'03 K1200rs windshield problem

Darn it.

There's one problem with that idea. . .

It never occurred to me. That's what I'll do.

richw said:

Darn it.

There's one problem with that idea. . .

It never occurred to me. That's what I'll do.

Click to expand...

The little lever on Debbie's RS broke when both bikes went over in a storm.
JB weld did not hold to fix the lever so I used a little duct tape to kept the shield from shaking.
It worked on the 1,000 ride from Texas to Iowa.

Lee said:

The little lever on Debbie's RS broke when both bikes went over in a storm.
JB weld did not hold to fix the lever so I used a little duct tape to kept the shield from shaking.
It worked on the 1,000 ride from Texas to Iowa.

Click to expand...

Something like this?:


I'll let you know how it went when I get home. Thanks.

I'll need a new windshield. The options that I'm considering are:

AeroFlow (tall) -
I'm willing to assume that the breakage of the linkage was induced by lack of maintainance or some other oddity. They can make me a windshield, even though they will no longer make the mounting hardware. The windshield looks good on the bike, and is fairly rigid due to compound curves. However, I always wished it was taller, maybe 2". I'm 6'1" plus, and mostly from the waist up.

BMW "Comfort" windshield. Probably the best choice, except I think it's even shorter than the AeroFlow. I have the long bar-backs, and suspect it would be more windy than the AeroFlow.

Parabellum -
From the pictures, they look to have single axis curves only, and are about the same price. They also look taller, so might be better for wind noise.

I would also consider a top extension.

Anyone have any thoughts/advice/experience to share?

richw said:

Something like this?:


I'll let you know how it went when I get home. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I used less tape but that should work
Remove the tape as soon as you get home so it does not react with paint.

richw said:

Anyone have any thoughts/advice/experience to share?

Click to expand...

I'm a bad one to ask, both me and my wife used the stock RS shield in the low position.
I'm 6' with 34" inseam and my wife is 5' 10" with 34" inseam.
A tall shield will keep more air off of you but a short shield or no shield is quieter a lot of times.

Got back Thursday. Tape held fine from Central Illinois to home 100 miles south of Atlanta.

The whole trip involved trailering from Atlanta to Reno for the National Air Races. Circled and visited Virginia City, Lake Tahoe, North to Crater Lake, back to Reno, then to Salt Lake, snow storms and camping in Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, across Wyoming and Nebraska, daughter and grandkids in Illinois, and back to 98 degree temperatures, stop and go traffic, and smog warnings through Atlanta.

Gone a month, camped a little less than half. Nice to be home. I'm ready to do it again.

richw said:

Got back Thursday. Tape held fine

Click to expand...

Good deal

Lee said:

A tall shield will keep more air off of you but a short shield or no shield is quieter a lot of times.

Click to expand...

I removed what was left of my tall Aero-Flow windshield and rode about 20 miles at up to 75 mph or so. Windy, of course, but not much noisier, if any, as you suggested. Maybe quieter, or at least a higher pitch hiss rather than a low turbulent rumble, if that makes sense. Anyway, I get your point. Thanks.

I bought the 'last ever' tall AeroFlow (according to them).

Somewhat to my surprise, it is taller than what I had. The previous owner must have inadvertently mislead me.

The top of the windshield is just below eye level when in the up position, and is much quieter than my old windshield.

I'm happy with it.

JeffDiCarlo said:

Rich,

Your bike has an aftermarket windshield, and with it, mounting bits that are unique to that shield.
As to your problem, my guess would be that the size of your shield, at speed, puts more force on the mechanism that BMW supplies which is designed for the smaller stock shield. That force causes the shield to collapse.
In truth I'm not clear on your failure mode, so I can't suggest specific approaches for a fix, but in general terms your options are clear.

Slow down (LOL!)
Switch back to a stock shield.
Redesign the pivoting mechanism in some manner to allow it to withstand greater wind forces.

And just spit-balling here: the K12GT of the same generation has a power windshield system. It might be possible to integrate that mechanism which may be able to better withstand the deflection forces.

FWIW, stock shield down and up, attached and I have no idea why they are upside down. Sorry.


Good luck.

Click to expand...

IMHO Jeff is correct in his assessment of the problem- your larger after market windshield has overloaded the spring assembly installed to secure the stock RS windshield in its up or down position. I have a 2003 K1200RS also and have never experienced any problem with the windshield positioning assembly.

Adding the GT’s electric windshield operator will not fix the issue—there are plenty of GT riders who are unable to adjust their aftermarket screens on the go and who experience issues with the WS mechanism. Perhaps you can increase the spring tension on your existing setup?

Best,
DeVern

Hard to describe what I think actually happened, but I think it started with loose bolts and enlarged holes in the windshield, leading to a cracked lower mounting holes in the windshield, leading to the mounting bracket being over stressed, breaking, and allowing the upper bracket to go over center and the windshield to fold back.

I ordered the new Areo-Flow, and as I indicated, it is even taller than the one I had - so I understand the concerns about stress on the mounting assembly. However, it is more pleasant than the old one. The old one seemed to deflect the rough air right to my helmet. I suspect as Lee pointed out the lower stock windshield would have been quieter. I can attest that the higher current one is.

As far as mechanical strength, I'll be sure to keep the mounting screws tight. I've had this windshield up to triple digits briefly, and it seems OK. I'll post back here if the BMW mounts aren't up to the added stress.

Double wind screen with air capture...

The windscreen that came with your bike is a double windscreen with air capture.

When set up correctly, these essentially eliminate wind noise and buffeting.

Air is captured by the large leading screen as it protrudes out over the headlight.



It is then channeled up along the trailing/backside of the leading screen by a smaller trailing screen.



This design reduces or eliminates negative trailing pressure behind the windscreens.

And keeps direct airflow off of the rider.

It thus reduces or eliminates wind noise and buffeting on the rider.

MadStad has a line of screens with similar aerodynamics but these also have attitude adjustment mechanisms to achieve optimal windscreen angle (https://madstad.com/).

Unfortunately, they don't have a kit for the K12RSs.