[hanadarko]

This was stupidly easy. Of course the carrier has to come off, if you already installed it.

:350x700px-LL-66dd6d

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157645927664844


The wife loves it... BIG THUMBS UP!

:smileygarden_de_ban

 

[sleepngbear]

Finally! Looks great. :smiley-happy0034:

 

[shane]

Wow, every time I see a photo of a blue or black one it makes me think I should have waited before I fell in love with mine haha. You are right Hanadarko, it was very easy to install the backrest. Hardest part for me was the little plastic plugs that fill in the screw holes that are there for the top trunk. There are four holes and I'm glad they included six plugs because I totally borked two of them lol. Combined with the tall windshield, I really think the backrest makes the bike look "finished."

 

[sleepngbear]

Wow, every time I see a photo of a blue or black one it makes me think I should have waited before I fell in love with mine haha. You are right Hanadarko, it was very easy to install the backrest. Hardest part for me was the little plastic plugs that fill in the screw holes that are there for the top trunk. There are four holes and I'm glad they included six plugs because I totally borked two of them lol. Combined with the tall windshield, I really think the backrest makes the bike look "finished."

The backrest definitely 'completes' the lines that the windshield started.

And don't second-guess yourself on the color -- red looks awesome, especially with the Deluxe blacked-out parts. I think they stand out more against the red than any other color.

Next on the list for me -- either retro-fit one of my toolbags to the back of that backrest, or find another one that will strap on that configuration securely. Gotta get mine delivered and installed first, of course.

Edit: Comparing your pic to the profile pic in the Honda ad that pops up here from time to time, I have to say now I think this bike looks 10 times better with the shield and backrest than without.

 

[hanadarko]

Can we get a shot of the front of the bike with that windshield?
I'd like to see how it looks from the front.

And where did you get it, HONDA? and if so, the Part number?

The shorty windshield does OK for me until 65+ mph...then it gets nasty.

 

[kniterider]

My seat with utopia backrest installed

 

[sleepngbear]

View attachment 1242


My seat with utopia backrest installed

Definitely want to see this on the bike. And definitely want to hear how you like it in actual use. :smiley-happy0034:

 

[kniterider]

Definitely want to see this on the bike. And definitely want to hear how you like it in actual use. :smiley-happy0034:

Yes sir I will. It got shipped back on Friday evening. I hope to have it back by Wednesday.. The company sent me that pic prior to shipping back to me

 

[TennesseeSmith]

Can we get a shot of the front of the bike with that windshield?
I'd like to see how it looks from the front.

And where did you get it, HONDA? and if so, the Part number?

That looks like the Honda tall shield. 08R70-MJN-A00

CTX1300D - TennesseeSmith

 

[shane]

Here you go! Hope this helps. I got the tall windshield from gearhead.com and here's the particulars:
Honda - 08R70-MJN-A00 - KIT,SCREEN,WIND(OP) HONDA-08R70-MJN-A00 1 $114.93

Hope I did OK with the pics... I have to say, I loved the short shield when I got the bike, but after 600 miles and 15 hours in the saddle yesterday (yes it was in one day, and yes I'm crazy ), I NEED that tall windshield lol.

 

[sleepngbear]

Oh yeah, baby. Came home from work to two boxes taped together. Unboxed the goods, and about 40 minutes later the wife was trying out the new backrest. Went out for a little ride and she absolutely loves it. And it looks like it should have been on the bike from the factory. Money well spent. :smiley-happy0034:

Now if I could just figure out a way to attach a tool bag to it.....

 

[Hoosierman]

:smiley-happy0034:Your bike looks awesome! It's the twin to mine! I've been tryn to decide if I want to put the taller w/s on or not??? I like the shorter one that came on it, so I'm kinda torn on what to do. Does it make a huge difference on wind & listening to music? Also did you change it your self or did you have the dealer change it out for you? If you changed it your self how hard was it to swap out?

Wow, every time I see a photo of a blue or black one it makes me think I should have waited before I fell in love with mine haha. You are right Hanadarko, it was very easy to install the backrest. Hardest part for me was the little plastic plugs that fill in the screw holes that are there for the top trunk. There are four holes and I'm glad they included six plugs because I totally borked two of them lol. Combined with the tall windshield, I really think the backrest makes the bike look "finished."

