'99-04 BMW R1150R Tall windshield brackets photos wanted

[duegi]

Does anyone have a '99-04 BMW R1150R tall windshield, obviously mounted on the BMW tall bracket, installed on their bike? I'm looking at buying a CalSci med or tall windshield which calls for a BMW tall windshield bracket. I need pictures please, lots of the up close, detailed, and very personal type of pictures. I've got bicycle frame building experience and just decided for the money outlay I can tig weld my own. I'm thinking either 4130 cromoly or stainless steel bicycle tubing will work fine and probably build on some mounts for GPS, lights, etc. or another bar to use RAM mounts on.

http://www.calsci.com
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/index.html

[Airman]

Does anyone have a '99-04 BMW R1150R tall windshield, obviously mounted on the BMW tall bracket, installed on their bike? I'm looking at buying a CalSci med or tall windshield which calls for a BMW tall windshield bracket. I need pictures please, lots of the up close, detailed, and very personal type of pictures. I've got bicycle frame building experience and just decided for the money outlay I can tig weld my own. I'm thinking either 4130 cromoly or stainless steel bicycle tubing will work fine and probably build on some mounts for GPS, lights, etc. or another bar to use RAM mounts on.

http://www.calsci.com
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/index.html

See viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19476&start=0&hilit ... 4904fba962

There seems to be quality issues with the CalSci windshields, and fit problems with the BMW brackets.

If you want a tall windshield, consider the Cee Bailys 21.5 Euro cut shield. I have one installed and am quite pleased with it.

[jcridge]

I'll second the issues with Calsci windshields. I have the tall and short one, not really pleased with the protection or the fit. I called and emailed them and got a rather abrupt answer that I'm the only one that has inquired about these issues. The tall BMW shield seems to be the best so far for me. Had a 21.5" Cee Bailey on the curly brackets, better then the Calsci on the high bracket. Wish I kept it... The perfect windshield is very subjective and in my opinion would look similar to the BMW shield, just a little taller and wider at the top.

I have the high bracket, its nice once you have it installed. It fits around the gauge cluster tightly and wouldn't have much room for accessories if you chose to weld on to it. The cost of a used one is not bad, and new one isn't crazy expensive. The cost of moly, powder coating and time, you may break even in the long run.

Photos are a good idea, but finding someone local you can take measurements from would be better. Getting the windshield angle right is the key.

John

[Airman]

I'll second the issues with Calsci windshields. I have the tall and short one, not really pleased with the protection or the fit. I called and emailed them and got a rather abrupt answer that I'm the only one that has inquired about these issues. The tall BMW shield seems to be the best so far for me. Had a 21.5" Cee Bailey on the curly brackets, better then the Calsci on the high bracket. Wish I kept it... The perfect windshield is very subjective and in my opinion would look similar to the BMW shield, just a little taller and wider at the top.

I have the high bracket, its nice once you have it installed. It fits around the gauge cluster tightly and wouldn't have much room for accessories if you chose to weld on to it. The cost of a used one is not bad, and new one isn't crazy expensive. The cost of moly, powder coating and time, you may break even in the long run.

Photos are a good idea, but finding someone local you can take measurements from would be better. Getting the windshield angle right is the key.

John

Found that other bracket on page 58 of the BMW catalog, (PDF) http://www.who-sells-it.com/images/cata ... df_458.pdf

[macx]

Another vote for poor fit and performance for the tall CalSci shield.

And not happy with the flimsy but very expensive (for what you get) BMW
bracket - mine broke within a very short time.

There's too little vertical distance between the center strut and the side mounting
points which allows the top of the windshield to move around too much which
flexes the side mounting tabs. Not enough triangulation. One of my side mount
tabs broke within 500 miles of not over 75 mph driving.

If you're going to take a stab at making your own, I'd suggest instead of using the
single center mounting point way up under the gauges that you make the bracket
so it attaches to the sturdy mounting points above and behind each side of the
headlight (besides the 2 rear side mounting points).

