I thought I'd post some comments on my recent swap of windshields on the '10 Limited. I'll start with the Fastaire windshield I initially bought. This is my 3rd Fastaire ... or should I say was my 3rd. I mounted it, tightened, and the dang thing cracked immediately in 4 pieces. As I say, this was my 3rd (the first 2 were a short 6-inch dark grey, which I still have, and a 9-inch light grey, which was sold with the '09 Ultra), and so I'm a fairly happy Fastaire customer. I'm telling folks about this 3rd one cracking not to take a shot at Fastaire (I still like their stuff) but to bring up the issue of windshield material.

I was not really familiar with the acryllic vs polycarbonate issues, so I was really shocked when the new 10" shield cracked in 4 pieces. To be fair, I don't know if I over-tightened it or not. Because I've had decent luck with their shields in the past I'll say that I'd consider one again, especially since I now know what I'm buying. The 9-inch shield was less than $30, so I'm not going to go broke by having it break (pun intended). But it did make a difference on my ultimate next purchase.

Because I was not familiar with the acryllic or polycarbonate issue (my fault, for not educating myself first) I went with cheap. So far, my 6-inch fits fine, and I'll be especially careful when tightening it in place when I use it later this summer. For now, though, I found out first hand the reason acryllic is so much cheaper, and so when I bought the next shield I decided on the polycarbonate.

Last week I ordered the National Cycle VStream, and it arrived Wednesday. I chose the VStream for 3 reasons. First, it is Lexan -- which is the same material the stock HD windshield is made of. Second, the National Cycle video on the difference between acryllic and polycarbonate is pretty dang impressive. Third, the VStream has a 3-year "unbreakable" warranty, which is something I've not seen on any other windshield. Of coure, as 3x the price of the Fastaire 9-inch I guess I could by 3 of the acryllic to each one of the polycarbonate, but that debate if for a different discussion. Back to the new VStream.

The actual windshield is very well made, and there is a HUGE difference in the feel between it and an acrycllic shield. The VStream cost $104 at one of the online retailers, and I have to say I was a bit concerned about getting a windshield that cost that much without actually having seen one. So when it arrived I was understandably relieved to feel the tensil stregth and overall quality of the shield.

The mounting went fairly easy. Read the instructions first, though. The instructions say to keep the middle-screw in place in order to help keep it alligned. That's a good idea. I took all 3 out right away, and the Limited's fairing didn't bolt up immediately like it had originally been. I had to actually loosen two other screws on the underside to get it back in allignment. Not a big deal, but had I read the instructions first I might not have spent the extra 10 minutes realligning things.

I like the overall look of the shield. It is clearly shorter, and that was okay. I didn't want to look through the top edge of the OEM shield anymore, so having one approximately 2 inches shorter was going to be a good thing. I'd also had good experience with the 9-inch Fastaire from last year on the '09 Ultra; so I wasn't overly concerned with size.

The shape of the shield is a bit odd, especially if you've not really paid much attention to them on other bikes. It actually gives the whole bike a little different look. Folks who are not familiar with the Ultra Limited probably won't notice that much, but I sure do. Overall, I like the shape and think I like the way it makes the bike look.

I pulled out of the driveway and almost immediately noticed what I thought was a LOT more air coming over the shield at me. In fact, I didn't even make it to the end of the block before I got hit in the forehead with a bug. I rarely got hit with the stock shield, so this was a significant change right away.

What made it so surprising is not that there was more air -- or that I got hit by the bug -- but that I was just not expecting that much more air. I knew with a lower/smaller shield shield I would have more air (I had that experience with my prior Fastaire), but the hype on the VStream lead me to believe I'd experience something different.

The National Cycle website says, "The advanced 'V' shape and dimensional contours push the wind vortex away from the rider's helmet, resulting in a peaceful, quiet riding environment."

