Click on image for the GP Cycleworks link One of the final tasks on Project 41, a 1987 VFR700, was to install a windscreen. The owner chose a higher touring-type screen from GP Cycleworks, formerly know as Gustafsson Plastics. This screen is substantially higher than stock, with a pronounced outward arc, presumably to redirect airflow over and around the riders head.
The screen arrived well-packed but still had some light scuffing along the centerline, top to bottom. A call to GP Cycleworks got me a trio of Novus plastic polishes sent ASAP. A light handbuffing with #2 scratch remover followed by an application of #1 protectant had the acrylic looking new again. The mounting process wasn't so easy….
I've used three aftermarket windscreen brands over the years, including a $38 Chinese repop, and all provided the mounting holes pre-drilled…but not this one. Instead, a plastic-specific drill bit and a practice piece of plastic are provided along with a link to a company instructional video. The video mostly concerned itself with how to mark the holes for drilling using an original windscreen, and explained, like the label, to drill using high speed and low pressure. So, I made a few practice holes, discovering that the provided bit wasn't large enough to fit the screw diameter, so I gently enlarged the holes with a step drill. That went well, so on to marking the windscreen on the bike.
The screen arrived well-packed but still had some light scuffing along the centerline, top to bottom. A call to GP Cycleworks got me a trio of Novus plastic polishes sent ASAP. A light handbuffing with #2 scratch remover followed by an application of #1 protectant had the acrylic looking new again. The mounting process wasn't so easy….
I've used three aftermarket windscreen brands over the years, including a $38 Chinese repop, and all provided the mounting holes pre-drilled…but not this one. Instead, a plastic-specific drill bit and a practice piece of plastic are provided along with a link to a company instructional video. The video mostly concerned itself with how to mark the holes for drilling using an original windscreen, and explained, like the label, to drill using high speed and low pressure. So, I made a few practice holes, discovering that the provided bit wasn't large enough to fit the screw diameter, so I gently enlarged the holes with a step drill. That went well, so on to marking the windscreen on the bike.
And this is where the struggles began…the screen does not have enough side-to-side curve molded in to wrap onto the fairing, and it required a large amount of force and four hands (six would have been better) to push and hold the shape long enough to get an accurate marking. It didn't help that the edges of the screen don't really follow the lines of the headlight well. I also had to heavily tape the mirror stalks as the sharp edge of the screen wanted to constantly scrape the mirrors. I don't have any photos of these acrobatics as that would have required even more hands. There is no way I could have marked the holes using their bench top method — the original screen would have been too distorted to allow an accurate marking.
Patti and I eventually found that the only way the two of use could accomplish this was to mark only the front lower two holes and secure the screen temporarily in place with those, then bend one side and mark-remove-drill-install that side, then mark-remove-drill-install the other side. Through all of this the sounds of creaking plastic on the part of the screen and the freshly painted fairing rose my anxiety to…ahh…uncomfortable levels. Somehow, we got the screen secured in place, avoiding damage and divorce. The screen was not lying flush to the fairing, of course, as the factory curve is so far off, so to make myself feel better I applied gentle heat to the entire screen in hopes that it would relax and settle into its new reality. No idea if that helped.
From this description, you can probably guess my evaluation of this product: I would never do this installation again. In addition, the screen isn't blacked-out along the lower portion so the white fairing and the back of the instruments are visible, especially in sunlight — perhaps their dark tint option would help here. The edges don't precisely conform to the bike's shape so, in the end, it doesn't come off as a quality piece of hardware. At $257 (shipped to IL) I would expect more.
Patti and I eventually found that the only way the two of use could accomplish this was to mark only the front lower two holes and secure the screen temporarily in place with those, then bend one side and mark-remove-drill-install that side, then mark-remove-drill-install the other side. Through all of this the sounds of creaking plastic on the part of the screen and the freshly painted fairing rose my anxiety to…ahh…uncomfortable levels. Somehow, we got the screen secured in place, avoiding damage and divorce. The screen was not lying flush to the fairing, of course, as the factory curve is so far off, so to make myself feel better I applied gentle heat to the entire screen in hopes that it would relax and settle into its new reality. No idea if that helped.
From this description, you can probably guess my evaluation of this product: I would never do this installation again. In addition, the screen isn't blacked-out along the lower portion so the white fairing and the back of the instruments are visible, especially in sunlight — perhaps their dark tint option would help here. The edges don't precisely conform to the bike's shape so, in the end, it doesn't come off as a quality piece of hardware. At $257 (shipped to IL) I would expect more.
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