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California Scientific R1200RT Windshield Review


jmer

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The "recipe" for the cleaner is also on his website. It's all stuff you can get at the supermarket for <$10... and you can make about 1/2 gallon of the stuff for that. Just ammonia, alcohol, water and a small amount of car wash detergent.
Ha - looks like the recipe for window cleaner I got ages ago from Consumer Reports! Linky - Washer Fluid

 

Makes 1 quart = 1 liter windshield washing fluid

 

* 1/2 cup = 100ml ammonia (double this if you have a lot of bugs)

* 2 cups = 400ml isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol

* 1.5 tsp = 8ml car wash detergent (don't substitute dish soap or laundry detergent)

* 2 cups = 500ml water

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  • 1 month later...

Received and installed my medium CalSci windshield today. After a quick 30-minute ride, I like it. Very quiet. Over the weekend I'll give it a more extensive evaluation, but so far, so good.

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Can the stock BMW windshield be modified with the hole that is CalSci's contribution to rider comfort?
Now, there's a thought! I now have my original shield in a box. I'm almost willing to give it a try.
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I don't think so. I believe the hole needs to be cut prior to bending the plastic.... but I could be wrong.

 

They also cut off the bottom of the very bottom of the shield as well.

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I am very close to buying a CS for my R1200RT and have been impressed by the good reports of wind protection. However, I have seen liitle reference to the handling of rain with regard to the vent hole. Being in the UK, rain protection is as important as wind protection! Can anyone comment on how well this screen performs in the rain? Will it obviate the need for a wetsuit?

 

Thanks

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I am very close to buying a CS for my R1200RT and have been impressed by the good reports of wind protection. However, I have seen liitle reference to the handling of rain with regard to the vent hole. Being in the UK, rain protection is as important as wind protection! Can anyone comment on how well this screen performs in the rain? Will it obviate the need for a wetsuit?

I did the testing of the various prototypes for CalSci on the R1200RT. You might want to reference my post "Extensive review of windshields for R1200RT".

The CalSci is far and away the best for smooth airflow. The hole was moved around until we got the best airflow and no rain going through the hole that hits the riders. It hits the dash just like the rain that goes under any shield on the RT unless the shield is full down.

 

If I was going to go and ride intentially in the rain (yeah, right), I would bolt on the Cee Bailey since it will actually shoot enough air OVER you at speed to protect you from falling rain. The penalty for that is all the noise from the turbulent air over and around your helmet. It also makes SIZING the Cee Bailey critical but they make them in 1" increments IF you can figure out what size you need.

You might want to seriously consider the Aeroflow and Parabellum (sp?) which are pure torture in Southern California temperatures. When I lived in Coventry 30 years ago, I remember never getting warm or dry.

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I am very close to buying a CS for my R1200RT and have been impressed by the good reports of wind protection. However, I have seen liitle reference to the handling of rain with regard to the vent hole. Being in the UK, rain protection is as important as wind protection! Can anyone comment on how well this screen performs in the rain? Will it obviate the need for a wetsuit?

 

Thanks

 

I rode through our first winter storm in northern California late last year, but I don't remember having any problems with rain blowing through the vent in the windshield. While it wasn't raining hard, it did occupy 200 miles of my trip that day. I was quite dry. One nice thing about the shield is that I don't have to raise it very far to push the wind stream (and the rain with it) up over my helmet.

 

I've been very pleased with my purchase.

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I rode quite a bit in heavy rains this Fall with my CS. The rain comes through the hole and hits the bakc of hte instrument panel. If there is enouhg rain, the drops them roll off the panel and hit your helmet.

 

Some wind does still hit your forearms. My rides in heavy rain proves this, as my elbow area got fairly wet. Fortuntely my waterproof liner works very well but that water eventually works it's way down and under my gloves. Only a problem is total downpours, that you probably should pull off at the next exit with a gas station anyway due to limited visibilty. but the air is still turbulence free.

 

I also rode Sunday in 31-35F temepratures. Another benefit of "the hole" is that air is directed at your helmet when 80-100% up. This means that over 60mph, my face shield doesn't fog up when closed and you get a little bit of cool air in the summer. Also when hot and humid, it prevents foggign on the face shield.

 

On other interesting observation. In colder temperature under about 40F, the windscreen seems to take on a slightly blue tint and a very very slight haze to it. It's not noticeable when looking through it however when riding. This might jsut be the nature of this type of plastic.

 

The air overall is clean anough that our bluetooth intercom works perfectly even at 110mph, with only a little bit of wind in the background. It's still weird being able to hear my wife in my helmet like that.

