Windshield comparison: Street Shield EX V. Spitfire

cmattina1

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Anyone want to offer me his or her opinion on either of these two windshields.

The spitfire is smaller, somewhat more aesthically pleasing (maybe?), and about 40 dollars cheaper.

The Street Shield MAY be better quality, offers more protection, but is bigger....
 
I can't speak to the Street Shield. The spitfire does a fine job of keeping the intact bugs off your chest. Splat matter is another thing. I'm forever getting comments about spilling my lunch on my shirt. I let them think it is a salad dressing.
I do get more turbulance in the helmet area and have lost more than one pack of smokes. The mileage has dropped but I can't how much is because of the windshield and how much is the new to carbs.
You will have to really crank down the clamps and set screws for the rods every few days. It will rearrange itself.
All in all for hot buggy days I use it just because.
 
Well, I have a street shield on my XS650/H, CB750K-4 and CB750C and it fits perfect, it's easy to install and holds its adjustments. It has the effect of shielding your chest from the wind which reduces fatigue on long trips at high speed. I clean the bugs off every couple of days knowing that they are on the windshield and not on me. I have had a few really big bugs crash into the windshield, especially at night, so it's definitely doing it's job. I also had a street shield on my '78/E and it stopped me from going over the handlebars when I ran into a car turning left in front of me. Cracked the windshield. when my helmet hit it.

mybike3.jpg


The mounting system on the Street Shield EX makes it easy to remove the windshield with no tools required. The mounting points stay on the handlebars and forks so you can put the windshield back on without having to screw with getting it right. Great for riding down to the beach with the windshield and then taking it off to cruise the streets looking for trouble, and looking cool.

Here it is on my CB750K-4:

cb750.jpg
 
I installed the National Cycle street shield EX this spring, and its works great. Its excellent quality and needs no re-adjustments..............set and forget. For me the Spitfire looked to be a little on the small side. In my opinion, they need to be large,............otherwise why even have one. Yes, it keeps the pressure off your chest.

My riding buddy just ordered the same one for his 80SG model.
 
it seems to be the one then eh. might as well spend the extra money.

Is there only one Street Shield EX or do they modify slightly to fit different models?
 
Could one of you guys with the streetshield Ex post a pic of the handle bar mount. I'm thinking about this shield for the cold weather but don't have alot of room on my bars and the mount looks kind of large.
Thanks
 
Grinder;

Here's a few pics. On my last trip in July (2080 kms), this windshield worked just great...................23.8 km/litre ( 56 mpg). I get the same fuel consumption with windshield on or off.
 

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RG, thanks for the pic's. That looks like it would work on mine just fine. Has all the mounting hardware held up well? From what I've read the top of the shield should be about at the tip of your nose so you look over the shield. The 18" height on the EX looks about right. Do you get any helmet buffeting? Thanks again for the info and pic's.
 
RG, thanks for the pic's. That looks like it would work on mine just fine. Has all the mounting hardware held up well? From what I've read the top of the shield should be about at the tip of your nose so you look over the shield. The 18" height on the EX looks about right. Do you get any helmet buffeting? Thanks again for the info and pic's.

The mounting hardware is first class. I check it occasionally, but none of the fittings have backed off.

Yes, I have the top of the shield just below my nose level. That allows you to look over the shield when there is mist/rain/fog etc. blocking your vision through the shield. I had some buffeting when I first installed it, because I tried to have the slope of the shield match the slope of the forks. However at that slope, the top of the shield was to low. I re-adjusted the shield to a more vertical position (but still sloped) in order to have the top slightly higher. Now there is no buffeting.

I think each person has to find their own adjustment angle/height. 18" works OK, but if the shield had been 19", I would have sloped the shield more in line with the forks angle.
 
Could anyone tell me how to install the upper mounts on the Street Shield EX Windshield? It says to push upright into the upper socket. If I do this, I can push all I want but does not POP into place. In fact, it is hard to keep the ball from falling out of the socket. Especially when I am trying to adjust it. The rubber boots are just not capable of holding the ball in place. I do not know what I am doing wrong because the instructions are worthless. I must be missing something. Does anyone know where I can find some help or answers?
 
wilbur60,

Lay the windshield down on a flat surface protected by a towel or something similar and just push really hard. They will eventually "Pop" into place. It just takes a lot more effort than you think.
 
Yup............man up.............push on it like you're mad at it:D

Actually, as I remember it, there are a few things to do to help the process.

The instructions do say you can use a hair dryer to heat up the socket. I used a hair dryer on the socket, and I also put the ball part into the freezer for a few hours before I wanted to mate the 2 parts.Try that and I'm sure it will go together OK for you.
 
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Thanks, fellas. I finally got them in with the hairdryer trick. It was about 90 degrees outside so I really did not think that it would work at first. I would like to see one of these windshields installed and what the bottom mounts are supposed to look like. There are about 4 different ways they could go but I think I have it right.
I think they might need to improve their instructions. I know there must be a shortage of good technical writers out there based on the number of poor quality of instructions I have seen. Without this forum and utube I would be scratching my head alot.
Thanks
 
Any way they fit that holds the screen securely to the bars is "the right way". There's a huge variety of bikes and bars and headlamps and gauge clusters in the world. Some installs would have the clamps under the bars, some over, they can't see your bike so it's up to you to figure out what works best for that bike.

On the buffeting, I found that increased too but on mine it was eased best with the shield tilted more than the forks, aiming more towards my chest so again every sitution is different. Also I found the fit at the headlight made a big difference.
 
ive had a street sheild on my 2003 marauder since 04. does hold its adjustments well, and the polycarbonate is still quite clear. It has a some lite swirling due to cleaning, but ive read brasso cleaner can take care of that, is that true?
Also, one of the lower socket is buggered, and the ball will pop out easy if i tug forward on the screen. always been like that. I may have deformed the socket when i first got it, idk. ide buy it again. heard of a fly screen? its really small, and is only good for keeping the wind off your chest, if thats what your looking for.
 
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