I had to purchase a taller windshield because of my height. I simply don't like the full force of the wind on my face. This may be due to age. I'm not young anymore and comfort while riding is becoming more important to me than style. Even ten years ago, I wasn't bothered by the wind in my face. If you go back to old posts, you can see my 2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide still had the stock low-profile windshield.
Parts Used
Klock Werks Flare for 2014-2021 FLH (6.5" Black)
Ordering A Windshield Off Amazon
A lot of people have a negative outlook on Amazon. I, however, have no issues with them. I like their shopping interface and especially their return policy as an Amazon Prime member. If you don't like something, print a return label, drop it off at UPS or Khol's, and get an almost instant refund. I also like that the product is dropped at my front door, and I don't have to drive all over looking at parts. The problem I have, which is not Amazon's fault, is not knowing if a part will fit properly. There are a lot of off-brand companies selling the same item made by a single manufacturer.
The First Windshield Ordered
After shopping windshields off and on for a couple of weeks, I finally set my mind on one. I knew it needed to have a seven to nine-inch rise from the center screw. You can read my article on How To Determine The Height Of A Motorcycle Windshield for information on how I came up with that measurement. I ordered the Buyinhouse 9" Black Wave Windshield. It reads that the item fits Harley Touring models from 2014 to 2020. Mine is 2022, but the windshield mounting style hasn't changed from 2020. I like that it was black instead of smoke for a taller windshield.
The Buyinhouse 9" Windshield
Before ordering the windshield, I did look at pictures submitted by other people and read reviews. There were quite a few pictures that show buckling between the three top outer fairing bolts. A few reviews also talked about the windshield not fitting properly. You can only take the reviews and pictures lightly because you don't know that person's aptitude for installing items correctly or if they realize whether the item fits properly or not after installation. The windshield also had a 4 out of 5-star rating out of almost 500 reviews. That is pretty good, so I ordered it.
Issues With The Windshield
The windshield came packaged very nicely. It had bubble wrap, foam wrap, and cling wrap to protect it. It soon became very apparent the windshield was poorly manufactured. After removing the stock Harley Davidson windshield, I saw a major problem. I laid the new one on top of the stock HD windshield, and the curvature was not the same. The buyinhouse windshield did not have nearly as much curve at the outside edge. It would not fall into place naturally when holding it above the fairing for installation. I had to bend it more by warping the outside edges so it would drop into place. This put strain on the outer edges of the outer fairing. The strain also caused the screws not to set into the threaded grommets. I had to work with the stress of the windshield misfit and the outer fairing to get the bolts to thread.
Buckling Of The Outer Fairing
True to some of the reviews and pictures, once the bolts were tight, there was buckling between the upper outer fairing bolts. That is not the way a windshield should fit. It also puts a strain on the press-fit grommets inside the inner fairing. I wondered if they could eventually pop out due to the severely misformed windshield continually pushing outwards on them. I removed it and tried installing the stock HD windshield back into place. It fell in naturally without issue. I was amazed and bewildered that anyone using this windshield would have anything good to say about it and, even worse, use it! It seems the riders using it simply lack common sense in the area of parts installation. You can make it work if you force, bend, warp, or shove it onto place. I repacked it and returned the product.
Same Product, Different Companies
Now it was back to the shopping for a windshield. A trend now presented itself as I delved into the details of each company selling windshields. When I could find a nine-inch black windshield, it looked exactly like the one I had just returned. Besides that, review pictures of customers showed the same buckling issues. It quickly became obvious that one manufacturer was making this windshield, and various companies were selling it. Some companies selling this crap windshield are listed below, so buyer beware!
- Buyinhouse
- Amazicha
- WYNMOTO
- Jade Onlines
Two Reputable Companies Windshields
After figuring out what was taking place, I decided my windshield purchase would be from Harley Davidson or Klock Werks. I have personal experience with Klockwerks from having one on my 2015 FLHXS for over six years. They are great windshields. I know that Harley Davidson would also only put a windshield on the market that fits properly and was quality made. It needed to be between seven and nine inches, depending on how the windshield was measured. I wanted a black windshield, a wind splitter, flare, or wave-style windshield. That selection became difficult when they got around the seven-inch or higher mark. The HD seven inch or taller only came in smoke or light smoke. Even the Klock Werks didn't come in black when you got over their 6.5-inch windshield. Fortunately, the Klock Werks 6.5-inch windshield measures seven inches in overall rise, which was the minimum I needed, and it came in black.
Klock Werks Windshield
I ordered the Klock Werks Windshield through Amazon. A third-party company sold the windshield for the exact price that Klockwerks sells it for on their website. Shipping was free, and they have excellent reviews. It was quite a bit more expensive than the crappy buyinhouse windshield I had tried and sent back. In this case, you got what you paid for. When the Klock Werks windshield arrived, it was packaged well. I matched it to the stock HD windshield, and the curvature was almost exact, as you could expect from Klock Werks. The fit was also near perfect and only caused a slight buckling on the right side of the outer fairing. Keep in mind the stock Harley windshield causes no buckling.
Ride Strong Wrench Proud
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