Nervous ride

[bjt]

Last night when I rode home from work, it was raining out. I didn't mind getting wet but I did wish it was in the 70's instead of the 50's. The Spyder handled wonderfully. My concern was the Evolution II windshield and how it doesn't shed water. Even while going 55 MPH, the rain droplets stayed put on the windshield. They didn't even appear to wiggle the slightest bit. I am thinking that this explains why I don't seem to get much air through the air vents on the Evo II. It seems like the air isn't flowing against the windshield so the air vents don't catch it and the raindrops aren't pushed away.

So, back to what made me nervous on the ride. With the Evo II being tall enough that I have to look through it when riding, all the raindrops on the Evo II staying in place, the streetlights and the headlights, it was glare city on the way home. Right in the city where there is a lot more extra lighting because of parking lots, stores, etc. it wasn't as bad. When I got about halfway home, it gets just a bit more rural so all I had was the occasional streetlight and the oncoming vehicles headlights. I am talking white out conditions when oncoming cars got about 100 feet in front of me until the were next to me. The glare was so bad that if I had more than a 20 minute ride home, I would have pulled over and removed the windshield. To top it all off, some person in a truck decided that they had to be right on my tail almost that entire rural stretch of the ride. To be tailgating someone at 45 - 55 MPH in those road conditions... :

I had noticed when riding in the rain before that the Evo II didn't shed raindrops at all but with daytime riding, those raindrops in front of me were just a minor annoyance. At night, it was nerve wracking.

 

[Marcel July]

Hello "bjt",
i just read your post.
First,
I feel sorry for the situation you had last night. :dontknow:
Here are some ideas for you.
If you look always trough the Windshield is NOT good. So the Windshield is to large.
Of course I can "Shorten" the Windshield for you. You must have the Windshield size "just below"
your Eye site.
Some of my Customers like to look trough the Windshield all the time, in those cases I always recommend to use
"RAIN-X" on the Evolution Windshields to keep the rain off.

Here is a link for you:
http://www.rainx.com/Products/Windshield_Treatment/Original.aspx


Remember that all our Windshields have a POLISH COAT on it !!!
The POLISH can cause to keep the rain drops on the Windshield surface.

So to make sure that you will not have this situation again, I recommend to use
Rain-X or let us Cut the Windshield down.

If you have any question, or need some help, don't hesitate to contact me. :bigthumbsup:
Regards,
Marcel July

 

[Lamonster]

Like Marcel said, you should never be looking through a shield all the time, it should be adjusted so you look over the top of it and can duck down under it if need be. I would say you need to do some tweaking Bro.

 

[bjt]

Thanks Marcel. I am going to put Rain-X on the Evo today and see how that works for me. I might send you back the windshield to have you shorten it, I think 3 or 4 inches shorter would be good but I do really like how much quieter the ride is with the tall screen. It is much quieter for me than dltang's F1 shield.

 

[Marcel July]

O.K.
sound's great to me.
If the Rain-X does not work for you, please send me the Windshield back and
I will "cut" the Windshield down for you in the size you like.
I take care of the shipping cost back to you and there will be no charges.


Just keep in touch with me.
No problem. :bigthumbsup:
Regards
Marcel

 

[sabunim5]

Rain on the windsheild, Rain on your faceshield and no wind to blow it off, combined with headlight glare at night. A recipe for disaster. I am really Glad you made it home safe :congrats: That is the exact reason that some of us have been saying you never want a windshield that you can't see over. :nojoke: I would like to add my 2 cents about Rain-X, for what it is worth. First of all IMHO Rain-X is a wonderful product that functions as advertised. It is wonderful thing to have in the rain. If anyone lives in an area that has fog with any frequency, they do not want to put Rain-X on anything that does'nt have windsheild wipers. Tiny,tiny,tiny beads of moisture collect on the surface and you are stuck with a similar white-out condition to what you experienced. One of my scariest rides was a foggy morning ride to work. Following a friends advice, I put Rain-X on both the outside and inside of my visor. He said it was the best anti-fog ever. WOW was he :edit: wrong. The fog left a film that reappeard faster than I could wipe it off on the outside of my visor and my breath left the same film on the inside of my visor. Road to work that day with my visor up the entire way. I know this may start a rash of responses to the effect that I am full of it. I am only speaking of my personal experience, and Rain-X may have been reformulated since this incident was 10 or 15 years ago. Ryde Safe and Enjoy :bigthumbsup:
sabunim5 :spyder:

 

[NancysToy]

Rain on the windsheild, Rain on your faceshield and no wind to blow it off, combined with headlight glare at night. A recipe for disaster. I am really Glad you made it home safe :congrats: That is the exact reason that some of us have been saying you never want a windshield that you can't see over. :nojoke:

BJT,
I'll second the motion on being glad you survived the scary trip home. We have not put a larger windshield on our Spyder, just for this reason. The problem is not so much that the shields are too tall, but that they are also too far forward. It doesn't take much height way out there to cut down your vision. I think the ideal shield would be curved back over the handlebars, at about the angle of the trunk, then would have the kick upward. I like them at about chin height, and no higher than my nose, but can't see over one that tall when it is that far out front.

