Cutting windshield...advice?

[Ceebass68]

Hey guys, moved this over from another thread for relevance...

99 Interstate. Aftermarket windshield that is huge. I think its Showchrome but not 100% sure since it was installed when I bought bike used. Its about 2.5" taller than stock and roughly 4" wider on each side.

Want to look over shield but am worried about helmet buffeting. I recently bought a 13" Clearview and like it but, buffeting at over 60mph. (Full face)

Ideally THINK I need a shield 1" taller than the Clearview. So...my question is about cutting the Showchrome down. I've watched Youtube videos and think I can figure it out but, wanted feedback since I will have to buy the cutting tool. For those of you who've done this...

Jigsaw or Dremel...?

[hubcapsc]

I used a jigsaw with a good new blade to cut down my OEM 1800 Valkyrie
windshield.

I put that blue painter's tape over the area on the shield that the jigsaw
foot would touch.

I made a paper template of the top curve of my windshield, and used it
to draw a similar line on the blue painter's tape.

Then I carefully and resolutely (no stopping and starting, not too fast, not
too slow) cut the line.

I still need to run some sandpaper on the edge at a couple of places, but
it is installed and I have been using it like this for a couple of years now  ...

When you use sandpaper on the edge, the sandpaper needs to be stiff, on
some kind of block or something. I couldn't be careful enough to keep
from sanding other than the edge  a little with just the piece of
sandpaper.



-Mike "Gordon's the only one who ever noticed my booboo"

[pancho]

Nice job Mike,,, looks good.


-Mike "Gordon's the only one who ever noticed my booboo"   He's just the only one who mentioned it.

[Houdini]

What hubcapsc said, except we used a compass to draw the line on the painters tape following the edge of the ws.

[Jess from VA]

After sanding any high spots, acetone will melt the edge to look like a factory cut, but don't drip it anywhere.  I'd leave the blue tape on the lower part of the shield after the cut, while fixing the edge.

CB, if you didn't take the film off the CV, it should be returnable.  Call them and ask to swap it for another, about an inch (or inch and a half) taller.   (When you first posted, I thought it would be too short.  It would for me, and I'm only 5'9")

No sense keeping it if you won't use it, though you could probably sell it on classified easily.  You could still try to cut your OE shield down anyway.  

 

[Ceebass68]

After sanding any high spots, acetone will melt the edge to look like a factory cut, but don't drip it anywhere.  I'd leave the blue tape on the lower part of the shield after the cut, while fixing the edge.

CB, if you didn't take the film off the CV, it should be returnable.  Call them and ask to swap it for another, about an inch (or inch and a half) taller.   (When you first posted, I thought it would be too short.  It would for me, and I'm only 5'9")

No sense keeping it if you won't use it, though you could probably sell it on classified easily.  You could still try to cut your OE shield down anyway.  

 

Good tip on the acetone Jess. I went ahead with the 13" since Clearview had it on the shelf and could send it that day (vs wait a few weeks). I did the measurement as they suggested and that seemed like it would be right. I could exchange for the "stock" height version but, I'm afraid another 2.5" would be too much.

[Itinifni]

I followed a procedure very similar to Hubcapsc but it used my Dremel with a Rotozip bit. My Dremel has a few attachments so it can be set up just like a small Rotozip.

After I was done I used a small palm sander and several grades of paper to smooth out the edges to near factory appearance.

I did one step that I don't believe has been suggested. Since I was cutting about 2.5 inches from the shield height I first did a practice run taking off about an inch. That allowed me to get a feel for cutting speed, tool speed, etc. Took a little extra time but made the final cut much better than it would have been otherwise. Also allowed me to take a ride and confirm I still wanted it shorter.

[Moonshot_1]

Had mine cut down by the local glass guy. $40. Sat on bike, we marked it, went home and  took it off, ran it down to the guy and he cut it down.

I figured better him making a mess of it than me.

So my advice is take it to the pro. You might get lucky and get it done right yourself. I do not tend to be lucky that way so it is cheaper to just go to the pros from the start for me.

