Well-known bike builder, Brian Klock has been developing parts for Harley baggers for some time now. Other than his Discovery Channel fame, he is noted for building the World’s Fastest Bagger that his wife, Laura Klock rode to a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats last year.
One of his newest products are the Flare Windshields for 1986-2008 FLH Deckers and 1998-2008 FLT Roadglides. The new windshield was developed in a NASCAR wind tunnel and was later tested at Bonneville on the World’s Fastest Bagger.
The top lip of the windshield deflects the air up and helps push the bike down, theoretically improving handling as well as diverts the air up and over the rider’s head. The two ‘bubbles’, one of each side, deflect wind away from the shoulders.
First off, these windshields look great and work much better than the short stylish wind deflector seen on so many Harley baggers. But looks are only one part of the equation, the other being, do they work?
FLH CLASSIC
The test bike started out with a full-size stock windshield on it but the Flare windshield replacement was only 6-1/2 inches. While the stock windshield easily keeps the wind from the rider, I know from experience that the small black decorative wind deflector, like on the Street Glide or CVO FLHs, give a good blast of wind directly at the rider’s head. Since I’m familiar with the short OEM wind deflector, I can honestly say that the 6-1/2 Flare windshield does direct a lot of the windblast away from the rider, depending on your height of course.
I was quite impressed with how well it worked for my 5-foot 10-inch frame. I did still get some wind but it was a lot less than with a short wind deflector. At speed, I seemed to be in a pocket of less wind from my chest up. I could feel the wind at the top of my helmet and just outside of my ears. I experienced no buffeting and could hear the radio fairly clear.
The owner of the test bike, at 6-foot 4-inches, thought it felt like there was no windshield at all and much preferred the stock full size one. At his height, his face would be where the top of my helmet was, getting a full blast of wind.
FLT Roadglide
The Roadglide windshields come in two sizes, eight-inch and the 12-inch.
I have to tell you that while the 4-1/2 inch OEM looks great on the Roadglide, it does little more than collect air from the fairing and throws it right in your face. I still like wind in my face but a constant blast gets tiring and noisy, even with earplugs. Also with the OEM deflector, listening to the stereo at highway speed is futile.
First I tried the eight-inch windshield. This shield did a pretty good job of diverting the windblast but still allowed enough by, that at my height on the seat, could get annoying over time. It is, however, for my liking way better than the OEM deflector. Ideal in town and moderate highway speeds but maybe a bit too noisy at faster speeds for extended periods of time.
Next up was the 12-inch Flare windshield. This shield, as expected, does a much better job of diverting wind away from the rider’s head and makes it quite possible to hear the stereo at regular highway speeds. It is still low enough to easily see over the shield.
The shape of the Flare windshield looks great on the FLH but really complements the shape of the fairing on the Roadglide. It follows the same lines as the fairing nose and it flows over the stereo contour on the inner fairing nicely, as if it was meant to be there in the first place.
Klock did a nice job of designing the Flare windshield, both in looks and functionality. The FLH and FLT Flare windshields come predrilled for hassle-free installation making it easy to change windshields depending on the day’s type of riding.
The functionality of the windshield, of course, will depend on the rider’s height and your comfort level as determined by the amount of wind you find favourable.
The Flare windshield is made from premium quality, hard-coated polycarbonate for durability and only comes in the 6-1/2 inch size for FLH models in tint, dark smoke and black. The FLT has more size and colour options including a paintable shield to match your bike colour. The eight-inch Flare comes in black, dark smoke, tint and clear paintable, while the 12-inch comes in tint and clear.
The Flare windshield is available from your local Parts Canada/Drag Specialties retailer for $185.00 Cdn, or by going directly to www.kustombaggers.com
