Any way to keep snow off the windshield?

[davewallen]

Yes, got in my second snowstorm today..riding home from Waukesha to Kenosha (WI) on the I - about 50 miles. But that darned clingy snow sticks to the vetter windshield, and it gets to where I have to stick my head up to see anything. (the inside also fogs up - I have the screen without the holes) It wasn't bad headed south, (well, yes, it was, for the windscreen) but when I turned east for the final 6 miles, then the snow started sticking to my glasses too.. and I had to pull over three times in 6 miles to wipe glasses and windscreen off.

I buffed out the windscreen last week, but used some cheap plastic windshield cleaner from autozone.

Should I also do the shield with Rainx? (does it work on plastic?) Or use a better plastic cleaner to begin with? Any recommendations would be appreciated - both for summer and winter.

PS. saw the tip about using brasso for the cleaning, so I'll give that a try

Thanks!

[Ironriot]

RainX IMHO SUCKS! I'm glad I didn't pay for it or I would've been mad for the waste of money. A good tip for fog-proofing something is to use your own spit. I've tried it, it works and its free \\/

[Eli69]

this may seem gay but when it is actually snowing i'm putting the bike away. you wisconsinites are tough s.o.b.s (or nuts).

seriously though - doesn't it get scary when it's snowy? how do you keep the front wheel from sliding out from under you?

[tkent02]

Rain-X is the best in the rain, but it's not intended for fog. Different chemistry. It's great on plastic, use it on helmet visors, glasses, windshields.
There are a thousand ways of preventing fog, from spit, to newsprint ink, to soap, to Fog-X.
If you are looking through the windshield and not over it the windshield is way too tall for you.

[davewallen]

this may seem gay but when it is actually snowing i'm putting the bike away. you wisconsinites are tough s.o.b.s (or nuts).

seriously though - doesn't it get scary when it's snowy? how do you keep the front wheel from sliding out from under you?

Nuts is the answer to A. I've always been a year-round rider, and the joy in a breath of fresh air when it's 30 degrees and sunny is wonderful. Plus, you get the people at stop signs asking you if you're nuts :-D

But the snow wasn't sticking to the ground. I'm not nuts enough to ride in snow! It was melting the second it hit. (except on the fairing)

[davewallen]

If you are looking through the windshield and not over it the windshield is way too tall for you.

Seriously? This is my first fairing..it's a normal vetter on an 850GL, and I'm 5'10". If I hold my head up and stretch my neck, I can see the road about 8 feet in front of the bike. But I'm pretty sure I look through it most of the time, but I guess the top is at about eye level.

[tkent02]

Just as a test, put a pillow on the seat and see if you don't like the view better. You can also make shorter shields out of cardboard to see what height you like, at some point you will have a great view and a great big bubble of calm air to ride in. Go too low and you will get turbulence popping you on the head, there will be a turbulent layer at the top of the bubble. You can also stand on the pegs at different heights to figure out where the turbulence starts. Try it at different speeds, try crosswinds. Measure lots of times, cut once.

My guess is that the lower seat on the "L" makes the fairing too high in relation to it, also perhaps the rear suspension has sagged or the seat has gotten flatter with time.

A lot of the newer bikes' fairings put your head up in the airflow, above the turbulence at the top of the bubble, it's quieter there.

[Eli69]

But the snow wasn't sticking to the ground. I'm not nuts enough to ride in snow! It was melting the second it hit. (except on the fairing)

ok, i see. the way some people talk it sounds like they're riding through blizzards. see around here we get the lake effect snow and once it comes there is no such thing as a clear road for a few months.

i've used rainX and it seems to help. i've also given some thought to wiring my snowmobile helmet (with heated visor) so i can use it on the bike. that would keep it from fogging up when it's really cold. i used to live in WI and i know it gets really cold but there isn't always a lot of snow. ride easy and say hi to ernie von schledorn for me. "who do ya know wants to buy a car?"

[Dark Jedi]

Turtle Wax.

I used to wax the sheild in Colorado regularly, and it worked quite well. nothing works completely. Wet snow will stick to anything it hits.

[Steve]

Rain-X is the best in the rain, but it's not intended for fog. Different chemistry. It's great on plastic, use it on helmet visors, glasses, windshields.

TKENT02, you have evidently been lucky using Rain-X on plastic. :shock:

In the instructions for use on my bottle, is prominently displayed:
"IMPORTANT: Do not use on plastics unless pre-approved by the manufacturer of the plastic to be treated."

Rain-X contains denatured alcolhol which attacks the hardened coating that is applied to some plastic windshields as a scratch-resistant coating. I am not sure if it's just denatured alcohol or any alcohol, but I have heard similar cautions about using products like Windex, too.