I'm going to attempt to modify mine when I have it off to repair it.

As far as the CalSci windshield fitting the bracket - I had to both bend and twist the
bracket to get all 4 mounts even close to the holes at the same time, and then still
had to elongate two of the holes - all in an effort to avoid stressing the windshield
and causing spidering or cracks. Now neither my bracket nor the shield would be
worth what it would cost just to ship to someone else.

And the CalSci lets so much air thru the holes and under the leading edge that it's
decidedly unpleasant in anything approaching cooler temps, much more so than
the regular BMW shield that was on the bike, and the top is so narrow that there's
very little improvement esp above about 65 mph over the regular "non-tall" (?) BMW
shield that came on the bike. And, no, I'm not expecting still air, but it would have
been nice to see a reasonable level of improvement worth my $300+ investment!
The only thing I was looking for was to get the buffeting off my helmet that now hits
right above the face shield or at least reduce it a noticeable degree - would only
have to raise the airflow up a couple inches at that point and do nothing else over
what the BMW shield was doing.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dwqznd0zmwh

[duegi]

Well, let's hear some more input on medium to tall windshield from the masses who ride R's please. You've pretty much talked me out of the calsci, I'm not crazy about Parabellum from the astetic realm. Pricing wise BMW is really proud of their tall bracket. I ride 25K a year and like the bugs kicked up over the helmet. Used to ride an RT so I got really spoiled with element protection.

I like the following but who's used any of them, along w/the ceebailey?

Cee Bailey - http://www.ceebaileys.com/bmw/bmwr850_1150sel.html
Givi - http://www.giviusa.com/Screens--spoiler ... ens/A34D45
ZTechnik - http://shop.ztechnik.com/cgi-bin/ztech/ ... del=bm-025
Gustafsson - http://www.bikescreen.com/proddetail.as ... 50R%60024H

The R1150R already has the BMW small windshield, has anyone used the laminar lip with this set up and how did it work?
Laminar - http://www.laminarlip.com/r1150r.php

[jcridge]

Sounds like there are quite a few of us who would prefer a "better" windshield.

The BMW wind shield is by far the thickest and provides good protection overall with the exception of being a few inches short of providing better bufferting protection.

The Cee Bailey 21.5 euro windshield looks the best and comes in second to the BMW. If this windshiled was an 1.5" taller, 4" wider at the top and 2-4" wider atthe bottom it would be my top pick.

The Calsci doesn't do anything well and is expensive for what it is. I don't want to comment on how to improve it, it was made by design engineers and throughly tested...so who I'm I to make a judgement call.
You have to read their website, I found a pair of new Calsci windshields someone was selling at a great discount, now I know why.

What would it take to get a manufacture or a custom shop to make an order of windshileds that we could specify height, width, shape and color? Anyone know of a shop that does custom Lexan work? I'm going to look into a few sources I have local to see what is possible.

John

[Daryl.Stamp]

Hey; I've got a friend in Geneva w/ a plastics shop.
If you're going to the banquet tomorrow we can discuss then.

DLS

[Airman]

Well, let's hear some more input on medium to tall windshield from the masses who ride R's please. You've pretty much talked me out of the calsci, I'm not crazy about Parabellum from the astetic realm. Pricing wise BMW is really proud of their tall bracket. I ride 25K a year and like the bugs kicked up over the helmet. Used to ride an RT so I got really spoiled with element protection.

I like the following but who's used any of them, along w/the ceebailey?

