Shield and I said No Thank You to that. The taller Base Shield (taller by approx 2") allows you to use the full 3" of up and down adjustment. When my 11" Outer Shield is in the Full Down position the bottom of the Outer Shield is approximately even with the faring shield gasket which looks aesthetically pleasing in my opinion. In the Full Up position the top of the Outer Shield is approximately 14 inches above the faring gasket (nice usable adjustment range).
With the 2" shorter Base Shield the bottom of the Outer Shield will be approximately 2 inches below the faring shield gasket which does look right in my opinion. Secondly, I have talked to at least one other owner that found having the shield all the way down with the shorter Base Shield seemed to choke off air flow between the Outer Shield and Base Shield degrading overall wind protection.
I'm not sure why Mark at Madstad is reluctant to use the taller GL1800 Base Shield on the F6B???? In my opinion it looks good and provides great wind protection through out the Outer Shield's entire range of height adjustment.
In talking to Mark it's pretty clear their F6B shield is a new product and that Madstad is relying entirely on customer feedback as they develop this product. I hope everyone here will be sure to give Mark feedback on their likes and dislikes as I have.
My 11" shield in the Full Down position.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...028_194529.jpg
Thats nice and low, but does it pop the wind all the way over your head?
With the shield all the way down I do get some wind which is nice on Hot Days doing 50-60 mph. For interstate riding I usually run the shield adjusted about 1 inch up from what is shown in the photo (still very low but max wind protection). Wind goes all the way over the Head at 6'-2" tall.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that if you happen to get the 2" shorter Base Shield then the bottom of the Outer Shield will be 2" lower compared to what is seem on my bike. To me that does not make much sense (who wants to have the bottom of the shield that low) and limits how high the shield can be adjusted.
Taller Base Shield with 11" Outer Shield, the top of the Outer Shield can be adjusted from 11" to 14" above the base of the faring gasket.
Shorter Base Shield with 11" Outer Shield, the top of the Outer Shield can be adjusted from 9" to 12" above the base of the faring gasket.
In my opinion the taller Base Shield provides more usable vertical adjustment. Madstad will try to talk you into the shorter Base Shield so decide what works for you and order accordingly.
As part of our R&D effort on this, I Have an 11" on the way to me along with a new base. Your base is 2" higher than my short one and at my height of 5'10", I am 4 inches shorter than you are. The new base I am trying will be taller by half the distance between my short one and your tall one. In other words, 1 inch taller than mine and 1 inch lower than yours. With the 11" shield instead of the 13" I have now, I'm expecting to still get good wind protection as well as being able to lower the screen further out of my line of sight.
Mine gets delivered Monday, I wonder which base I will get? I'm only 5'11'', so I think I'll be fine either way...
After a bit of R&D tinkering with this new product, I've settled on the 11" shield and the mid size base plate for my height of 5' 10" and average build. Couldn't be happier. By far the best shield I've ever owned, IMHO. As always, your preferences my differ. Haven't used it in really cold weather yet but have done some riding with temps in the mid thirties. The protection is great. Yes, we do get some cool weather up here in central California.
Thanks for the pics and comments Bruce, exactly what I needed to make up my mind.
Bruce, your shield angle and height relative to the faring gasket looks pretty much identical to what I have settled on (plenty of gap between Base and Shield). Just curious if you noticed any difference when you switched from the 8" to 9" Base? My 10" Base is a bit wider than yours. I notice I have a very wide envelope of calm air (well beyond each shoulder and not much air around the hands). Was wondering if you seem to get the same wide envelope?
The Madstad site seems to suggest the calm air is produced by letting some air between the Base and Shield to relieve some of the low pressure behind the Shield. My tinkering (and aviation background) has me thinking quite the opposite. I think the stream of air flowing up and over the front of the Shield creates a lower relative air pressure in front of the stream of air flowing up from the Base. This IMO allows the stream of air flowing up the Base to rise higher than it normally would with a single traditional shield (thus the bubble of calm air up and over your head)
Having tinkered with many different positions and settings, my experience suggests the more air flow over the Base the better. In other words the bigger the gap between bottom of the Shield and Base the better. This gap is user adjustable in two ways: First in the way the Robo Brackets are assembled and Second in how low you adjust your Shield. The Robo Brackets have a series of assembly holes which allow the Shield to be mounted closer or further away from the Base. I have settled on the Furthest setting (max gap between Shield and Base). For those with the shorter 8" or 9" Base you have to be careful not to adjust the shield so low that the Gap between the Base and the bottom of the Shield is choked off.