I would like to add my 2 cents about Rain-X, for what it is worth. First of all IMHO Rain-X is a wonderful product that functions as advertised. It is wonderful thing to have in the rain. If anyone lives in an area that has fog with any frequency, they do not want to put Rain-X on anything that does'nt have windsheild wipers. Tiny,tiny,tiny beads of moisture collect on the surface and you are stuck with a similar white-out condition to what you experienced. One of my scariest rides was a foggy morning ride to work. Following a friends advice, I put Rain-X on both the outside and inside of my visor. He said it was the best anti-fog ever. WOW was he :edit: wrong. The fog left a film that reappeard faster than I could wipe it off on the outside of my visor and my breath left the same film on the inside of my visor. Road to work that day with my visor up the entire way. I know this may start a rash of responses to the effect that I am full of it. I am only speaking of my personal experience, and Rain-X may have been reformulated since this incident was 10 or 15 years ago. Ryde Safe and Enjoy :bigthumbsup:
sabunim5 :spyder:

Sabinum5,
I don't think you are full of it at all. I have experienced exactly the same thing. Rain-X works much like a wax, forcing drops of water to bead on the surface. In a rain, they collect together, get bigger, then get forced off by wind or gravity. If the droplets are tiny, like a mist or fog, they don't get bigger since they don't ever really touch each other. The same beading property makes the tiny droplets actually stay separated, I think due to surface tension. As a result, visibility under these conditions can be miserable.

I do use Rain-X on my windshields, and on the outside of my visor. I ride in the rain quite a bit on my BMW. (Most of us are nuts!) Seeing over the windshield is the only help in a light mist or fog. Under the same conditions, I wipe my visor a lot on the outside, and crack it open a bit to try to reduce the fogging inside. Cat Crap anti-fog helps some, but an anti-fog faceshield or insert works better. If your helmet has a chin curtain, or you wear a balaclava, the fogging can be real bad, especially in cool, humid weather.
-Scotty

 

[Roaddog2]

BJT,
I'll second the motion on being glad you survived the scary trip home. We have not put a larger windshield on our Spyder, just for this reason. The problem is not so much that the shields are too tall, but that they are also too far forward. It doesn't take much height way out there to cut down your vision. I think the ideal shield would be curved back over the handlebars, at about the angle of the trunk, then would have the kick upward. I like them at about chin height, and no higher than my nose, but can't see over one that tall when it is that far out front.
Sabinum5,
I don't think you are full of it at all. I have experienced exactly the same thing. Rain-X works much like a wax, forcing drops of water to bead on the surface. In a rain, they collect together, get bigger, then get forced off by wind or gravity. If the droplets are tiny, like a mist or fog, they don't get bigger since they don't ever really touch each other. The same beading property makes the tiny droplets actually stay separated, I think due to surface tension. As a result, visibility under these conditions can be miserable.

I do use Rain-X on my windshields, and on the outside of my visor. I ride in the rain quite a bit on my BMW. (Most of us are nuts!) Seeing over the windshield is the only help in a light mist or fog. Under the same conditions, I wipe my visor a lot on the outside, and crack it open a bit to try to reduce the fogging inside. Cat Crap anti-fog helps some, but an anti-fog faceshield or insert works better. If your helmet has a chin curtain, or you wear a balaclava, the fogging can be real bad, especially in cool, humid weather.
-Scotty

:agree:

 

[Danimal]

"I am going to put Rain-X on the Evo today and see how that works for me. I might send you back the windshield to have you shorten it, I think 3 or 4 inches shorter would be good but I do really like how much quieter the ride is with the tall screen. It is much quieter for me than dltang's F1 shield."

I'm 5' 8" and Marcel is making an Evo II that is 28" tall to replace my F1 which is only 24".

24" just doesn't get the job done for me... and 28" should allow me to see over if I sit up straight... or just under it if I slouch a bit....

Can't wait to try it out!

-------------------------------

Scotty:

"I think the ideal shield would be curved back over the handlebars, at about the angle of the trunk, then would have the kick upward. I like them at about chin height, and no higher than my nose, but can't see over one that tall when it is that far out front."

I was thinking the same thing.... have it come back towards the ryder more before going UP.


So did you give up on can-amtalk for good??

 

[Smylinacha]

Sorry you had a crummy ride in that rain! This is the exact reason why I will not go w/ a tall shield. On my Softail, the hubby had to cut it down so I could look over. I am only 5 feet tall and we rode from CT down to VA and some of it was rain - it wasn't fun. Windshield should go no higher than the bridge of your nose - you always gotta be able to look over it.