 

[bob]

:smiley-happy0034:Your bike looks awesome! It's the twin to mine! I've been tryn to decide if I want to put the taller w/s on or not??? I like the shorter one that came on it, so I'm kinda torn on what to do. Does it make a huge difference on wind & listening to music? Also did you change it your self or did you have the dealer change it out for you? If you changed it your self how hard was it to swap out?

I replaced my own shield. It's not so hard really. Still considering if I will sometimes swap from one to the other. It is easy enough to do that without much trouble.

See my thread that includes my shield replacement HERE.

Do check out my photos on Flickr and read the comments on those photos for additional information.
There are a total of 3 plastic body parts to remove to be able to replace the shield. You only need to pop off the front mirror covers (they are held by snap fittings. I don't totally remove them but just let them hang), then remove the two top snaps on each side, then the front garnish can be removed (slide forward a bit to unclip from headlight tabs). There are 2 Dual-Lock strips on the factory shield. You will need to either move these to the tall shield or (better) buy some. I bought mine at the local Radio Shack, called Super Lock but the backing says 3M Dual-Lock. Also, you will need to move the 2 center expansion nuts for the shield from the top set of holes to the bottom set in the bracket for the tall shield. Then just put it all back together in reverse order and you're done! :smiley-happy0034:

If you're not so sure of turning screws on this bike then do have the dealer do it. It really does only take about 15 mins if you are familiar with the parts, 20-30 mins at the most if you take your time like I did.

 

[Hoosierman]

Okay... How do you remove the mirror covers?? I pulled up the instructions for the tall windshield, but they dont really tell how to remove the mirror covers. I don't really want to break anything trying to take them off.

I replaced my own shield. It's not so hard really. Still considering if I will sometimes swap from one to the other. It is easy enough to do that without much trouble.

See my thread that includes my shield replacement HERE.

Do check out my photos on Flickr and read the comments on those photos for additional information.
There are a total of 3 plastic body parts to remove to be able to replace the shield. You only need to pop off the front mirror covers (they are held by snap fittings. I don't totally remove them but just let them hang), then remove the two top snaps on each side, then the front garnish can be removed (slide forward a bit to unclip from headlight tabs). There are 2 Dual-Lock strips on the factory shield. You will need to either move these to the tall shield or (better) buy some. I bought mine at the local Radio Shack, called Super Lock but the backing says 3M Dual-Lock. Also, you will need to move the 2 center expansion nuts for the shield from the top set of holes to the bottom set in the bracket for the tall shield. Then just put it all back together in reverse order and you're done! :smiley-happy0034:

If you're not so sure of turning screws on this bike then do have the dealer do it. It really does only take about 15 mins if you are familiar with the parts, 20-30 mins at the most if you take your time like I did.

 

[bob]

The front mirror covers are held on by 3 posts on the covers that fit into snap fittings on the bike. There are a few different ways to get them off. One way is to bump them toward the back that will unsnap the front part, then pull out from the bike to unsnap the other two. Another way I do it is to hold the front of the cover with one hand and bump the outer edge of the cover (not the mirror itself) with the heal of the other hand. Bump it hard enough to unsnap it. It will unsnap without damage. I do this more often (on this bike as well as on a few other bikes with the same attachment of mirror covers like my old ST1100). The snaps do hold it firmly. The bottom part of the cover fits into/behind the middle cowl just below the cover so don't pull the cover down or up. Forward or back is better. There is also a tab in the top of the plastic filler part between the mirror and body that fits into the cover. I show this in my photos on Flickr.
Only other thing to take care about is that there is an electrical connection to the turn signals in the cover and there is also a plastic strap that saves the cover from being lost if it ever gets knocked off on the road. So just don't yank it off so it pulls out the strap/cable. There is plenty of slack to allow it to be removed.

 

[Hoosierman]

Okay. Thanks for the info. So did you notice a significant amount of difference after you changed out the w/s?

 

[shane]

Okay. Thanks for the info. So did you notice a significant amount of difference after you changed out the w/s?

