Please enlighten those of us who have never ridden a Valkyrie with a Rifle Windshield. How was it "much better" in All Ways?
I've owned and ridden my own Valkyrie with a Memphis Shades shield, an OEM Honda Tourer windshield and a Clearview with vent. Didn't like the Memphis Shades, loved the OEM Tourer Shield and although the Clearview was a good shield, thought it was overpriced and the vent was a waste of money.
more aerodynamic, so quieter, larger still air pocket, better mpg and zero turbulence. Also I have almost none of the back draft from the exhaust, whereas after riding my jacket had exhaust smell on it when I was using the OEM. the better aero of the Rifle make for a smoother airflow along the length of the motorcycle.
I have the standard height but widest width they offer without the turn signal cutouts, so much better wind protection esp during colder winter weather when it is installed. above 50F I don't use it.
A search should also bring up other owners who praise it. it was a post yrs ago of how I found out about them.
I tend to remember the oem I had, had a slight flip/curve near the top part of the shield. The Rifle is straight. It curves from the middle to the sides.
"Windshields with this design sometimes use the term "flip", "flare", "recurve", "wave", "contour" or trade names like "Wind Splitter". Many come from China. A windshield with a flip may be just be a marketing decision, saying to the customer "buy ours because it is different"; "ours is different that's why we charge more".
We have found that a "flip" style windshield can push up the air higher over the top, but with an very unacceptable trade-off, more turbulence and buffeting. Adding this to to all the other negatives, including our reading of the many negative customer reviews of incorrectly sized windshields (too short) with flips and flares, building a "dirty" windshield is not the way to go. Some flips are so radical, that they end up being 90 degrees or more to the ground. No way these work and for sure they will reduce gas mileage.
To independently confirm our conclusions, just check out the latest touring bike options from the OEMS, like the new Honda Gold Wing, or the new Yamaha Star Venture, etc. These new bikes have unquestionably been tested for tens of thousands of miles, many computer simulations and time in wind tunnels. These were built for long-distance comfort. If a flip or flare had any significant benefit you would see them offered. You may see them on smaller bikes with little windshields, but for sure they are styling decisions only, designed to convince new buyers the little windshield will perform like a larger windshield (it won't)."
https://rifle.com/Motorcycle-Windshield-Selection-Guide.aspx
