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Madstad Windshield

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Ordered it on 20 Mar. It shipped the next day and arrived on the 26th. Packing was EXCELLENT.
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Everything needed was in the box: windshield, adapter plate, "robo-brackets", hardware, and instructions.
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Installation is pretty straight forward. You replace the OEM windshield with the adapter plate. The bracket mounts to the plate and then finally the windshield. I decided to go with the lower set of holes on the OEM Honda bracket.
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Had a little trouble installing the windshield on the brackets and thought they had screwed up with the holes in the windshield. Nah, I just needed to pull the tops of the brackets together some while threading the screws.
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The adapter plate is big, but I like that it protects the instrument cluster from the elements.
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I'm totally happy with the look. I think the larger windshield size helps balance out the "big butt" look of the E55 top case.
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I just adjusted it according to the instructions at it's lowest setting and it seemed perfect. DISCLAIMER: I am a newbie with about 1000 miles on the bike. This is my first bike and the only windshield I've ever known was the stock fly version. But with OEM the wind was really harsh in either high or low configurations. My ride in to work today was great. The top of the windshield is about chin level and believe I'm in totally clean air. I was only able to get up to about 60 mph in heavy traffic, so was I having to concentrate on it more than the air flow. I'm looking forward to tweaking the setup this weekend and seeing how much wind noise reduction there is.

So far I consider this to be my best mod by far. The E55 top case is great, as is the fenda extenda and the hugger. But the windshield has made a huge difference in the quality of my riding. Can't wait for the ride home to see how it does.
 
Hey ....

thanks for the pics and review ...

... when you get more miles with it .... report back ... (and give your height and inseam - so others can use that for reference)

Also - those adjustable brackets are what Mark at MadStad calls "Quick-Adjust" ...
I just adjusted it according to the instructions at it's lowest setting and it seemed perfect. DISCLAIMER: I am a newbie with about 1000 miles on the bike. This is my first bike and the only windshield I've ever known was the stock fly version. But with OEM the wind was really harsh in either high or low configurations. My ride in to work today was great. The top of the windshield is about chin level and believe I'm in totally clean air. I was only able to get up to about 60 mph in heavy traffic, so was I having to concentrate on it more than the air flow. I'm looking forward to tweaking the setup this weekend and seeing how much wind noise reduction there is.

So far I consider this to be my best mod by far. The E55 top case is great, as is the fenda extenda and the hugger. But the windshield has made a huge difference in the quality of my riding. Can't wait for the ride home to see how it does.
 
in case dog doesn't check back soon ...

it is ...

NC700x

Thanks for the link. Forgot that I had been to the website before.. They are a little on the pricey side. But from the looks of the mounts and adjustability of them I would choose them over CalSci any day. Just when I was getting used to my Honda tall screen.. I still wish it was taller.
 
The adjustability allows one to "fine tune" the airflow ... that is what makes it work - along with the airflow between the baseplate and windscreen ..


When I get a NC (soon) .... it will have the MadStad set-up on it ......

Thanks for the link. Forgot that I had been to the website before.. They are a little on the pricey side. But from the looks of the mounts and adjustability of them I would choose them over CalSci any day. Just when I was getting used to my Honda tall screen.. I still wish it was taller.
 
I just might have to pull the trigger and get one. One question I've got is. Do they use the stock well nuts to hold on the mount or do they have another more sturdy approach? That's one thing that turned off of the CalSci and their tendency to put too much stress on those little nuts pulling them through the mounting bracket. If it's a sturdy set up I've still got some tax refund money I was planning on using for something else that I may reconsider and get one of those. With my Honda tall screen I still get a lot of wind buffeting. If I put my hand above the screen while riding and it gets better for me. So it seems I need a higher screen.
 
While the shield itself looks good. I do not like how much view the mounting plate blocks. What hugger are you using?

I was a bit concerned with the view as well. Almost anything is customizable on the Madstad though. Mine (arriving Friday) will have a mounting plate one inch shorter, and sculpted even lower between the upper link mounting holes. But you can ask for a clear acrylic mounting plate instead. The company is very good to work with.

Ideally, the Madstad links would fit directly to the OEM mounting holes, eliminating the need for a base plate completely. Madstad does this for a number of other motorcycles, but at the moment, the NC700 is not high volume enough to make this worth it to develop direct adaptors.
 
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... when you get more miles with it .... report back ... (and give your height and inseam - so others can use that for reference)

Also - those adjustable brackets are what Mark at MadStad calls "Quick-Adjust" ...

