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By Chet Walters
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The OEM shield has ridges on either side for strength (I assume). These edges are about two inches across and raised 1/8" above the rest of the shield making a "recess" on the opposite face that contacts the visor. The visor is raised about 1/8" there to accommodate hence has a recess along the center. When one attaches a shield that does not have these ridges, one is left with a space in between nearly running the length of the visor. This causes the after market shield to rattle over bumps at low speed and may cause the shield to "flutter" in the wind at high speeds.

My solution was to remove the Teflon tape not only along the top of the visor, but also the "slider" tape along the channels where the shield rides when adjusted. In applying the industrial strength Velcro loop, I made the edge smooth where the raised part of the visor is starting from left to right. As I worked my way across keeping the upper edge flush to the top of the visor I made a natural wrinkle (almost as a side effect) in the Velcro along the recessed area. The wrinkle was 1" below the top of the visor. When I reached the other side raised portion, I made sure there was no wrinkle there. On the "sliders" below, I covered those with strips of Velcro EXCEPT for the "sliders" on the raised portion at the ends. I made sure that the ratchet was down at the bottom so that it would latch as it was pulled up. I installed the shield and pulled it up two notches on the ratchet and buttoned down the holder plate and installed the garnish.

Though this shield will not adjust up or down (it doesn't anyway), it's dead silent over bumps and does not "flutter" at all at high speeds. Very solid. Very attractive. The trick is to take up the slack in the recessed area of the visor if your new shield does not have the edge ribs like the OEM. - FILLERS

  SUCK!
Though I've installed and removed and installed and removed the tunnel fillers trying to determine if they work, I could never actually tell adequately until this method dawned in my slow moving brain.

INSTALL ONE SIDE and GO FOR A RIDE! Determine for yourself if they improve the air flow enough for you to put up with the hamper to slow speed turning. I have determined that they do improve it enough - for me..

I have a problem with my FIFTH CRANIAL NERVE (no, not the one that helps you think, tho it may seem so at times). This is the nerve that supplies sensation from the side of your face to your brain (see pic). I have numbness on the entire right side of my face which I guess is from riding 700,000 miles with little or no windshield over the years. When it is worst, you could clamp a vice grip on my ear lobe and I would not know it. At times I also suffer from minor Bell's Palsy (different nerve) which causes just my right eye to droop a tiny bit enough that I get "dry eye."

Cliff "chalayko", a member of the GL1800 Riders recommended I try my Tunnel Fillers again. I went through the process stated above about four times. Today, it came to me to try ONE SIDE ONLY. There is a difference though not one that I would call significant. However, the improvement in reduced air flow is precisely on my cheeks and ears EXACTLY where those troublesome nerves originate. So I'm keeping them in.

Pics are a little hard to get because of where they are. The fat part goes in the back and the thin part in the front. They install just below the upper fork clamp of the top bridge and you want to get the front part as high as possible. A patch of sticky back Velcro attached to the tunnel so the filler can grab it helps.

FILLERS REVISITED:
What's up with this?  These are a coupla months old.  Useless and don't work.  Completely distorted.  They are GONE!

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 - DEFLECTORS


 Quick release for Big Bike Parts deflectors.  Takes seconds to install or remove.  Also, protects the deflector should you drag hard parts in a turn or the bike dumps over onto the crash bars.  The quick release just releases the deflector and the deflector simply pivots at the upper clamp. One can use the parts shown.  Click the pic for the info.

 




Homemade $8.00 leg wings to add to Big Bike Parts deflectors. Get two 8 x 10 pieces of Lexan from Lowes for $3.98 each.  Use the form picture making sure that the height is 10 inches as shown.  I used a 10 tpi band saw metal cutting blade to cut the form and then used a drum sander on my drill to smooth the curves.  After that, I used a 320 grit flap wheel to polish the edges.  You can use a step drill or forstner or lip & spur bit at VERY LOW speed to cut the 1/4" holes.  Here, I show them with the protective cover on them first mounted in front of the lower deflectors for illustration.  The final mount is behind so that the dirt that will inevitably collect between them won't show through the dark tint.   Below are the pics and the form. One might think that these things are not very sturdy, but I've had them to 100 among 18 wheeler traffic with my qwik release in place with no problems.  These may be a little wide for your tastes, but they keep the wind off my hip joints and I can use the highway pegs and not get heat from the radiators on my legs.  You can surely make them slimmer by preserving the intricate curves and cutting the long straight edge more narrow.

   



 


As much as I don't like the bulk and the look, Baker Air Wings with Lowers combined with their Hand Wings which mount under the mirror are invaluable.  The Hand Wings are something that I cannot do without. Heated grips and lighter gloves make them indispensible. The Air Wings with Lowers clean up the air on the back of the legs and under the arms nearly completely. This means that I do not need a new Gerbings jacket liner since my old liner only heats above the arms and not below, the Bakers fixed that.  Those are the advantages.  The drawbacks.  Mostly appearance, but since I got the black hardware, not so bad and I can remove them in the summer. They do make the bike react more to the turbulence behind vehicles on the highway, but not a whole bunch, just enough to notice.  These have made my riding season longer and that's good enough for me.

   

Questions? Contact Chet at Chet says 'Be sure to write!'Chetspages@rattlebars.com