Triumphrat

DaddyO-Dave · 12-07-2004

Greetings to all,

I'm sure this subject has been discussed at sometime before in this forum, but I wanted to slant it more toward cold weather protection. I have a 1996 Adventurer with the "Roadster" screen and it's a nice warm weather screen with great looks, but not much protection.IMHO

I don't like the Chicago winters to completely stop my riding and I have good cold weather riding gear to keep me going (provided the roads are clear of ice & snow). I'd like comments/reviews on a good protective windshield/fairings for the Adventurer (or other Classics).
I've seen some positive comments on National Cycle products (Plexistar 2 model). Is there a good choice for protection without it looking like you mounted a barn door to your handlebars, LOL? I saw an ad in Cycle World for a new National Cycle product: Plexifairing GT (sporty?), although I can't see to find any mention of it at National Cycle.
Thanks in advance for your replies,
Daddy-O :wink:

GeoffE · 12-08-2004

Hi Dave,

I cannot comment on a suitable screen or fairing, but your "protection without it looking like you mounted a barn door to your handlebars" comment struck a cord with me!

Lateral thinking perhaps? See this link to an old post:-
Knuckle guards

Ciao, Geoff
:wink:

[ This message was edited by: GeoffE on 2004-12-08 09:41 ]

crockabull · 12-08-2004

I mounted a full sized Plexifaring to my T-Bird and it does not detract from thr bike's looks. I can't say thet it enhances the looks all thet much either. Then again the factory shield looks more out of place than the Plexi. The fact that the Plexi is very functional at keeping wind, rocks and weather from the rider makes it well worth whatever asthectic value it may or may not have. JMO

DaddyO-Dave · 12-08-2004

Thanks to both Geoffe and crock for your replies!

I've been pondering nuckle guards as a possibility. Knowing their available and easy to mount gives me another option.

I've been looking seriously at the Plexifairing 3 from National Cycle. Sounds like you're please with it's performance and overall appearance. I don't expect a fairing that size to "complement" the bike's appearance, I was just hoping it doesn't look too bad when mounted. But it sounds like it's fairly easy on the eyes. I'm willing to trade some looks for protection since I ride all year here in the midwest. How was the mounting? Does anyone have any experience with the Plexistar 2, it looks a little smaller, probably not as much protection though.

Again, thanks for your input.
Daddy-O

TexasTri · 12-08-2004

I saw in the old Knucke Gaurd link that there were some pictures floating around. If those are still around could someone post it here?

Russ

vonbonds · 12-08-2004

If memory servers me correctly someone fitted Tiger hand guards onto a Classic. It was a simple bolt on part. I have also read that hand guards don't do much when you start getting into the 45 degree range and below...just food for thought.

Tom

Rincewind · 12-08-2004

I've got the Plexi3 on my tbird. It does a great job in the colder weather, even keeps the wind off your hands. The form is more old-school, UJM touring then barn dooresque. It's a large screen, but actually not that tall overall. I'm 6', and see over it easily.

The Plexi2 doesn't have the additional protection of the lower screen extensions, which help push air off the knees.

Here's some pics from my photo album:

Lower mounting straps to the forks

Cockpit view

Fuzzy view

Front view. Here you can see how the fairing curves back behind the turn signals and around the hand grips.

Also, if you order it from their website, call to confirm it's the right one for your bike.

:-D

DaddyO-Dave · 12-09-2004

Rincewind, thank you so much!

As the old saying goes "one picture is worth a thousand words". Wow, it looks very nice with lots of protection. National Cycle lists the same model Plexi3 for the T-bird and Adventurer, so the mounting should be similar (that looks very robust). I'm sold! I'm familar with Slipstreamer products , since I have their Spirit model (not available for the Classics) mounted to my Suzuki GS850 for commuting to work when the roads are clear, but have never seen the Plexifairing mounted. I wanted to start using the Adventurer more for this purpose, so this install should do the trick.

Again, I appreciate the pictures, it really helped me decide.

Daddy-O

Tumbleweed · 12-09-2004

I'm probably gonna get a good beating for this but......

Personally I think the classic triples (except maybe the Adventurer....) look goofy with big screens and wide shields and stuff....

One exception is the small (and probably useless) flyscreens some of the guys have mounted on cafe-rigged tbirds and legends.....

I wouldn't have one, though :wink:

When I pass 50, I'm gonna get myself one of them bigarse Gold Wings with all the fairings and shields, PLUS a trailer, a cooking stove, a pool table and a tv set. Then I'll be farting around Europe till the cows come home (unless I run over one of'em on my way...)

T'Weed

Rincewind · 12-09-2004

Glad to help, Daddy-o. Hope it works out well for you. Like I said above, it's best to call Nat'l Cycle rather than depending on their website. I ordered mine online, only to find out that they had made a sizing mistake, and the one I had ordered would have had too large of a headlight cutout. It was fixed before it shipped. Heads up on that.

Tweed - I respect your opinion about the classics and fairings. Aesthetically, I agree with you. I've come to accept the geekiness of my screen. Then again, I'm not running the Plexi3 to enhance the look, but to add comfort during colder riding. Function over form. But speaking of looks, I had the roadster screen for a short period, and that thing looks even whackier, imo.

On a side note, one of the nice things about the Plexi is that it takes only a minute or two to remove/install, without tools. In the summer I box up the fairing, put it away and enjoy the wind the way it was meant to be.