If you special order the 10" Base it is simply not possible to adjust the Shield so low that the gap between the bottom of the Shield and Base is choked off (this is one advantage to the 10" Base IMO). In the lowest position the bottom of the shield is about even with the Faring Gasket when adjusted Full Down using a 10" Base (this will be true with any height Shield). With the 8" Base and the Shield adjusted Full Down the bottom of the Shield will be about 2" below the Faring Gasket choking off the gap (and air flow) between the bottom of the Shield and Base. I point this out once again for any one trying to decide what height shield to order. Because if you receive an 8" Base and happen to order a Shield that is really too tall for you by mistake, then naturally you will adjust the Shield to the Full Down position in an attempt to see over it. This will choke the gap between the bottom of the Shield and Base and you will not get the wind protection the Madstad is truly capable of.
The Madstad Website Shield height recommendations are all skewed way too Tall. Bruce ended up trading out for a shorter shield and so did I. I'm a Normal Build build 6'-2" guy and the website suggests a 15" Shield. I'm actually using the 11" Shield adjusted up about 1" from the Full Down position and I am looking way over the top of it with great results. I think Bruce is about 5'-10" and using the same 11" Shield now with good results.
Madstad is a small company with a great product. Be aware however they do not have a Goldwing available to them for test rides to tweak the F6B product. So all the Field Testing is being done by folks like us. My advice when it comes to the F6B is to take Madstad's recommendations on Base and Shield heights with a grain of salt. Those of us actually riding with the Madstad will continue to provide feedback in hopes that info will help others get the most out of their Madstad purchase.
I like the appearance of my short base. :shrug:
Scotrod,
I agree the short Base looks fine, question for me is: Does it provide the same degree of wind protection as the taller Base?
You mentioned in another thread that your short ride on the Interstate with the Madstad did not seem that much different than a standard shield. My bike on the Interstate is Hands Down many times better than the 11" BaggerShield I was running. Before the Madstad I actually thought the BaggerShield was doing a good job. The Madstad just exceeded all my expectations by a wide margin.
On the Interstate I still get some buffeting from traffic but much reduced compared to my BaggerShield. The Madstad also seems to help in reducing to some degree the effect of stiff crosswinds on the rider. It just seems to create a relatively large Bubble of smooth air.
Now I know due to weather you have not had the opportunity to ride that much to dial-in your setup. I'm just trying to provide my observations for others trying to order or dial-in what they have.
Just placed my order, and talked to Mark. He advised that the tall baseplate is now the default for F6B.
I bought the Baggershield and can say that it is wonderful for me. I just took it for a serious spin. First with the 9" smoke portion in place. (Today was 80 degrees here in So.Cal. Perfect riding wx.)
Had some buffeting of the helmet at 80 mph and similar wind noise to having the stock shield in place. After chow up in Banning (near the desert of California) I put the additional shield in place--the clear portion, effectively just turning it upwards from its locked place behind the smoke portion. It was a lot like the feeling I had back when I rode with the stock HD Softail Classic shield. Very enclosing and secure-feeling.
Oh my, over-the-moon difference! I rode at 60 mph without my face shield down and could hear the music coming out of the radio! Toodled along a new-for-me road that took me through some awesome places, and all at 50-65 mph with NO WIND NOISE. None. Not a bit. Nada. Nyet. I'm riding with a 3/4 helmet right now, and it was so dinged quiet that I had to stand up on the pegs to feel if it was something crazy, or just how effective the shield was. It was the wind shield, definitely.
Then, just to be sure, I headed back out to the freeway and smoked it up to 85 before I even knew it. Oops... Still, NO wind noise. I did put the face shield down because I could feel some wind drag on it. Still heard the tunes.
My dog, who went along for the trip, approves of the new bike. He has his own "dog luggage" carrier that was in the passenger seat.
I'm definitely glad I purchased the variable-height Baggershield.
Elin,
Do you see over the Baggershield when the clear portion is in the upright position? If I remember correctly, you are ~5'-4~ or so,,, You might be better-protected than others if you're looking through the shield vs over.
I need more Test and tune time with my 'Stad,,, I have a long torso, a seat that rises me up an inch or so, and I'm w-i-d-e-r than most as well.