There's a huge difference after installing the larger windshield. Before, I could not listen to music at highway speeds. It just was impossible over about 50 mph. Also, the short screen did something funky to the wind, and gave me some helmet buffeting, but only when my wife was riding pillion. That's gone now. I really loved the look of the short shield, but its just better with the tall one. Oh, and there is one more easy way to remove the plastic mirror cover: misjudge the size of the bike and hit the doorway on the way out of the shed. But! There was no damage, not even a scratch, so I think the breakaway function was an ingenious design.
It was super easy to swap windshields, after I got over my fear of pulling the mirror covers off.

 

[bob]

Okay. Thanks for the info. So did you notice a significant amount of difference after you changed out the w/s?

As Shane said... there is a big difference. My wife doesn't ride with me so i am solo all the time. I did not have any buffeting with the shorty shield, just smooth airflow that hit about my shoulders. I didn't mind that for shorter trips or around town, even at highway speeds, since I wasn't going far. I prefer the tall shield for all other riding. So far I've kept with the tall shield since we haven't really had any hot weather here. The tall shield also yields a smooth airflow that hits about the top of my helmet, just where I want it for the helmet vents to work as intended. I very much prefer to look OVER the shield and will cut down any shield I have to look through. I did have a very tall shield on my GW and that was the last time I will look through one. This Honda tall shield is the perfect height for me. I am 5' 9" with 32" inseam and the tall shield is about even with my chin. The 2 slots in the shield allow just enough air through to relieve the vacuum behind the shield and keep the airflow smooth. This is the very first tall shield put out by a manufacturer that is well made IMO. I can now hear the speakers without needing max volume at highway speeds up to 80 mph (as fast as I've tested with the stereo), and I wear ear plugs. Set the volume about 22 and music comes through just fine for me.

This is all I will say about the shield in this thread since it is really about the back rest. There are a few other threads in the Appearance & Body forum on this board that address a lot more about the Honda tall shield as well as the Madstad shield.

Now, on that note. I am still on the fence about getting the back rest. Since, as I've said, my wife doesn't ride with me. Well, she did twice just recently... for less than 2 miles each time... to drop off the car for tires and then to go pick it up when it was done. She didn't like it, but that's because she REALLY prefers to have something behind her for support and is very uncomfortable without anything back there. What I am deciding on is if I can justify paying the price for the back rest when she has only ridden with me those two times in the last 3 years! I will likely end up getting the luggage rack however. Or making one myself if I can figure out how to make it look right with the bike.
I am thinking I will need that item for when I pack for moto camping trips. I am also thinking of a large dry bag for those trips that would extend from the pillion onto the luggage rack, providing ME with a riders back rest for those longer trips.

 

[shane]

Now, on that note. I am still on the fence about getting the back rest. Since, as I've said, my wife doesn't ride with me.

I kinda lucked out... when I got my bike, the accessories weren't available yet, and my dealer didn't even know how much to charge for one. I asked him if he could include the price of one in my purchase price, he checked with his boss and said "Sure! We'll just estimate the cost at $200 and add that in." So... when the backrest finally came in along with the luggage rack, there was a receipt taped to the box that said $536 for both, and I didn't have to pay the over-run. It was DEFINITELY worth the extra money for me. My wife absolutely hated riding without the backrest. We tried a few trips, but she just felt too nervous and hunched over holding onto me. Her back hurt after a 30 minute ride. Now, with the backrest, she can go for much longer and really enjoys it. We went for about two hours a couple of days ago and she said she can't wait to do it again. I have also noticed that the rear rack gives a nice place to lock the helmets to. And I like that there are pegs at the bottom of the rack for attaching more bungees. I think it would be a great purchase, but I admit that if I had to pay the full retail price of over five hundred bucks (that's what my dealer had on the slip anyway), I would balk. Good luck, and let us know if you get one!

 

[sleepngbear]

Bob, have you had backrests on other bikes? If not, it could have something to do with why your wife doesn't go with you much. The difference for my wife without and with a backrest were night and day. Now, like Shane says, she can't wait for the next chance she can go for a ride.