New Shield Ordered

[Mav1]

I know there have been many posts about shields for the Vaquero, but thought this might be of interest to some. After doing a lot of research I ordered the small light grey Clearview shield yesterday for my Vaquero. I currently have a 12" Kawasaki Shield and I am 5'9" tall and have a Kawi gel seat. I find that the wind is hitting me right in the helmet at speed with the current setup and was looking for something that would give just a bit more protection. I measured the 12" shield from the top of the "off switch on the tank" as described on the Clearview web site. The 12" Kawi screen measures 15.5" from off switch to top of shield. The small Clearview is supposed to measure 16.5" with a slight recurve. I feel pretty confident that is exactly what I am looking for.
I ordered the light grey and this shield has the very dark tint at the bottom. I think it will look great and provide the little bit of extra wind deflection that I am looking for, while probably looking better than the plain Kawi shield.
On top of that, until Feb 28, Clearview is offering $28 off the price, so the total with shipping to Niagara Falls New York was under $98. I felt pretty good about that price. I'm interested to hear about other's experiences with this shield and will post my thoughts after riding with it. Don't hold your breath though, it is -15 Celsius here today. It could be a month or so before I get the bike out of the garage. Hate this weather........

[ridgeman06]

Clearview is top quality. I bought one for my Valkyrie when I owned it. It was top notch. I am currently awaiting delivery for a Clearview for my 2010 Nomad. I wanted to go wider and I wanted the vent option for summertime. Total came to about $285 shipped.
Good luck, Eric

[0vationdave]

I have the large clearview on my Vaquero, but I am 6'5" and its just right for me. Much better although I may end up with one a bit taller in the long run, not sure, I need to ride a season with this one before I decide. Hope yours works for you, I know I wasn't sure what to get initially, this provided a good starting point.

Dave

[Mav1]

Appreciate the feedback. It will probably be 6-8 weeks before I can try the new shield out. Should also have the new FP exhaust and Power Pro installed by then. Planning at least 2 extended rides this year so should have the opportunity to log plenty of miles and enjoy all the new mods. Planning to pick up Racnray's throttle mod too.

[0vationdave]

OHHH. I am jealous if your getting the pipes. I was really thinking about it, but I am really afraid it may be too loud. One of my goals this year is to do some camping, and I really don't want to come rumbling in too loud into a campground. I know on my Suzuki 1500 I had some D & D hard chrome pipes, and they we too loud, after a couple years, I went back to stock. Its kind of like the need to re-arrange your furniture every once in a while just for a new feel. But the loud pipes became an irritation sometimes. Anyway, I only rode this bike for 1-1/2 months before winter hit, so I may hold off on the pipe thing for a bit. And I am ordering Rays mod this weekend...

[dmyers]

I am putting a V&H pro pipe on mine
I'll let you know how it works out
I didn't want to loud of a pipe either, A friend of mine has one on his HD and it sounds sweet

[Gypsy Dragon]

I put the tinted Klok Works windshield on mine. Not only does it look AMAZING, but it is the best wind flow of any windshield I have ever had in front of me. At 6'1" it flicks the wind over my helmet, and actually helps make the front end feel more stable at speed.

Well worth the $180!!

[Mav1]

OHHH. I am jealous if your getting the pipes. I was really thinking about it, but I am really afraid it may be too loud. One of my goals this year is to do some camping, and I really don't want to come rumbling in too loud into a campground. I know on my Suzuki 1500 I had some D & D hard chrome pipes, and they we too loud, after a couple years, I went back to stock. Its kind of like the need to re-arrange your furniture every once in a while just for a new feel. But the loud pipes became an irritation sometimes. Anyway, I only rode this bike for 1-1/2 months before winter hit, so I may hold off on the pipe thing for a bit. And I am ordering Rays mod this weekend...


I hear you on the pipes. My 900 had Cobra Speedster longs and a thunder big air kit with pcIII. Dyno'd before and after and picked up a whopping 11hp, but man was it LOUD! I finally installed Hard Core quiet baffles, but was never happy with the increased intake noise level. And for some reason on the 900 the noise just seemed to bounce around the drivers area.
I know the FP exhaust sounds amazing and the sound is low and out the back. I'm convinced that I will love the sound and if, for some reason, I feel it is too loud, FP sells quiet baffles for this exhaust. Can't see going that route, but the option is there. I'm just going to stick with the OEM intake on this bike.
I ordered Ray's mod today with the Avon grips. I'll pick them up in New York with the new Shield.
The last "biggie" on this bike is the seat. I had a Mustang on the 900 but don't like the looks of that big seat on the Vaquero. I like the looks of the Corbin but it would cost more than a grand (with a backrest) in our wonderful $Can, and I don't want to be moved back any. Arms aren't long enough! I see you sent your seat away and trust you'll let us know how it is when it comes back. I still have the stock seat and could look at sending it for modification in the future. Was looking the other day at Rick Mayer Cycles. Seems to do nice work......
I got a Kawi gel seat at cost from the Dealer with my bike last fall. Have only ridden 2,500k so really not enough experience to decide about a seat yet. Not crazy about what I have, but think I am just going to get a sheepskin butt pad and ride for a while.
I'll keep researching seat options and follow the forums until the right option jumps out at me.

[dmyers]

Definitely check out lamb custom seats before you make a decision

[0vationdave]

Don's seat is right in front of mine at Laam, he should be getting his back first. I know we are doing some different things with our seats so it should be two good examples of Laam seats to post on the forum. My tracking number from Fed-Ex says my seat SHOULD arrive at Seth's place tomorrow, he said after he gets it, he calls and has a one-on-one discussion about materials, threads, etc.. so hopefully I will get that call next week!

[Mav1]

Don's seat is right in front of mine at Laam, he should be getting his back first. I know we are doing some different things with our seats so it should be two good examples of Laam seats to post on the forum. My tracking number from Fed-Ex says my seat SHOULD arrive at Seth's place tomorrow, he said after he gets it, he calls and has a one-on-one discussion about materials, threads, etc.. so hopefully I will get that call next week!

Definitely looking forward to hearing about those seats when they come back.

[dmyers]

Seth said he will have mine in the mail tomorrow. it takes less than a day to build one once he gets started.

[Mav1]

Seth said he will have mine in the mail tomorrow. it takes less than a day to build one once he gets started.

Very interested to hear about these seats. Hope you can post some pics with your comments after trying the new one out.