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Can the stock BMW windshield be modified with the hole that is CalSci's contribution to rider comfort?

 

a very interesting idea...and its got to be possible, although maybe difficult to do so that it doesn't look like crap. But for shorter trips and/or hot days I miss the increased airflow and less affected handling that you get with the stock shield in the down position. Would a hole in the stock shield smooth out the airflow and give some improvement in terms of noise level? Hmmm, I just might have to give that a try. I don't anticipate giving up the CS for must riding tho. Still very pleased with it.

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Very pleased with a large CalSci here. 6'4". Short enough to peer over in sporting mode, tall/wide enough to shut out the wind.

 

r1200rtnederland.jpg

 

Steve, you're 6'4" and you got the LARGE instead of the XL?

 

Just checking. I'm 6'2" and debating a large vs XL. Seat in upper position, obviously. The stock screen works well, but it's about 3" too short.

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Art,

I'm 6'2" and I bought the tall. I think back last year they only had two sizes (normal and tall). I think they now correspond to medium and large. I'm QUITE happy with the tall. Completely eliminates the wind from my helmet.

 

Just thought I'd pass that along...

Mike

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I just installed a large Cal Sci windshield on my bike. I'm 6' and have my seat in the high position and I'm glad I didn't get the medium. I'm not convinced it's going to work for me though, I have less noise in my helmet with the face shield closed but actually get more wind in my face if I have the face shield up. Because I wear glasses I prefer to have the face shield open as it makes it easier to see. I prefer the shape on the top of the stock windshield for looking over and I think the biggest problem I am having is the reflection I am getting on the new windshield, it is really distracting. So not sure if I be keeping it but will give it a bit more time to try out.

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I've never noticed any reflection, but I would agree that if you ride with the face shield open, you may not like this sheild because a significant amount of air goes through "the hole" and hit the rider. This is how the turbulence is reduced. I liek it because it provides a litlte bit of cool air on hotter days and helps reduce fogging on cooler days.

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What? More wind in your face with the CalSci? No way.

 

When doing the testing, the final version CalSci was the only shield where I might get on a freeway and "forget" to flip the visor down on my helmet. The stock, VSteam, and Cee Bailey all would make me want to flip the face shield down by 35-55 mph, depending on the shield and adjustment of the windshield. The only other that came anywhere near was the Vstream when adjusted way up and if I lowered my head to where I was just looking over the top of the shield.

There is more air in your face with the visor up at extremely low speed, helping to give you some airflow to keep you cool around town on a hot day. That is the point of the CalSci: a bit of cooling airflow at low speeds, not a huge amount more at high speeds, and that light airflow moving more around your whole body, not part of your body either inside the protection with no flow or at the edges in turbulence and noise.

 

BTW, when doing the testing I did some runs at 95 mph with the visor up. I finally decided this was not a good idea after getting a few bugs in my visor opening. One 95 mph bee splat on my glasses did it for me.

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Art... Yes, went with the L versus XL. I wasn't that displeased with the stock screen. Nice and sleek looking with fine protection. Just looking for a little more size without having a huge screen up front. But this is me. Would get the large again.

 

Steve

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What? More wind in your face with the CalSci? No way.

I think we're going to have different experiences with this. With the CS shield on my R12RT, I can ride with the helmet visor up at speeds of 60 and above, but I do have a steady flow of air in my face. It is not still by any means, and above 70 it can be too much, but it is not buffeting or loud. In hot weather, it will be welcome; in cold weather, I will no doubt be dropping the visor. In my initial hundred mile ride, my overall impression was how relatively quiet and comfortable the ride had been.

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Thanks Mike. Got any pics of the screen on the bike?

 

Sorry.. none at this time. And the bike is tucked away in a corner of the garage covered til spring. I've got snowblowers and the ninja in front of it. I can't get at it easily. Sorry!

 

You may want to check with CalSci and see if the old "tall" is the same as the current "large" size. With my tall one on and the windscreen raised, I can ride with my visor up (normally the wind blows it down). I do end up looking through the screen (I can't look over it with the windshield up all the way). There IS a nice sweet stop about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way up where I can see over the screen but I get no wind on the helmet.

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Fightingpiper

I got my XL installed today but won't know how it works out for a while since it 0 degrees F outside today and my seats got sent to Rocky Mayer yesterday. Looks good but does take on a bluish hue when cold. Can't wait for that first ride of 2008. wave.gif

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What? More wind in your face with the CalSci? No way.