The previous owner of my son's Venture Royale evidently used Rain-X. The coating has fogged up and is peeling off, making it very hard to see through the windshield. I started to use some polishing compound to remove what's left of the coating, but gave up when it took over an hour to do about 1/3 of one surface.

Personally, I use a spray cleaner called 210 Plastic Cleaner/Polish. I carry a wet micro-fiber cloth in a zip-loc bag to clean the windshield, then spray the 210 on as a final touch. About once a month or so, I will use a coat of Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. This is the same stuff I use to wax the rest of the bike.


DAVEWALLEN,
Actually, you gave some pretty good hints to your solution in your question. :shock:
Going south wasn't too bad, but got worse when you turned east.
SOLUTION: keep going south. You will have to refill the tank a few times, but stop before getting wet in the Gulf of Mexico. \\/


.

[davewallen]

ok, i see. the way some people talk it sounds like they're riding through blizzards. see around here we get the lake effect snow and once it comes there is no such thing as a clear road for a few months.

i've used rainX and it seems to help. i've also given some thought to wiring my snowmobile helmet (with heated visor) so i can use it on the bike. that would keep it from fogging up when it's really cold. i used to live in WI and i know it gets really cold but there isn't always a lot of snow. ride easy and say hi to ernie von schledorn for me. "who do ya know wants to buy a car?"

"Main street in menomenee falls...."

Yup, I'm at the extreme south of WI, 5 MI from IL. The snow I hit so far this year (both times) was right at 30-32 degrees, the big clumpy stuff hat sticks to everything except the ground, at worst turning into slush.

On a side note, every notice how people say "the eskimos have 27 words for snow?" We don't do bad ourselves..snow, sleet, slush, mush, blizzard, ice storm, packy stuff, fluffy stuff, non-packy stuff, flurries, flakes, peruvian ;-)


I am hoping for one more good weekend for a ride up to Hurley, on the northern border.. but I know getting the weather to cooperate enough to go 400 miles for a couple days is slim. And I don't know if I have it in me anymore for 400 miles at below 40. (53 yrs old)

I am thinking about those grip heaters discussed in another thread, since I do ride when the streets are clear. 18 degrees is my record for a 40 mile run at night - and that's my ABSOLUTE limit!! It's a b^5ch when you pull into a store to get warmed up, and hit all that ice at the end of the driveway. Knees are SENSITIVE at 18 degrees! Never been hurt, but have had to gimp around for a while before I could get back on.

Since you mention snowmobiles, I saw heated grips for ATVs that mention "thumb warmers". Any idea what that is?

[Dink]

I have always used Rain-x on my helmet visors; no problems in twenty years.
I have also used in on fairing screens, I do not do that anymore, both my bikes have fairly angled screens, rain-x caused the rain water to run off the screen straight into my lap.
I have never riden in snow on a faired bike. We dont get much snow in Oz.

Dink

[Eli69]

Since you mention snowmobiles, I saw heated grips for ATVs that mention "thumb warmers". Any idea what that is?

yeah, i think so. sleds and wheelers have a thumb controlled lever for throttle. on a sled there is a small heater on the back side of that lever and i'll tell you what, it works. but that wouldn't be any good on the bike.

i've replaced the grip warmers on my sled and they are sort of like a card with wires that gets curled up and slid in under the grip. only problems with that is the throttle side would have to turn somehow. and - your charging system has to be able to handle it.

so ernie's still around? that dude was kinda corpsy back in '80 when i lived there. i'll never be able to forget that jingle though.

[Eli69]

peruvian.... lofl

[Planecrazy]

RainX IMHO SUCKS! I'm glad I didn't pay for it or I would've been mad for the waste of money.

I don't know what you think you tried, but it sure wasn't Rain-X! That stuff is freaking AWESOME! I was driving down to Tennesee some years ago after treating my windshield with it, and we drove through torrential rainstorms most of the way down I65 without using the wipers for anything other than to wipe off the water when we were stopped at an exit ramp or on slow speed roads. If I hadn't had the Rain-X on the windshield it would have been difficult at best to see through the glass with the windshield wipers going full blast!

I've also used it on both my Vetter fairing and my helmet with no ill effects, though I noticed that the aerodynamics of the Vetter are such that you don't get as effective an effect as you do with the average car windshield. The raindrops kind of just sit there. Snow does too (hit a "white out" in southern WI a few years back, and the Rain-X wasn't much help in that situation).

The answer is to go to a marine shop and buy a manual windshield wiper for the Vetter. Then you can occasionally reach over and wipe off the snow (or rain) as it builds. An electric wiper might be too much for our charging systems, though it would probably work fine on a more robust bike (like a Goldwing).

Enjoy!