First thoughts of '08 FXD with Switchblade 2UP Windsheild
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First thoughts of '08 FXD with Switchblade 2UP Windsheild
Of course, there are a lot of windshield options. I was going to go with a HD QD but the buffeting seems to be hit/miss with most windshields. A $400 plus experiment or $200 used on ebay seemed a little much. My thought was the National Cycle Switchblades would be usable on my or my wife's sportster which gives them more flexibility. One of the pluses of the Switchblade series is that the same windshield will work on different bikes due to the wiindshield being flexed to stay on the mounts. I won a new National Cycle Switchblade windshield for about $50 on ebay, and ordered their detachable mounts from a different store and waited.
Friday the windshield and mounts came. The install of the mounts is a little strange. Their instructions could be much better. The mounts say refer to the windshield instructions which basically don't say anything useful. The windsheild barely clears my 5 1/4 bullet headlight and requires quite a bit of flexing to get it on. I had to mount the brackets up near the top of the triple tree to get the windshield on. If the mounts are too far a part, the windshield isn't flexed as much which makes the windshield "loose".
There is some buffeting I'm 6'1" with Tallboy seat and rode with a Shoei X11 helment, but I find that adjusting the angle of my helmet, the distance to the windshield, sitting back as much as possible, and height of my head lower all make quite a bit of difference. Most of the 6 hours I rode I was in the back position where I could barely reach the stock handlebars. Overall, it's shocking how much the bike feels like a touring bike with the large windshield. Because the mounts that go on the fork tubes will only mount in one place, there really isn't much in the way of adjustment. I took it up to 80 and the bike seemed fine.
I have a shorty model on the way. It's again a deal on ebay, so I'll see how that works next. For sure, the windshield makes the bike feel totally different.
Friday the windshield and mounts came. The install of the mounts is a little strange. Their instructions could be much better. The mounts say refer to the windshield instructions which basically don't say anything useful. The windsheild barely clears my 5 1/4 bullet headlight and requires quite a bit of flexing to get it on. I had to mount the brackets up near the top of the triple tree to get the windshield on. If the mounts are too far a part, the windshield isn't flexed as much which makes the windshield "loose".
There is some buffeting I'm 6'1" with Tallboy seat and rode with a Shoei X11 helment, but I find that adjusting the angle of my helmet, the distance to the windshield, sitting back as much as possible, and height of my head lower all make quite a bit of difference. Most of the 6 hours I rode I was in the back position where I could barely reach the stock handlebars. Overall, it's shocking how much the bike feels like a touring bike with the large windshield. Because the mounts that go on the fork tubes will only mount in one place, there really isn't much in the way of adjustment. I took it up to 80 and the bike seemed fine.
I have a shorty model on the way. It's again a deal on ebay, so I'll see how that works next. For sure, the windshield makes the bike feel totally different.
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2008, 2up, cycle, davidson, dyna, forum, fxd, fxdc, harley, national, replacement, switchblade, wheels, windshield, windshields