I'd also read on here from other posts that the shaped shield like this often provided up to "2 inches" of additional coverage above their real height. In other words, with a 10.75" shield, I was expecting the same type of feel that I'd had on my 12.5" HD stock shield. That's why I ordered the Low version (at 10.75" high) instead of the standard size. More on that in a moment.

What I got was not the same as what I expcted. It is clearly less coverage. The contours don't seem to really "push the wind vortex away" from the rider's helmet. While the wind is not bad, it is not pushed away in the same sense that I expected based on the website. I can cleanly feel wind not only on the top of my helmet but also on my cheeks.

Now don't get me wrong, after now having ridden the bike for a couple days with the shield I am getting used to the feel. The first two days were still cool enough that my forehead got a lot more chilled with this shield. I can imagine, though, that I'll like the ability to have a bit more air when the temperatures heat up. So I'm going to keep the shield, but I now no longer expect the "wind vortex" to be pushed away. This is both a shorter and narrower shield in comparison to the OEM shield. It is narrower because the shape brings the shield in at the waste, much like a nice looking woman. That's where the vortex is supposed to be pushed away, I'm guessing, but dont' expect it to really push the wind far away. It's still a smaller shield, and you're going to feel more air.

As for coverage and overall recommendation, I'd say that so long as you know what you're getting you won't be disappointed. The hype on the wind vortex is probably a little bit true, but don't think you're going to experience the same level of wind reduction you get on the HD stock shield. The Low shield is in fact low, and narrower. So expect to have a bit more air.

Of course, I'm not coming close to looking through the top edge of the shield, so I have accomplished my primary mission with this shield. As I also noted, the shield has a nice look to it (especially the light tinted shade), and I'm quickly coming to like the way it makes my bike look. So there is a lot of plus sides to this switch.

If you really want more protection then I'd recommend the VStream Standard. I can see that with this shield 2 more inches taller it probably would push the wind vortex out, but then it would also be closer to the OEM height and width. Since I've not actually used the VStream in standard height I'll also add that I don't know for sure how much it will change the vortex. I also can't say how much you'll look at the edge of the shield, so maybe others can chime in with their impressions of the Standard.

While I'm at it, this is a great shield for warm weather (as far as I can tell so far) and for short trips. So far I've only ridden about 10 miles at a time with the shield. This afternoon, as an example, it was 65 degrees out and I didn't really notice the wind that much on a 5 mile jaunt for fun. That's why I think this is going to be a good shield for summer. Based so far on 3 days and about 50 total miles of ride time behind the shield I think I now better understand what to expect. Hopefully my experience will help others.

As for the purchase, I don't live in a large city, so I don't have an HD dealer actually near me (closest is almost 50 miles away). I'd like to compare the new HD shield to this one, though. I think the HD shield is much smaller, so that is probably not a fair comparison.

I'd also recommend that anyone considering this shield search for someone locally that has one. The quality is very good, so you won't be disappointed with that end of the deal. But you'll want to see and hopefully ride behind the shield before you buy it. I don't know if I rode behind one of these first if I'd still buy it (remember, you can't usually return windshields once they are isntalled); however, now that I have it I'm not sure I'd tell someone else not to buy it. Just know what you're getting when you do buy it. I think you'll like the quality, and if you know that the Low is not going to block as much air as the OEM then you'll be fine.

Okay ... final thought ... I'll likely order an oversized (probably 15 or 16 inch) windshield with the traditional curve to it. Like a lot of folks, I don't like looking into the edge of the OEM shield. I also don't like a lot of air beating me on a 600+ mile plus riding day, so a larger shield seems to be a good alternative. That will give me the larger shield for cool weather and long distance riding while leaving the VStream for local rides and warm weather.

For what it's worth, I'd easily spend another $100 to $140 for a National Cycle shield, if they decide to make one that is a bit taller. I'd also buy another Fastaire, especially if price is a concern, but this time I know to be more careful when intalling it.

 

Thanks for sharing. I just cracked my 8" black sheild and am looking for something "different" like the V Sheild, Re-curve or Nationals - Wave Sheild.