I know many of you do not like to ride with a windshield for a variety of reasons, like looks, heat, and wind in your hair. There are also many of us who, once we tried riding with a windshield, won’t ride without one again. You should know some things to help you pick the right windshield for your bike.
Some windshields are permanent mounted, but there are also quick-release and snap-on windshields. The quick-release and snap-on ones are nice because you can take them off if you don’t want to use them for short rides, and it also makes cleaning them easier.
Windshields come in different sizes, both in width and height. The shield’s width will determine how much wind goes around it and hits you or not. If you have a very wide one, you may not feel much wind at all, but it may act like a sail in windy conditions. You also want the width to look right on your bike. A wide windshield may not look right if you have a skinny front end on your bike. The height will direct where the wind goes. If you have a short one, it will direct the wind onto your body or face; a tall one will direct the wind over your head (and sometimes into your passenger’s face). You can angle a short windshield to direct all the wind over your head, but that doesn’t help in the rain. The ideal height of a windshield is tall enough for you to duck behind and become aerodynamic but short enough to see over comfortably. With bugs, rain, and road grime, you sometimes need to see over the windshield because you can’t see through it. I was recently riding in the rain, and if I looked through my windshield, it looked like nothing was in front of me, but when I looked over it, I could see a semi was directly in front of me.
You can also get windshields tinted in different colors. That is all personal preference. You should check with local laws as well. Here are some pros and cons of riding with a windshield.
Pros:
- Fewer bugs hitting the rider.
- Not so much wind pushing against the rider.
- Rain and wind protection.
- Less road grime to clean off your face.
- Less rider fatigue.
Cons:
- Wind and jet streams push the windshield around like a sail.
- If it’s dirty, that can be distracting and distort your view.
- Traps heat in summer.
