[TennesseeSmith]

One of the main reasons I gave up on using the CTX700D as a tourer was that I couldn't get the windshield just right for my shape and size.

I rode my blue CTX1300 a couple of thousand miles before switching to the tall Honda shield. Then I rode it like that for a few thousand miles before adding the Laminar Lip. I've ridden another thousand miles with the Laminar Lip.

I only rode about 800 miles on my red CTX1300 before replacing the Honda shorty with the MadStad 15" screen. I've only done a hundred miles or so with the new shield.

I'm 5'10" with a long torso. I generally find that my windshield experiences line up with guys who are about 6'0".

The shorty is OK for riding around town and short trips on the highway as long as I have a helmet with a face shield that doesn't fog too bad. The air hits me at the shoulders and above. It is very smooth. The bike totally ignores wind gusts and the vortexes around the trucks. My head gets pushed around a bit. Noise is not too bad if I wear earplugs, but I can't use the audio system and I don't hear much of the exhaust or engine gear whine. I've done 400 mile days with the shorty and it was OK, but I did not feel like I was truly enjoying the ride.

When I ride in the sunshine I normally wear prescription polarized glasses. These are awesome for removing glare from horizontal surfaces like the road. However, looking through these glasses and another piece of plastic like a face shield or windshield makes for some very disturbing effects. I can not tell the slick road surfaces from the merely shiny surfaces. That means I end up riding without my sunglasses when I ride with the shorty shield and use a face shield on my helmet.

The Honda tall shield is good. It leaves just a slight bit of turbulence at the top of my helmet. I can look over the shield so I don't have any odd polarization going on. The Honda tall shield does not seem to hurt my fuel economy. Some of my results may indicate that it's actually better. The trucks don't seem to be an issue with this screen. The bike gets "touched" a little bit more, but my head gets moved a lot less.

The MadStad shield is better. It is much wider. It is adjustable so that I can set the height and angle for my shape and size. I've got it tuned in pretty well now. It leaves just a hint of turbulence at the top of my helmet. I can look over the shield. I suspect that it will negatively affect fuel economy. I can feel the bike pushing the shield through the air. There is a hint of resistance when I accelerate now. I got the medium tint on this screen. That seems to show the bugs a bit less. I can see the shield flex and wobble a bit around the trucks, but I don't feel any significant steering input.

The Honda tall screen with the Laminar Lip is best. This combination lifts the turbulence just above my head. I can still look over the shield. The bike does not feel like it's working too hard to push the screen. The music is clearest with this combination, but it's still not anywhere near audiophile quality. It does not feel any different around the trucks than the naked tall Honda screen.

Adding the topbox to the blue bike has made a big difference. The bike feels just a little bit lighter in the front at speed. I feel a little bit of rocking around the trucks. The tires still feel planted and the rocking does not seem to create any steering input for the bike.

All of my experiences with these bikes have been as a solo rider. I'm sure the addition of a passenger would change all of this.

Summary:
Honda Shorty - meh
Honda Tall - Good
MadStad 15" - Better
Honda Tall with Laminar Lip - Best
TopBox - Noticeable Rocking around trucks

Photos of these shields at CTX1300D - TennesseeSmith

 

[shane]

Excellent post, thanks Ken! The only thing I would add is that YMMV as far as a passenger goes. The shorty windshield was fine for me, as long as I didn't want to travel very far or listen to music, as long as I was alone. I don't know if it was the shield, our helmets, or a combination of both, but when my wife rode with me I had some pretty serious head-bobbling, bad enough that I had some muscle pain the next day after an hour-long ride. The tall windshield removed all of that. Thanks for posting your experiences! We're building quite a storehouse of useful info here.

 

[sleepngbear]

Shane, I had the exact same thing with my wife on the back and the shorty shield. Tall shield completely eliminated it for me, too.

 

[tbonesullivan]

The "rainbow" effect is I believe due to stresses in the plastic face shield and windshield. The anti UV coating may also have somewhat of an effect. If you put on polarized lenses and look at a coated shield in the sunlight you'll notice the rainbow effect.

 

[jeffz]

Ken, which Laminar Lip did you add? It doesn't look like they list the CTX1300 as a supported model on their website.

 

[Den]

Laminar Lip

Ken, which Laminar Lip did you add? It doesn't look like they list the CTX1300 as a supported model on their website.

Did you ever find out which Laminar lip will fit the CTX1300

 

[jeffz]

Did you ever find out which Laminar lip will fit the CTX1300

Not yet. Also haven't gotten my tall shield yet to know for sure whether I'll need it.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

Product Name: U1114C LIP for Universal Motorcycles 14 Inch Clear
Item#: U1114C
Unit Price: $84.00
Quantity: 1
Shipping Method: UPS Ground

UPS Ground: $14.78
Grand Total: $98.78

This is what I ordered. It fits OK. I think something a couple of inches wider might work better.