[The emperor has no clothes]

It's easy. Do it like Mike said. 

[Ceebass68]

I may try a test cut as suggested. I was thinking about that too. If I cant get it right, I could still use local glass guy as a fail-safe I suppose! Since I have a wider shield it has some weird angles to it. Not sure how smooth I'll be able to do freehand.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I may try a test cut as suggested. I was thinking about that too. If I cant get it right, I could still use local glass guy as a fail-safe I suppose! Since I have a wider shield it has some weird angles to it. Not sure how smooth I'll be able to do freehand.

I have the same shield that I cut down 2-3 inches . I wouldn't do it free hand. I traced a cardboard template of the top and used that. You want to have the proper blade and do it at the right speed. If I remember correctly I used a fine wood cutting jig saw blade. Not too fast of a speed or it will start to melt the plastic.

[Houdini]

Why  build a template?  Grab the compass out of your tool box and trace the edge of the windshield and draw a line on the tape.

this;


Not this;

[Ceebass68]

Wish it was that easy. Note in my pic that the shield I want to cut is way wider. Not looking to cut that extra width off so, I need to come up with a good smooth transition line somehow.

[Itinifni]

Once I had my windshield taped off I used string to draw a series of arcs across the tape.
I started with the string taped to the center of the front edge of the front fender and drew a sweeping line across the windshield.
Next was lines from the left directional across the right side of the windshield and the right directional across the left side of the windshield.
Same using mounting bolts on the windshield frame etc.

Once you have symmetrical arcs left/right it's easy to free-hand and smooth the curves.

Hope that makes sense.

[Ceebass68]

Great tip Itinifni! I do like the look of a more rounded shield. Do the "hard" edges in corners serve a purpose? Maybe just more wind protection...

Anyway, taping a string to a fixed point then sweeping a line (or series of lines) makes alot of sense...

Thanks man!

Working on a fork rebuild at the moment. Once that is done, windshield is next. I'll post pics of progress when I get there. I really appreciate all the advice guys!

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I used a jigsaw with a good new blade to cut down my OEM 1800 Valkyrie
windshield.

I put that blue painter's tape over the area on the shield that the jigsaw
foot would touch.

I made a paper template of the top curve of my windshield, and used it
to draw a similar line on the blue painter's tape.

Then I carefully and resolutely (no stopping and starting, not too fast, not
too slow) cut the line.

I still need to run some sandpaper on the edge at a couple of places, but
it is installed and I have been using it like this for a couple of years now   ...

When you use sandpaper on the edge, the sandpaper needs to be stiff, on
some kind of block or something. I couldn't be careful enough to keep
from sanding other than the edge   a little with just the piece of
sandpaper.



-Mike "Gordon's the only one who ever noticed my booboo"

A good file will clean the edge as well ... I cut mine " way " down and its perfect for me . The file also makes it easy to get any " wiggles or boo boo's " out .

[hubcapsc]

A good file is probably better than any sandpaper, that's what I'm
going to try 

-Mike

[Willow]

Variable speed jigsaw slow enough to cut clean without melting.

Before you cut be certain that is where your buffeting is coming from.  Buffeting often comes from between the tank and shield.  There are products to block that.

I prefer a short shield.  Mine is 8".  I don't mind buffeting.  If you're cutting solely to prevent buffeting you may be cutting for the wrong reason.

[Ceebass68]

Variable speed jigsaw slow enough to cut clean without melting.

Before you cut be certain that is where your buffeting is coming from.  Buffeting often comes from between the tank and shield.  There are products to block that.

I prefer a short shield.  Mine is 8".  I don't mind buffeting.  If you're cutting solely to prevent buffeting you may be cutting for the wrong reason.

I hear you about the buffeting but I dont experience it with my taller shield. All other variables being the same. I love looking over the new 13" shield and am hoping with a little taller there will be an acceptable point. I hate to add a bunch of extra wings etc on if I can find the sweet spot.