Soft windshield?

[Dat Guy]

Well, after a few long rides I decided to wipe the bug guts off my Spyder. I sprayed on some Plexus then draped a wet towel over the windshield to make the bugs easier to remove after being baked on in the desert sun. I got almost all of the bugs off after except one sticky spot, so I very GENTLY used my blunt finger nail to scrape it off... and left 4 or 5 noticable scratches on the windscreen. What the heck is that all about? I also have a ding/scratch on it from some sort of beetle I hit a few weeks ago... Why on earth would a WINDSCREEN which is going to be pelted by stuff be so easily damaged? It's highly annoying. Is there anything I can do to make it tougher? Perhaps replace the current one with something else?

As for the OEM one I have, I've read that something called Novus or perhaps Maquire's #7 will polish out the scratches. Has anyone had success with this, and can it be done by hand or would I need a buffer to get it to work?

 

[viperryder]

Meguiar's

I have had motorcycles for over thirty years. Honda's and now BRP. I have used both of Meguiar's products. They are Mirror glaze #17 and mirror glaze #10. #17 is a clear plastic cleaner and the other is a clear plastic polish. The #10 works best to remove small scratches. Hopes this helps.

 

[rcturner]

Be careful. Those windshields (at least all that I have had in the past) are coated and if you get over aggressive, the windshield will be destroyed. The polishes work well but don't use anything abrasive.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: I'm pretty sure it was Scotty who mentioned that you could "polish" the hard coating right off of these things... :shocked:

 

[bluestratos]

Chips and scratches will happen along the way, I am shocked how many I have in 14 after just 2000 miles and I baby mine. Then I think, if some of those had hit my face it would have surely left a mark!, lol...

I was riding in the desert outside of Reno last year when I just spotted a black object coming at me really fast from about 10 o clock high!. It was a small stone that hit my windscreen so hard it made it flex. It bounce up and over the top then landed in the crotch area of my seat. I looked up, around and still have no idea where it came from. No cars anywhere in sight, no clouds, just blue sky? A space rock! lol. Now that one left a ding in the shield but as I said, I wear an open face when its really hot so screen did its job.

 

[Dan_Ashley]

Chips and scratches will happen along the way, I am shocked how many I have in 14 after just 2000 miles and I baby mine. Then I think, if some of those had hit my face it would have surely left a mark!, lol...

I was riding in the desert outside of Reno last year when I just spotted a black object coming at me really fast from about 10 o clock high!. It was a small stone that hit my windscreen so hard it made it flex. It bounce up and over the top then landed in the crotch area of my seat. I looked up, around and still have no idea where it came from. No cars anywhere in sight, no clouds, just blue sky? A space rock! lol. Now that one left a ding in the shield but as I said, I wear an open face when its really hot so screen did its job.

It was an anti-Spyder meteorite!

 

[Dat Guy]

Wait, what? The windscreen has a "hard coating" on it? Could have fooled me!


These polishes that have been mentioned... can they be used with a little elbow grease, or will I need a buffer to get them to work?

 

[bikeguy]

Wait, what? The windscreen has a "hard coating" on it? Could have fooled me!


These polishes that have been mentioned... can they be used with a little elbow grease, or will I need a buffer to get them to work?

Just my opinion, but I would hesitate to use a buffer unless it was a random orbital buffer and I'd still want to test it on an area of the screen that I would never look through. Even though the polish used may not be highly abrasive, I would be scared of leaving a circular pattern on the windshield. Circular patterns are much more intrusive than linear patterns. I have used polish to remove minor scratches from old Vetter windshields but this was a long time ago and I expect the material used in screens has changed. Actually, what I used was Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, which is a gun stock polish and finish. It is a very minor abrasive and it takes forever and LOTS of elbow grease but it works on those old windshields.

Most modern windscreens have a hard surfacing on them, including BRP's I've been told, but it sounds as if yours may not have much of it.

Cotton

 

[lyonsden]

Well, after a few long rides I decided to wipe the bug guts off my Spyder. I sprayed on some Plexus then draped a wet towel over the windshield to make the bugs easier to remove after being baked on in the desert sun. I got almost all of the bugs off after except one sticky spot, so I very GENTLY used my blunt finger nail to scrape it off... and left 4 or 5 noticable scratches on the windscreen. What the heck is that all about? I also have a ding/scratch on it from some sort of beetle I hit a few weeks ago... Why on earth would a WINDSCREEN which is going to be pelted by stuff be so easily damaged? It's highly annoying. Is there anything I can do to make it tougher? Perhaps replace the current one with something else?

As for the OEM one I have, I've read that something called Novus or perhaps Maquire's #7 will polish out the scratches. Has anyone had success with this, and can it be done by hand or would I need a buffer to get it to work?

This is what I have used and it worked very well for me. Harley buddy recommended it. You do it by hand, no buffer needed.
http://www.amazon.com/Novus-Plastic...&qid=1399470745&sr=8-4&keywords=novus+cleaner

 

[granpa in Cincy]

You want a really tough windshield? Get the F4 from our sponsor. I had one on my wing and it was great. Never scratched under worst treatment and YOU CAN CLEAN IT WITH WINDEX.

 

[Dat Guy]

Got blasted by sand and high wind on the road this weekend and now my windscreen (and headlights) look like crap. Tiny pit marks are everywhere, and driving into the sun is like staring into a thousand tiny lasers coming off my windscreen.

...sigh.

You want a really tough windshield? Get the F4 from our sponsor. I had one on my wing and it was great. Never scratched under worst treatment and YOU CAN CLEAN IT WITH WINDEX.

These look promising. BUT... will it be able to stand up against a sand pelting if I get caught in another sandstorm? Also, the stock screen I have has the two holes up front that reduce wind buffeting, but I can't find one on the F4 website that is the same. The closest I could find was this:

https://www.f4customs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=88&product_id=267&limit=100

Can anyone else chime in and tell me if this F4 screen is worth the $310, and does anyone know if they carry the 2013 version of the windscreen with the holes in the bottom?

 

[Spacetrucker]

No not yet. But you can call don thier and ask him? Great company to deal with...I have the big boy tall and wide love it. Ck them out

 

[DJFaninTN]

after looking at them at Spyderfest when I upgrade my windshield, I am going with this one. People who have the vented one swear by it.

https://www.f4customs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=88&product_id=301

 

[Major spyder]

I use. Rain - X spray and it helps put a barrier between the windshield and the bugs....they come off easily.....