Cee Bailey - http://www.ceebaileys.com/bmw/bmwr850_1150sel.html
Givi - http://www.giviusa.com/Screens--spoiler ... ens/A34D45
ZTechnik - http://shop.ztechnik.com/cgi-bin/ztech/ ... del=bm-025
Gustafsson - http://www.bikescreen.com/proddetail.as ... 50R%60024H

The R1150R already has the BMW small windshield, has anyone used the laminar lip with this set up and how did it work?
Laminar - http://www.laminarlip.com/r1150r.php

I bought the Cee Bailys 21.5 Euro cut sheild in a dark tint. Previous to buying this shield I put 30k on the bike wearing mostly the BMW touring shield. I also own a BMW Sport screen and a Falert fairing. I had high hopes for the Falert, but the air hits me square in the chest and goes up under my helmet. The Sport screen I still put on for a week or two in the summer, but like the Falert, it channels all the air,bugs and road debris right in my face. The greatest virtue of these two options is that they look good on the bike. I have always gone back to the touring shield for the best protection. I decided to try the Cee Bailys screen because it's wider and 3" taller and has the same basic shape of the touring shield. This shield shares the same four point "C" shaped mounts as the Sport and Touring shields. The Cee Bailys shield uses thinner material than BMW, but I haven't noticed a lot of flex or movement while riding. It gives me, at 5'10", less buffeting and noise on the freeway. Understand we're talking about degrees here. If you currently have the touring screen installed you're not going to say, "Whoa, way better protection!" I think it does a better job, but don't expect to be shocked by the difference. And it's not cheap either. I think I have maybe $220 in mine with the surcharge for the tint and all. It can be an expensive experiment to buy two or three of these screens new. I bought the Falert and the Sport screen used, and I recommend doing that unless you are pretty sure you know what you want. A Parabellum Scout could burn up the better part of a grand (on your way to that RT) so used is a good option.

[jcridge]

Hey; I've got a friend in Geneva w/ a plastics shop.
If you're going to the banquet tomorrow we can discuss then.

DLS

Hopefully Chuck put us at the same table, see you there...

[macx]

Seems to be a number of folks who would like a better selection, or a better choice,
in windshields for buffeting protection.

Just maybe you could get that friend with the shop interested in making them on order
to fit maybe the existing BMW 4 point 2 piece brackets? They seem sturdy - much more
so than that "tall" bracket.

I'd sure be interested.

Meantime, just cuz I like to fiddle, I've got an idea on how to sturdy-up my tall bracket and
at the same time lower that CalSci shield an inch or maybe a tad more to avoid so much wind
going underneath the front of it, and tilt it back a little to get it closer to my helmet which mite
help buffeting - I think I remember someone else playing with his bracket to do that and claimed
it helped.

[Airman]

Seems to be a number of folks who would like a better selection, or a better choice,
in windshields for buffeting protection.

Just maybe you could get that friend with the shop interested in making them on order
to fit maybe the existing BMW 4 point 2 piece brackets? They seem sturdy - much more
so than that "tall" bracket.

I'd sure be interested.

Meantime, just cuz I like to fiddle, I've got an idea on how to sturdy-up my tall bracket and
at the same time lower that CalSci shield an inch or maybe a tad more to avoid so much wind
going underneath the front of it, and tilt it back a little to get it closer to my helmet which mite
help buffeting - I think I remember someone else playing with his bracket to do that and claimed
it helped.

Macx,

The 4 point shield mounting system is not perfect of course. Sometimes the allen screws that go up into the bottom of the triple tree would get loose. Blue LocTite was the cure for that. The well nuts that fit down into the brackets wear out. I've replaced a couple of them. Not a big deal.... 93 cents each from home Depot. I'm not sure what those brackets would cost from the dealer, but due to the amount of windshield swapping that goes on you should be able to find used ones reasonably priced. I bought a slightly scratched tinted Sport shield for $50 and I'm sure new it was a couple bills. I just wanted to try it out.

I haven't actually looked at one of those tall brackets, but if that thing broke maybe BMW ought to replace it, eh? I also went to the CalSci site and if that windshield doesn't fit the mounts that they call for maybe a refund is called for. That's a lot of jack to lay out and have it not fit properly. They're running the site like they're a quality compeditor for Cee Bailys, which seems to not be the case.