2014+ windscreen / GPS holder modification

[caillou]

I love my new bike but something I do not is the windscreen/GPS holder which is not strong enough and which moves a lot with wind and bumps, making the GPS sometimes difficult to read.

I was about to move the GPS to the handlebar and decided it was stupid to have a well positioned holder and not using it.

I had a look at the way the GPS/Windscreen was done and realised that a single bracket could easily fix it (when you just push with your finger on the windshield, it stops moving with very low effort).

So I decided to make a bracket to fix the problem.

We can easily use the top of the windshield holder and and at the bottom, the holes for the wind deflector to attach the bracket. I do not have wind defelctor yet (not sure I need those) but I'm confident we can have both the bracket AND the wind deflector installed together.








A simple aluminum bracket will make it.




I had to bend it a bit to clear the plastic part of the windshield holder.






Clearance test to make sure it clears the handguard when handlebar is completely turned: there is a 3 to 4 mm clearance. Yes!



Both surfaces are not parallel so I had to slightly bend the bracket for a perfect fit.



First test: perfect fit.





Second bracket (which of course needs to be bent the other way):



Ready for a first road test.







Result: excellent, the windshield does not swing anymore and GPS remains perfectly stable. It is very efficient, more than I was expecting. To finish the job, I will make some holes on the brackets and paint it black so it should look pretty much stock.

It is not as neat at a Touratech or Alt Rider product (it does not exist anyway...) but it is low cost, high efficiency and I'm proud I have done it myself. By the way, anybody can easily do it, it is very simple.

My brackets are painted and I will just put a clear on the matt paint to make it scratch resistant, and will put some pictures of the finish product.

 

[vapexpr]

Thanks, I moved my ram mount to the handlebar because of the shaking. I'll definitely give this a try.

 

[caillou]

Project finished. The brackets are painted and integrate not that bad the Tenere. Very efficient by the way.

 

[JRE]

Not very pretty but as good as it can be...I don't know why they made the windshield assembly so rickety

 

[Checkswrecks]

Not very pretty but as good as it can be...I don't know why they made the windshield assembly so rickety

Because there is a crashworthiness aspect to it. The windshield is supposed to be able to separate when your body is coming forward through it's space. On some bikes it is the rubber well nuts which pull out, on some it is a frangible part like our windshield mounts, and on some it is a combination. I do like these brackets from a functional aspect, but they defeat this feature.


btw - It is subtle, but the more recent bikes are also designed to be less likely to catch your 'nads on the top triple. There are some images here:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv20/print11.pdf

 

[Rockhopper]

Because there is a crashworthiness aspect to it. The windshield is supposed to be able to separate when your body is coming forward through it's space. On some bikes it is the rubber well nuts which pull out, on some it is a frangible part like our windshield mounts, and on some it is a combination. I do like these brackets from a functional aspect, but they defeat this feature.


btw - It is subtle, but the more recent bikes are also designed to be less likely to catch your 'nads on the top triple. There are some images here:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv20/print11.pdf

I went over the bars on my Tiger 800XC in deep sand and my chest broke off the entire front sub frame, taking the Madstad windshield, instruments, and headlight for the ride. It broke off pretty cleanly.

 

[caillou]

Interesting, I did not think a minute about this aspect.
Now, there are a lot of parameters that will affect a crash (GPS, tank bag, position of the handlebar, etc...). I'm wondering if spending more time looking at my GPS because it's vibrating and indication are impossible to read is more dangerous than having aluminum bars to make it readable instantly

Will think about it.

 

[nhdiesel]

I'll be doing a mod similar to this. I installed the Madstad bracket on my 2015 and man does it shake! Even more than the Yamaha one! Fortunately the Madstad crossbar bolts in place so I can attach braces to those bolts and down to the wind deflector holes. This will still allow complete adjustment of the windshield.

Personally I think having a windshield shaking around, a GPS shaking around, and the possibility of the lower mounting ears breaking off (can't be good to have this much movement) would be more dangerous than having a securely attached windshield.

 

[rrram67]

Great job. Looks good. Quick question - what mount are you using for your iPhone? RAM?

 

[caillou]

Yes, RAM universal mount for phones. But I made a few changes since these pics were posted. Will post some new pics.

EDIT: here se go.



I stopped using the U clamps because of stability... Also, the Yamaha bar is not very strong.

 

[rrram67]

Perfect! Thanks for the follow and the pic. Need to do the same.

 

[nhdiesel]

I knocked these out tonight after work. Just need paint. I took a test ride on a bumpy road and they are perfect! I just want to swap the black screws that came with the wind deflectors for some stainless Allen head screws to match the other fasteners on the bike.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[Texasten]

Well, I liked this idea of braces to support the windscreen.... so, tried it..... What I found out is that the plastic where the bottom of the braces attach is not exactly a pillar of strength. I used the plastic screws that came with the side wings for this test run, and figgered out quickly that the extra stresses introduced to the plastics just might ruin an otherwise great idea.....
Does anyone else notice that the 2 attachment points for the side wings are not very sturdy?? (I did my test run with the front hole, and I am guessing maybe the rear hole is more solid???)
Would it work to use a "T" attachment, and attach to both holes???

 

[nhdiesel]

Well, I liked this idea of braces to support the windscreen.... so, tried it..... What I found out is that the plastic where the bottom of the braces attach is not exactly a pillar of strength. I used the plastic screws that came with the side wings for this test run, and figgered out quickly that the extra stresses introduced to the plastics just might ruin an otherwise great idea.....
Does anyone else notice that the 2 attachment points for the side wings are not very sturdy?? (I did my test run with the front hole, and I am guessing maybe the rear hole is more solid???)
Would it work to use a "T" attachment, and attach to both holes???

Not sure what "strength" is the problem. Mine are attached to the front holes with the OEM wind deflector bolts and they have been on now for 3500 miles. 2200 of that was this past weekend, with a variety of roads including some rough roads in WV and lots of rough New England roads. NO movement whatsoever. I do plan to upgrade the bolts to stainless steel from the hardware store to match the rest of the bike and for added strength.

 

[Texasten]

Ok, I am adjusting my thots on the strength of the turn signal/side wing holders for supporting the windscreen....
On my first test, I used 1/16" x 1/2 Aluminum, and the original plastic side wing screws. When pushing and pulling on windscreen, the plastic screw would bend and move and it did not appear solid enough to do the job.
On my new and second test, I used 1/8" x 1/2 inch aluminum, and replaced the plastic screws with real metal screws. I was able to tighten the metal screws up enough to get a good grip.
I find entirely different results.
I rode 115 miles yesterday and the screen seems rock solid stable.
This is an amazingly simple and cheap mod that solves an obnoxious problem with movement of windshield.
By the way, I have a Madstadt bracket on.
The addition of the supports actually seems to strengthen up the side wing mounts also.