Madstad for F6B

[chipmaker]

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...

[Bruce B]

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.

[hiflyer]

Thanks for the pics and comments Bruce, exactly what I needed to make up my mind.

[d-shark]

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.

[Scotrod]

I like the appearance of my short base.

[d-shark]

I like the appearance of my short base.

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.

[hiflyer]

Just placed my order, and talked to Mark. He advised that the tall baseplate is now the default for F6B.

[Elin in So. Cal.]

Let us know what other shields you've tried as well.

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.

[Scotrod]

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!!! LOL!!!)

[Scotrod]

Just placed my order, and talked to Mark. He advised that the tall baseplate is now the default for F6B.

Hmm,,,

I need to at least give Mark a 'courtesy call',,,