 

[sleepngbear]

I think you might need to be careful of your speed now after adding something that big to the tall windshield. I could be wrong, but the windshield itself and what's holding it in place don't appear to be sturdy enough to support much more resistance than the windshield alone creates. Just a thought ... I'd keep an eye on the lower part of the shield as well as where the lip attaches to be sure you're not getting any stress cracks.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

The tall shield with the lip seems to create about half the wind resistance I get from the MadStad screen on the other bike. That's the one I worry about.

The MadStad screen is much wider and I can see the corners wobble when I pass the big trucks. And that screen was a bear to get installed. It did not fit quite right. The little rubber fasteners are barely in the grooves.

 

[MarkH]

Ken, how do the Madstad and tall windshields compare in terms of air hitting your body? Being narrower, does the tall windshield create more of a pillow fight effect on your shoulders?

 

[bob]

I found it very nice that the Honda tall shield does not have any buffeting from any direction. That is unlike any other tall shield I've been behind, including on my GW.
I am still interested in finding out how well the Laminar Lip, or something similar, would work on the shorty shield. So I follow with interest what you all experience with these options.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

Ken, how do the Madstad and tall windshields compare in terms of air hitting your body? Being narrower, does the tall windshield create more of a pillow fight effect on your shoulders?

The wider MadStad screen is actually a bit more peaceful on the elbows. Both are calm on the shoulders. The MadStad gives me a small bit of turbulence at the top of my helmet. The Honda tall did that to a slightly greater extent until I added the lip. Now it's as smooth as silk.

I think the mirrors create some smooth air around my hands. I have to lift my wrists up if I want the wind to blow up my sleeves.

I'm really impressed at the effectiveness of the tall Honda shield considering how narrow it is and how far it sits in front of the rider. I think this one was designed by engineers to work properly with the fairing.

 

[MarkH]

My experience with the Madstad windshield exactly mirrors yours. You are making it very tempting to try the tall shield/lip combo.

 

[Terry]

Have had the same experience as mentioned above when riding two up. The wind buffeting is uncomfortable with the short screen. On my own at licence losing speeds its not a problem but with the wife on !!!!! Ordered the tall screen this morning, so see how that is, but by other members comments I'm confident it will fix the problem.
Other than that I'm Very Happy with it.

 

[MarkH]

Ken, riding with the Madstad shield on warm-to-hot days, I feel a hot air draft that blows up onto my chin. Have you noticed any difference between your shields in terms of engine-warmed air hitting your upper body?

 

[TennesseeSmith]

I've not noticed any hot air up the front of me on either bike.

I've had a couple of times when the engine heat blew up through the beads on my seat on the blue bike (Honda shield). My butt got very hot.

 

[jeffz]

I got my Honda tall windscreen yesterday. Struggled a bit with one of the mirror covers but otherwise installation was easy.

I loved how quiet the ride was up until about 45mph. At 45mph, though, I knew I was in trouble when I felt air start to knock my helmet about. It got worse on the freeway. Pretty nasty buffeting. By 70mph it felt like going through a round with Mike Tyson so I slowed down and pulled off.

I'm right at 6'0" and rather tall in the torso (just a 32" inseam). Somehow the shorty standard screen actually works for me -- I get pressure and bug splatter but zero buffeting. The tall screen is a pretty bad disappointment. It's not going to be even workable for me without some kind of extension.

I emailed Laminar to see if they have a CTX1300-specific model in the works yet. I'll consider the universal model that you added, Ken, if not. But I'm a bit concerned that it might still not be enough and I don't want to blindly throw money at solving this problem.

I might prefer the adjustable options of the MRA X-Creen. Anyone use one of these on a previous bike?

Jeff

 

[JimB]

X-Creen

I might prefer the adjustable options of the MRA X-Creen. Anyone use one of these on a previous bike?

Jeff

I'm just under 6'3", and with the tall windscreen at 50mph I felt like my head was within a bass drum, too!

I now use the X-Creen...LOVE IT!. (the "tour" size, not the narrower "sport")

There are two methods of adaptation: Clamp-on, and bolt-through. At the time that I ordered, I was real nervous about the obligation of having to drill holes through the tall windshield in order to install the bolt-through model, so I got the clamp-on.

The weird thing about the clamp-on is that the configuration you see it in (photo'ed above) is the only alignment that really does the job. I tried to get it a bit more elevated, but the swingarms obligate the X-Creen shield to move out and away from the windshield as the top of the X-Creen moves up, thereby creating a gap for wind to rush through. The super-great news is that as you see it now, it works great! (and if you're 6'0", it'll be awesome).

For me now, at any speed, I can easily hear the music from within my helmet speakers and ride with my faceshield up and not get plastered with a wall of wind.

 

[jeffz]

Awesome, thanks Jim!

I was also looking at the clamp-on model. I'm not sure I want to commit to drilling (what if I hate the whole works and want to sell the tall windscreen?) plus, if i DO like it, I might actually want to try the X-Creen attached to the shorty screen too to see if it's a good summer configuration that reduces the bugs/noise I get with that one.

Now let's see about finding the $155.

Jeff