Hard to tuck all that in behind any shield. (Like an elephant hiding behind a phone pole!!! :icon_doh: LOL!!!)
Ho Ho Ho. my Madstad will be here before Christmas. Thanks Santa, it's just what I wanted. Even got a call this morning from one of the elves at the Madstad pole. That's customer service.
Working w/Chris @ Madstad to 'fine tune'. Chris requested some pics, so here we go,,,,
These were taken w/bracket bolts 1 set of holes down. Angle seems to work best for my application.
Still, more T and T required. Hope to be heading out for a good ride soon.
Scotrod,
One thing I noted from your photos is the way your Robo Brackets are assembled. If I'm not mistaken Bruce B's were assembled in a similar fashion from the factory. Over a period of time Bruce and I compared notes and found assembling the Robo Brackets to provide Max distance between the Base and Shield provided best results for both of us. This is Burce B's bike, Note the bolt hole locations for the 2-piece Robo Brackets:
http://hondaf6b.com/attachment.php?a...5&d=1387233205
Then note the bolt hole locations on your Robo Brackets:
http://hondaf6b.com/attachment.php?a...6&d=1387596742
It also looks like your shield is not tilted forward to a full 60 degrees. My theory is with the Shield mounted closer to the Base (as on your bike now) as the top of the Shield is tilted forward to 60 degrees the bottom edge of the Shield rotates in towards the Base choking off the air gap further and therefore air flow between Base and Shield reducing the wind protection.
As stated earlier, I found best performance with Max gap between Base & shield. You might want to try re-configuring your Robo-Brackets to what Bruce and I are using (Max Gap) for a comparison.
Brackets were shipped 'full out'. Rode it first day w/that configuration and later re-bolted to one full set of holes in (as pictured)
Bruces in pic is full up in front hole, not quite top hole in back of bracket. (lower of 2 holes that overlap at top) His forward bolt direction is also different. Not sure that it matters as long as 'plastic' washer is against the slot
Started out w60 rake first day, Feeling the air movement at all locations with your hand helps with adjustments.
Last trip out was in the lower (actually middle overall) hole set (as pictured), Went back to 60 rake for S + G. 60 rake was worse still as lower 'intake' area was restricted, less air coming up behind to push oncoming air up..
Moved the brackets back to full out last night as I'm hoping to head out today, once the T-storms pass through,, Also hoping to experience more super-slab speeds today,,, Should be able to focus / fine tune that aspect a bit more as most everything prior was 50-60 MPH.
I'm happy to have something that is adjustable vs. a plain old "bolt it on and ya got whatcha got" set up! =-/
Was cleaning my bike this morning and snapped a couple photos of how my 11" Shield with 10" Base are set up. Note where the Robo-Bracket assembly bolt holes are lined up in the first photo.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S...221_101916.jpg
The photo below shows the angle relationship between the Base and Shield. I had not checked the Shield angle in a long time. Threw my angle gauge on it and it was dead on 60 degrees. Note the large gap between the bottom of the Shield and Base (2-1/2 inches). I found this to work best on my bike.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...221_103210.jpg
Scotrod,
Next time out you might try setting up your shield so that it looks similar to mine as far as the relationship of the bottom to the Shield to the Base and Faring. I'm thinking this will be Shield full UP since you have the short Base. I realize this will almost certainly result in you looking through the Shield but it might be informative.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...221_103210.jpg
I originally had the 15" Shield and had good wind protection. When I went to the 11" Shield I think the wind protection actually improved.
I wanted to expand a bit on my comment in the above post: "I originally had the 15" Shield and had good wind protection. When I went to the 11" Shield I think the wind protection actually improved."
The main differences between the 15" and 11" shield adjustment on my bike were that the 15" shield was adjusted all the way Down (smaller gap between bottom of Shield and Base), the 11" Shield is adjusted up about 1-1/4" (larger gap between bottom of Shield and Base).
It should also be noted that with the Shield adjusted Full Down, as you push the top of the Shield forward to the 60 degree position, the bottom of the Shield actually rotates in closer to the Base and Faring compared to a Shield that is adjust UP from it's lowest setting. This is due to the way the Shield cantilevers on the Robo-Brackets.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S...221_101916.jpg
Folks-I picked the Madstad windshield for the new F6B. The service from Madstad is outstanding. They return both telephone calls and email!
