i also have a detachable. i will only remove it on rare occasion for local rides. i will always use it for highway travel.

i have also been hit with cig butts. and i have had bees in my helmet. one time i took a large dragonfly to my chest that nearly knocked me off the bike (and made my t-shirt look like a piece of carnival spin art)...

you were lucky you didnt lose your life getting hit by a piece of plexiglass... i do try to keep a good gap in case i need to react to objects and idiots... thanks for telling us about your incident and giving me a reminder before the season starts

 

Oldairboater, I just bought a Clear View shield for my FLHRS. It is a direct replacement on the stock HD brackets, is much stiffer and almost twice as thick as the HD shield, has a light tint throughout and a recurve at the top. Seems like what you may be looking for. Check them out.

 

I use my detachable windshield on long rides and in cold weather - otherwise I go without.

 

I rented a bike in Vegas last week that had a windshield. My bike will have one in the very near future. The 80 mph ride on I-15 changed my opinion real fast.

 

Glad you are OK.
I hated windshields until I got a Clearview with recurve so I could look over it and still have the wind go over my head.
It really does make a differance in the wind blast and last summer I had a pretty good sized rock bounce off it that would have hit me right in the for head (probably wouldn't have haer me I have a pretty thick skull, according to my wife anyway).
I still leave it off in town but put it on if I'm going out on the road.

 

I don't use a windshield at all. I took a ride on a friends bike years ago and the wind buffeting was so bad I decided I would not have a windshield ever. Guess I'm so used to riding without a windshield I don't know the difference now. But I must say that from reading all the positive posts about windshields I just might have to try one again someday.

 

To be blown or not to be blown - is that your question?

 

Makes it alotmore enjoyableto ride with a windshield....

 

back in 86 on my way to a graduation party I was traveling on a county road at about 55 miles per hour.. there was a dump druck comming my way and shedding rocks like a crack dealer.. One of the rocks caught my attention as it seemed bigger than the others and was bouncing straight at me.. I went for the shoulder but the damn rock got me.. I was riding my trusty gs 550 suzuiki with the small fairing and it glanced off the fairing luckily, and took my clutch level off before drivin into my shoulder.. I managed to bump start the bike afterward and made it to the party for some medicine.. I ride ultras nowdays but do like the winshields.. Also keeps my hat from blowing off..

 

Two drawbacks to windshields in my case. I tend to ride much faster with a shield and with a shield my beard blows up rather than back. The riding fast may not be a drawback until I get ticketed or wreck but the unruly beard (even when short) bothers me.