I did the 14" HD with quick detach...love the thing. Bought the addl' locking clamp too to leave it on for trips. Sits below my line of sight. I wear a full face too. Riding without a shield on a sporty doing 50+ isn't as enjoyable...just more stress. I tour with mine too. The 18" seemed just too bulky. 14" keeps wind from pushing your chest back and you off the bike and wind flows up around my helmet. Awesome when got caught in South Dakota while raining. Can't imagine cruising highways for hours like I did with out the windshield. Was pricier but in the grand scheme and keeping the bike, I feel will be happy I did yrs later. My bike is one thing I don't skimp on. Nothing's too good for her....haha

 

I have two bikes with National Cycle windshields - a Suzuki Boulevard (subsequently sold) and a Sportster XL883L that I regularly ride on Maui. Check out their web site, they were one of the first companies making Lexan Windshields for motorcycles. They are specially treated to make them ultra-resistant to scratches unlike plexiglass which will even show scratches from road grit. They are also pretty much shatterproof. They have videos on their web site that show hammers thrown at the windshields with no ill effects.

Before you make up your mind I would encourage you to check out their website. I have no financial connection to National Cycle, I simply believe that they have a phenomenal product. I live on the Island of Maui in Hawaii and we have 25+MPH tradewinds that blow 9 or 10 months out of the year. In my opinion, it would be virtually impossible to ride here without a windshield - do the math: if you have a forward speed of 60MPH and you are going against a 25MPH headwind, you're getting beaten up by a 85MPH wind.

"He who lives in joy does his Creator's will"
Baal Shem Tov, Founder of Chasidic Judaism... c1750's

 

I grew up in Hammond Indiana - Hammond High Class of 1961. I get up there once a year to visit family, usually in the fall.
Larry

 

Well Aloha Larry...25mile headwind? wow! what does that feel like? When I rode out west, the sidewinds were treacherous. Does a headwind make you feel unsafe or just gotta give more throttle?

Yeah...Hammond's kind of become an armpit but it's my home. lol

 

I had the Harley windshield pictured above on my '05 883C and it was nice. But for my '07 I got a Memphis Shield El Paso instead. The main reason was it is blue on the bottom and looks better I think.

But both would be a good choice IMO.

Ron

 

have to agree with the comment above that it depends on where you are going to be riding, cause you dont need a shield around town. its only on the big road that the winds can be enough to really need the shield. my bike is a "convertible"- i can make it into a "road bike" or "around town bike"- for my road bike i am using a moco removable shield (it pops off in 5 seconds):

 

I had the quick detach on my 05 sportster custom. Traded the bike in and shield is in the garage. Been too lazy to post in classifieds this winter if interested pm me an offer.

 

Head wind not fun but a sidewind can be treacherous. We have a mountain pass between Ukumehame and Maalaea (Try Google Earth or MapQuest) and the wind funnels through the gulches at speeds of up to 50MPH+ from the side. Definitely not the time to relax.

RE: Hammond Indiana, I remember when the downtown was thriving from the late 1940's to the late 1960's, I managed the Jewelry department at the Goldblatt's dept store from 1964 to 1966 and we had two movie theaters on Hohman Avenue - The Paramount and The Parthenon, not to mention Jack Fox mens wear. Also the lagoon at Harrison Park where you could catch small fish and crayfish. I drove down Hohman Avenue and Sibley Street about 6 years ago and found it to be incredibly sad. The only large business still in operation was St. Margaret's Hospital. Where in Hammond do you live, we used to live on Van Buren Street and I went to Edison Elementary on Calumet Avenue and then we lived on Moraine Avenue between Hohman Avenue and State Line Road. My parents finally moved to Munster in 1966.

Larry (Str8chuter)

 

I bought the 18 inch QD from HD and I found it to be a piece of crap. I ordered a slightly wider and taller OEM replacement plastic from Memphis Shades which I put on the Harley QD hardware and it works like a champ. Had I known I would of never wasted my money on the HD windshield. Memphis Shades is a great windshield. Have fun.

 

I like the look of mine with a windshield. Even if it's more "girlie".

I have even seen a Hummer with eyelashes. Everything is girlie today.