The installation is absolutely easy. The windshield parts are beautifully made, and the system works very well. I picked the Madstad because it was strongly recommended, and because it is adjustable. The adjustments are simple, and they can be done in a parking lot, without tools and with gloves on.
The Madstad windshield is effective at all tested speeds so far. Though easy to adjust, it took just a couple of tries to set it up for my riding height and position. The ordering instructions have a menu for rider height. I followed this to the letter, and backed it up with a phone call to Madstad. They were very helpful! Madstad makes a great product.
Bottom line: Madstad is highly recommended!
Oh yeah, my box of Madstad goodies just arrived. Me and my dog Buddy, are going to warm up the garage tonight and put this baby on. Old Budster is good at passing tools and a great conversationalist. The best kind, he listens, with a cat eatin grin on his face.
Very detailed information. I am glad you guys are all getting these Madstad's dialed in to the point you have as clean an air bubble as a car but I just can't get past the looks. If it would work with the front shield angle matching the base or even raked back a little more I think it would be kinda cool. But as configured to "work" it looks like you are chasing a piece of plywood down the road. :stirthepot:
I like the looks of my Madstad and the fact that it doesn't look like the typical generic piece of bent plastic. To me, it has an aggressive, high performance look of functional beauty. Different strokes...and another example of why Baskin Robbins sells 31 flavors, not just one.
It's interesting that of all the people stopping to admire my F6B, not one has ever noticed anything unusual about the Madstad windshield unless I point it out to them. In other words when you see the Bike in person the Madstad does not call undue attention to itself. I can however see how the multitude of close-up photos in this thread may tend to lead one to conclude otherwise.
I have the 11" shield and agree with Bruce that it tilts the overall look of the bike to slightly more aggressive (which I like). Furthermore, the looks become quite secondary once you experience what the Madstad can do when Dialed in. I've been riding 35 years on many bikes, many long trips, all kinds of weather. Nothing comes close to the Madstad mounted on my F6B.
Functional Beauty, I like that, kinda like exhaust header wrap on a bobber.
From D-Shark: "In other words when you see the Bike in person the Madstad does not call undue attention to itself. I can however see how the multitude of close-up photos in this thread may tend to lead one to conclude otherwise."
That is probably what the problem is. I have not seen a Madstad equipped bike in person. I do like your reports, very detailed and informative.
Thanks.
[QUOTE=Lucas;17870]. The service from Madstad is outstanding. They return both telephone calls and email!
QUOTE]
I've been happy with their service as well. :yes: :yes: :yes:
I'm working via email w/Chris describing my dial in/results,,,,
Just got in from a few days riding out in the Hill Country. Not sure how many other Madstad-equipped F6B's are running air wings under the mirrors, but I'm finding some 'cause-effect' in my set up,,,,
I've adjusted the 'Stad ~19 different ways from south~ so far,,, Still have a little helmet flutter 70-80 mph. (great at 60 and under)
Close the wings and the flutter is all but gone, but,,, it feels like someone is pressing forward on my upper back, shoulders, and on the back of my helmet. (pressure) Open up the wings a bit, the pressure fades, and the flutter comes back,,,
:stirthepot: Even before this last trip,,, Chris had an idea,,,, :stirthepot: I just emailed him my latest results. :stirthepot: I'll wait until I hear back from him before I divulge our next step,,, :stirthepot:
My dog is ticked. Ol' Buddy had the garage warmed up last night, his tools laid out, and his best cigars ready for us to kick back after installing the delivered Madstad package. Only problem, seems the wife confiscated our box while we weren't looking, wrapped it, and put it under the tree. The Budster won't even look at me, just raises his tail and shows me his backside as he walks out of the room
First Impressions:
No buffet, less noise, no back pressure. Easily adjustable. One adjustment into the short test ride and I think I have it. More later
Springfield, IL to Sarasota, FL, 1,150 miles and the Madstad was a big help in the cold. No helmet buffet and no neck pain.
Working w/Chris and now Cody at Madstad.
Just out of my own curiosity,,, (not a suggestion from Madstad) I'm going to try pulling the (National Cycle) under-mirror wind wings off.
{At least at that point, it eliminates a variable that others may not have on their 'stad-equipped' bikes.}
Again, I'm not having 'big' problems,,, I'm just in the relentless pursuit of perfection!!! :crackup: