bushrat
New member
I have a 2017 F3L; I'm now trying out my 4th windshield type, so feel I can speak to a number of points raised here. Of course, it is necessary to first understand that windshields, like seats, tires, etc., are very much a matter of personal preference - what suits one guy is terrible for the next. Also, my comments are somewhat conditioned by the fact that the Spyder is the first of my 3 or 4 previous bikes even to have a windshield - so I start from a background of having had to tolerate (and become used to) wind, bugs, rain, hail in my face. That said, here goes:
We (wife and I) began with the short stock shield. I wasn't that bothered, but she was getting buffeted, and I wanted to help her out. We switched to an F4 23" tinted, no vent. Very quiet, calm, pleasant ride; what Don says about his product is very correct. It is well designed and highly effective. I'm 5'10", about 29" inseam, ride my F3L with stock bars and floorboards in position 4. We began with the stock seat but switched to an Ultimate - comparatively, this raised me 1" and lowered my wife about 1-1/2"; caused by difference in one-piece vs. two-piece seating. Seat change didn't seem to affect our experience with the F4 Shield. Biggest drawback was that I could no longer use the expensive BRP cover which was too narrow to fit over the F4 shield (really designed to custom fit the Tall Boy). Also, having hauled the bike to FL for winter riding, the climate was hotter and I wanted more airflow. A third (personal) reason for switching from the F4 23" tinted was that the top of the shield (for me) was right at eye level, and I was getting two different "looks" when going down the road - my vision kept jumping back and forth from clear to tinted to clear, etc. If choosing (for myself) again, I would go with a 21" clear, probably vented. I like to look over a shield, not through, and believe 21" would have worked better for both wife and I; we ride two-up about 80% of the time.
I went from the F4 to a Tall Boy. Really liked the looks of it on the Spyder; aesthetically, it compliments the bike a bit better than the larger F4. Ride-wise, it is much more effective than the short stock shield. Not near as quiet as the F4, nor as calm, but very decent at moving air up and over rider and passenger. Not bad; however, having heard great comments about the X-creen "Tour" add-on deflector which attaches to the top of your windshield, I decided to try one, if only just to see what it might do. You can get these things for about $130 or so, and in either a 'bolt-on' (permanent) or a 'clamp-on' (removable) version; I'm using the latter. I decided to try this out on the short stock shield first. It's pretty effective. It's breezy - great for me in the warmer FL air, where I do ride more solo. The wife is also satisfied so far; no serious buffeting. Very adjustable; you can change the airflow patterns to suit your likes or needs. Very solid at high speed too. We just trailered the Spyder back north on the Interstate. I didn't even bother to take the X-creen off, just flattened it. We drove at full limits all the way, no problems, even in big truck turbulence.
I was going to go further and try the X-creen mount on the Tall Boy, just to compare. My thinking is that it will probably result in even less breeze or noise. I suspect that it will move air even higher and wider than when mounted on the short stock shield. However, if I decide I don't need it, I'll probably have a nice, barely used Tall Boy for sale.
Lamonster has a fairly recent windshield for the F3L that seems to be getting good reports; it's something I have thought about trying, too, in my search for the ideal. And, there are other makes and choices (CalSci, Madstad, etc.) that haven't been tried by me or mentioned by others here yet.
Most of us are individually fussy about what we like, and what we can/will tolerate. Just remember that the above is based upon my personal reactions/preferences. What my head and my butt prefer may not suit yours; some others may even suggest my head is in my butt for even reaching these conclusions ....... now back to you.
We (wife and I) began with the short stock shield. I wasn't that bothered, but she was getting buffeted, and I wanted to help her out. We switched to an F4 23" tinted, no vent. Very quiet, calm, pleasant ride; what Don says about his product is very correct. It is well designed and highly effective. I'm 5'10", about 29" inseam, ride my F3L with stock bars and floorboards in position 4. We began with the stock seat but switched to an Ultimate - comparatively, this raised me 1" and lowered my wife about 1-1/2"; caused by difference in one-piece vs. two-piece seating. Seat change didn't seem to affect our experience with the F4 Shield. Biggest drawback was that I could no longer use the expensive BRP cover which was too narrow to fit over the F4 shield (really designed to custom fit the Tall Boy). Also, having hauled the bike to FL for winter riding, the climate was hotter and I wanted more airflow. A third (personal) reason for switching from the F4 23" tinted was that the top of the shield (for me) was right at eye level, and I was getting two different "looks" when going down the road - my vision kept jumping back and forth from clear to tinted to clear, etc. If choosing (for myself) again, I would go with a 21" clear, probably vented. I like to look over a shield, not through, and believe 21" would have worked better for both wife and I; we ride two-up about 80% of the time.
I went from the F4 to a Tall Boy. Really liked the looks of it on the Spyder; aesthetically, it compliments the bike a bit better than the larger F4. Ride-wise, it is much more effective than the short stock shield. Not near as quiet as the F4, nor as calm, but very decent at moving air up and over rider and passenger. Not bad; however, having heard great comments about the X-creen "Tour" add-on deflector which attaches to the top of your windshield, I decided to try one, if only just to see what it might do. You can get these things for about $130 or so, and in either a 'bolt-on' (permanent) or a 'clamp-on' (removable) version; I'm using the latter. I decided to try this out on the short stock shield first. It's pretty effective. It's breezy - great for me in the warmer FL air, where I do ride more solo. The wife is also satisfied so far; no serious buffeting. Very adjustable; you can change the airflow patterns to suit your likes or needs. Very solid at high speed too. We just trailered the Spyder back north on the Interstate. I didn't even bother to take the X-creen off, just flattened it. We drove at full limits all the way, no problems, even in big truck turbulence.
I was going to go further and try the X-creen mount on the Tall Boy, just to compare. My thinking is that it will probably result in even less breeze or noise. I suspect that it will move air even higher and wider than when mounted on the short stock shield. However, if I decide I don't need it, I'll probably have a nice, barely used Tall Boy for sale.
Lamonster has a fairly recent windshield for the F3L that seems to be getting good reports; it's something I have thought about trying, too, in my search for the ideal. And, there are other makes and choices (CalSci, Madstad, etc.) that haven't been tried by me or mentioned by others here yet.
Most of us are individually fussy about what we like, and what we can/will tolerate. Just remember that the above is based upon my personal reactions/preferences. What my head and my butt prefer may not suit yours; some others may even suggest my head is in my butt for even reaching these conclusions ....... now back to you.
ldpost: . stebrock's post in this thread was waaaayyy back in April 2019 Donni - it always pays to check the start date and the date of the last few posts in any thread you want to reply to, as well as checking the date of any post in the thread that you might want to directly reply to as you've done here, cos if they're old/ish (like this one 
) you might not get an answer! 
) so you can delete everything contained within the 'QUOTE' delimiters at the start & Finish of the text in the Reply field & then type in your response. :thumbup: 
