I know that the subject of windshields and their utility sometimes brings out strong feelings in both directions about the need for one and the lack of need for one. My naked bike/trike days seem to be well behind me. I did enjoy riding my new-to-me 2015 F3-S without a shield after having unsuccessfully trying to adapt to a BRP Blue Ridge which was for my needs, the worst possible solution for wind blockage due to incredible helmet buffeting.
I was determined to just ride in smooth air like my old sport bike days until this happened last week.
View attachment 134805
I actually had a bird strike my face shield directly at 65 mph and didn't realize until I had stopped that the poor dead bird had gotten lodged in my visor. An obviously very freak and freaky experience.
So, I was determined to get a windshield that would help with bird strikes but also not produce buffeting, dead air behind the shield and have to look through the thing while riding. A call to Don at F4 Customs and picking his brain about my specific criteria and my problems have been solved. I installed a 28" clear F4 Customs windshield on the F3-S yesterday and went on a 70 mile ride today to see how it performed. I live in Florida and so it is quite hot and humid in the Summer and so I wanted to avoid "dead air" to some extent and that bubble feeling that many windshields provide. The F4 Customs windshield had little in the way of these problems with some constant air flow and no perceived negative air pressure.
With no other cars around, the windshield sent the air just at the top of my helmet and at higher speed, a bit higher. I was able to do 95% of my riding not having to look through the windshield and I am now only 5'7" tall. I do have a 1" thick ButtBuffer gel pad on my stock seat which helped with the windshield height issues.
With cars in front of me, there was some mild head buffeting but nothing that was particularly unpleasant at 65 mph. On a private road with no traffic, I took the trike up to 83 mph and the air was smoother yet and the wind well above my helmet. I was extremely pleased with the new windshields performance. The only concern I have is that without the constant windblast of running "naked" and the smooth movement through the air, I find that the sensation of speed has diminished and their were times out on some deserted country roads where I was going faster than I thought.
One of the things that F4 Customs talked about in their accompanying literature was that they impregnate with a baking process some hardening of the shield's surface which makes it supposedly stand up better to bugs and other debris. All in all, I am very pleased with this purchase and look forward to thousands of miles of smiles without bugs or bird feathers in my teeth. BTW, some have commented that they do not like the attachment hardware scheme that F4 uses. For my own personal tastes, I very much like the look that the F4 hardware adds to my F3-S. Bob