Yes, it looks like you no longer need their little wrench to adjust the windshield, which will make it easier to really optimize the fit.

The thing is so adjustable that I'm not sure that inseam and height matter to others anymore except at the extremes. You have two OEM positions, and then another almost 4 inches of height adjustment, and then if that isn't enough, Madstad will swap the standard 20" screen for a 22", or even cut another size from scratch. You can also drill new holes on the mounting bracket for even more adjustment. This is really one size fits all, unlike any other brand on the market. Even though it is expensive, I thought it was an even bigger gamble that another brand, or two, or three would end up being perfect for me - and three would end up costing more.

The other cool thing is that it is not just height that is adjustable, but also angle. I think it is likely that I will be able to get a steeper slope with this screen than any other one, potentially giving up less mpg, and possibly even gaining. The fully faired RS has a significantly better cD than a naked bike. I'm not sure how much is possible with just a steering mounted screen.
 
While the shield itself looks good. I do not like how much view the mounting plate blocks. What hugger are you using?

The mounting plate really doesn't seem to block the view significantly. Should be fairly easy for you to fabricate something of similar size and opaque to see. I was looking over it today to see what I was missing and it wasn't much. I'm hoping the instrument cluster will be easier to read if it's shaded, but haven't noticed if that's true yet as I'm too busy enjoying my new turbulence free zone.

The hugger is the one from Pyramid.

Honda NC700S / NC700X / NC700C Integra Hugger - Black 071800B : Amazon.com : Automotive
 
I just might have to pull the trigger and get one. One question I've got is. Do they use the stock well nuts to hold on the mount or do they have another more sturdy approach? That's one thing that turned off of the CalSci and their tendency to put too much stress on those little nuts pulling them through the mounting bracket. If it's a sturdy set up I've still got some tax refund money I was planning on using for something else that I may reconsider and get one of those. With my Honda tall screen I still get a lot of wind buffeting. If I put my hand above the screen while riding and it gets better for me. So it seems I need a higher screen.

Yes, it does use the stock rubber well nuts. I decided to give them a try even though I have a set of Dale's nut plates. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy, but I'm thinking if they do hold fine, then they will be better at keeping the vibration down. The venting is so much I'm hoping there isn't that much force being generated on the windscreen itself. Another note, the bracket uses the exact same rubber well nuts to secure the windscreen. So the question I have is has anyone had the rubber well nuts fail? Seems like I read that somewhere....
 
Yes, it does use the stock rubber well nuts. I decided to give them a try even though I have a set of Dale's nut plates. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy, but I'm thinking if they do hold fine, then they will be better at keeping the vibration down. The venting is so much I'm hoping there isn't that much force being generated on the windscreen itself. Another note, the bracket uses the exact same rubber well nuts to secure the windscreen. So the question I have is has anyone had the rubber well nuts fail? Seems like I read that somewhere....

Yes they have, on the CalSci shields. That's why Dale made the ones that he did.
 
I bought the nut plates from Dale because of the OEM failure reports. I have a Medium CalSci screen but haven't swapped the OEM's for Dales yet. So far I haven't had any signs of failure and I have been in very high winds and speeds close to the max.
 
How does the hugger mount on the bike? Zip ties? Thanks for the link.

Yep, one big zip tie. No mods of any kind to the bike to install it. Like someone else mentioned in another thread, the white letter branding comes right off with a little fingernail work. Kinda expensive for a piece of plastic, but I certainly couldn't come up with better solution or more functional device for the price -- worth every penny!
 
I wish I had known that the Madstad came with the quick adjust brackets. I had his Robobrackets on another bike and while it worked well, adjusting them was not the best. There was almost *too much* adjustability. You'd end up with a really good position, but the fact that you could tweak it "just a little more" could drive you mad, lol.

I think my biggest issue with his version for the NC700X is that the windshield shape just seems wrong. I think his "Sport SD" Style would fit the NC a hundred times better.

As to the well nuts, I've used them for years on tall windshields (Madstad, actually, heh). They work well as long as they aren't cracked or damaged. My theory on them failing on the NC700X is that the metal mount is very thick in relation to the well nuts. Honda uses a short well nut with a ridge near the threaded nut part of it. When I noticed this, I played around with it a little bit and what I found was that if you don't get the extra ridge on the OEM well nut past the mounting bracket, then the well nut could pull free after tightening, with not too much force. Obviously we can only speculate here, but it strikes me as a very obvious possibility that the well nuts weren't seated fully and that is what caused the failures.

That being said, Dale's nut plates would be a fool-proof solution. There's no way those are pulling through.
 
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