I think we're going to have different experiences with this. With the CS shield on my R12RT, I can ride with the helmet visor up at speeds of 60 and above, but I do have a steady flow of air in my face. It is not still by any means, and above 70 it can be too much, but it is not buffeting or loud. In hot weather, it will be welcome; in cold weather, I will no doubt be dropping the visor. In my initial hundred mile ride, my overall impression was how relatively quiet and comfortable the ride had been.

Well, perhaps closer to the same experience. Your description matches my experience with the final version of the CalSci. Variations are probably helmet height in relation to the shield, which is affected by seat height and helmet height above the seat. I ride with the seat in the high position and am 6'2" with a tall torso. I found all other shields had too much turbulent air to be comfortable with visor up. I assume a shorter person or somebody ordering a really tall Cee Bailey could get in an area where they could ride with their visor up in more comfort than the CalSci. That would probably be better than the CalSci in cold weather but far less flexible and uncomfortable in hot/humid weather. I don't know how you could get any one shield to be "great" in the bitter cold and hot/humid climate.

 

The CalSci is pretty much ideal in the climate here where a typical winter ride is 50-70F and a typical summer ride is 80-100F. The CalSci is probably still better than even a "summer shield" when it is 110 here since the air is so dry that a naked bike feels like a blast of scorching air. I assume a naked bike or summer shield is better where a summer ride might include opressive humidity. I have to believe that more protective shields would be better than the CalSci where it gets nasty cold or even the rare nasty days here. There was ICE on the sidewalk yesterday morning! The primary design objective of Mark's design and my development of the CalSci was smooth airflow and minimal turbulence and noise.

 

A further note: You can run a strip of 2" clear packing tape vertically throught the vent and get a bit more protection in the cold on the CalSci. You pick up a bit of turbulence but it is still quite good.

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I agree that rider height will play a major role. The air that comes off the hole and off the instrument panel happens ot hit me near the middle of the face. I am 5'11" and ride with the seat in the high position for more legroom and better visibility.

 

I might try riding in the low position. The air would them nit more the top of my helmet. In cold weather, I discovered that my knees are in the airflow more by not being able ot fit neatly into the tank cut-outs.

 

I'ts also going ot matter how upright you sit. This air is comming at an angle. If I was taller, I would have longer arms and hterefore sit more upright, putting my head farther away from the windscreen. An inch or 2 might make all the difference.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just got my screen - great service, only ordered a week ago. However, before I embark on the surgery, could someone please confirm that it is normal to have three pre-drilled holes on each side even though there are only two mounting bolts each side? I realise that the third hole will not be visible but just wanted to make sure I had received the correct model.

 

Thanks

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If you are referring to the R1200RT, there are three mounting holes. Two in the black outer piece that you can see, one center one holding the shield directly to the bracket underneath.

Intall the center pair first. Then start the lower pair a few threads, then the upper pair a few threads. Then go back and forth between the lower and upper pair a few turns at a time until tight. This is necessary because the shield has to be pulled down a bit to match the curve of the mounts. Seems a bit strange but works very well.

 

You will love that shield.

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OK, after reviewing all of this, I am pretty convinced to get the CalSci, but am a little bit confused on the sizing. I am 6'2", 34" in seam and ride with seat on high. The sizes I see on their website are Medium, Large and Xtra-large. I guess I am going for the Large.

 

I live in Chicago, so get all the weather extremes and like to ride as much as possible all year round. Got the Ztechnik and it's horrible with the buffeting.

 

Any comments guys?

 

confused.gif

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What? More wind in your face with the CalSci? No way.

I think we're going to have different experiences with this. With the CS shield on my R12RT, I can ride with the helmet visor up at speeds of 60 and above, but I do have a steady flow of air in my face. It is not still by any means, and above 70 it can be too much, but it is not buffeting or loud. In hot weather, it will be welcome; in cold weather, I will no doubt be dropping the visor. In my initial hundred mile ride, my overall impression was how relatively quiet and comfortable the ride had been.

That would probably be better than the CalSci in cold weather but far less flexible and uncomfortable in hot/humid weather. I don't know how you could get any one shield to be "great" in the bitter cold and hot/humid climate.

 

My experience was that the CalSci was quite and comfortable on the highway when it was >45 F and DRY. However, I found the shild to be dysfunctional in the rain, especially on longer highway trips. If you have any electronics mounted on the dash or between the bars, both the equipment and your torso get very wet. That was my only complaint - otherwise, its a terrific commuting shild.

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