1981 r100rt windscreen

I'm looking for input on the removal of the stock windscreen and installation of a new one, probably a Clearview if that get back to me. I've had this bike a few weeks and am not familiar with the old BMW's.
Is this something that is better done by a shop?

Welcome to the forum...and to BMWs! Are you interested in just replacing the "glass" or the entire fairing? I wasn't aware that non OEM places had something to offer. I now see that Clearview does have a replacement for the '81RT. Maybe others will come along with their insights on preferred choices and how to do it.

Here's an older thread which has a small amount of info:

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?96024-1981-R100RT-windshield

Found some other older threads:

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?23662-New-windshield-for-R100RT

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?34010-81-R100RT-Windshield

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?33123-Assorted-Fairing-Questions-84-R80RT

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?41486-RT-Windshield-Removal-HOW-TO

Clear view

I have installed three Clearview shields and two Parabellum units over the years on my RT.

I will not install a Parabellum unit again as for what ever reason, when I had the units installed, my dash panel split in the middle near the ignition key. Maybe it is bad luck but to have it happen twice with the Parabellum system turned me off of them.

Also, I found after I had installed the Parabellum system, I did not like the looks, mounting methods, and as far as wind noise, there was no difference between the stock system and the Parabellum system.

Also, I like in the hot days of summer to tilt the stock system down or back so I am getting more airflow, I could not do that with the Parabellum system.

As for the three Clearview shields, I broke two. No fault of the company, just stupid stuff. I have a Clearview shield on now with the optional center vent, I love it, With the screen tilted down in the lowest setting and the vent open, it has a good airflow for hot days.

As for installation, The biggest problem I have is fat fingers and reaching the two tiny nuts under the dash panel behind the ignition switch and out of sight. They hold the center of the screen and allow it to pivot when the shield is adjusted. The other mounting screws are very easy to reach. Oh yes, if you have the rubber trim strip on the fairing with the little do hickeys that push into the holes in the bottom of the screen, they can also be a pain to mess with. On my current installation, I never bothered to push them into the holes.

I tried to attach pictures of all the points I am trying to make but, for some reason the forum won't show them. Good luck. St.

STEVENRANKIN said:

I tried to attach pictures of all the points I am trying to make but, for some reason the forum won't show them. Good luck. St.

Click to expand...

Steven -

Make sure the pictures are small enough...shoot for 1024x768 pixels or say about 1Mb in total size.

Hi Kurt

Not sure about the size, it was just the image from Max's fiche, I thought it would help to name the numbered parts in regard to my note.
As it is, there are a few threads on the subject. Most likely not needed. St.

Some websites don't allow hot-linking for pictures.

Windscreen replacement is quite involved and includes a new rubber gasket, as it’s pretty difficult to not damage the old one when taking it all apart.

Huh?

Difficult to take apart? Not really, six screws, and two in the middle that might be a problem for people with fat fingers.

The problem arises if the rubber strip has to be replaced. Having had to do three new dash boards I know all about the problems.

Oh, pulling the little rubber plugs out of their holes in the old screen for the rubber strip could be a problem patience and finesse along with a shot of silicone spray or something to lubricate them while pulling them out goes a long way to prevent tearing them. If you don't tear them, you have no reason to replace the rubber strip.

Replacing the rubber strip is a ROYAL PAIN, requiring drilling out rivets and in drilling the rivets, care must be taken not to drill or enlarge the holes in the fairing because then, the new rivets will not fit and you will end up with the problem of filling in the holes in the fiberglass and re-drilling them.

Once you do get the old rivets out, you need special rivets and tool to install them. They are not pop rivets but are in fact hollow. Without the special tool, I saw no possible way to install them.

Of course, all this work is based upon how fussy an owner you are. I have seen screens installed without rivets without the rubber strip, cobbled together. Some look fine, others, no so.
As I said in my other thread, I have a new shield and did not bother to push the rubber nubs into the new screen, I found it to be a bigger bother and not worth the trouble. I don't remember if I did in fact push them in and they did not stay or if I just never bothered. Since I am not entering the bike in any shows, it only bugs me.

Unless, you use the hollow, special rivets, and the little bracket in the center of the screen, the new stock style system will not adjust any longer. If you install a Parabellum system, you give up the adjustable screen due to the design of the Parabellum mounting system.

Bottom line is if you don't HAVE to change the rubber strip or plastic dashboard, screen installation is not an hard job, with the fat finger exception I mentioned in my earlier thread. Oh yes, it does help to have someone help you hold the new screen up while it is bolted into place but, I have done it myself, with a bit of juggling.

Now installation of the Parabellum system is another story in itself. They require a much different base the screen fits onto. Since I am now anti Parabellum, I am not even going to attempt to describe installation of their system. Use them at your risk. St.

A cavet

Just to stick another of my opinions here, If you do buy a new screen be aware that the extra tall or taller the screen is, the more likely it is to fail due to cracking at the mounting screws at some point.

While I cannot say with scientific proof, I believe this is what caused my two Parablellum installations on my bike to crack the dash panel of my bike. The higher screen may have caused more stress on the system which in the case of the Parabellum installation led to flexing causing not the mounting system to break but instead my BMW dash system to break. Discussions with Parabellum were fruitless.

One of the replacement Clearview shields I ordered was taller than the Stock BMW screen, It was in fact the tallest screen Clearview makes. It fractured after several years at the mounting plates in the corners. I had better luck dealing with Clearview.

I currently have a slightly taller than stock screen on my bike and it is doing fine.

My personal belief is the taller screens are more prone to flexing and as such more prone to failure. Again, I have only my unscientific belief.

I am not interested in looking through the windscreen and my choice to go taller than stock was an attempt to reduce noise only. In MY opinion, the extra length does not make any difference. It was not worth the bother to go taller.

If you are so inclined to look through your screen, of course, that is a different situation. St.

I have a vented Clearview windshield (21", I think) with the mild "re-curve" at the upper/outer edge on my '84 RT. I can't address installation difficulties, since I had it put on by my independent BMW mechanic seven or eight years ago. My recollection is that the OEM rubber bellows was a bit of a challenge, and the non-trivial added cost of a new bellows was part of the price for this "upgrade". The Clearview shields are a fine replacement for the OEM BMW piece, and the vent does provide useful additional air flow to the rider in warmer weather. It would be, however, an over-statement to say that the vented shield is a panacea solution for warm-weather comfort behind an RT fairing; it's better than no vent, but, if you're wearing reasonable protective gear (vented or mesh jacket, etc.) you'll still want an unfaired bike for ambient temps above 80F. A few RT faithful have gone in a radically different direction to try to achieve warm-weather comfort on their RTs by removing, or dramatically cutting the height of their factory windshields to a mere few inches above the mounting screws, making them look sort of like a wider RS. I don't know how well they achieve hot-weather ride-ability but this treatment does significantly alter the aesthetics, and has to mess with the non-summer functionality of the bikes, and not for the better, IMHO.

I'm 5'8", and I easily look over my RT's Clearview. There is noise, but not much, if any, helmet buffeting, outside of semi-trailer wash at highway speeds. Good earplugs remain a must-have for any ride over a few miles. I've thought about a couple of the add-on widgets (Laminar Lip, others) that claim to "extend" the still airspace behind the windshield & fairing, and, by doing so, reduce wind noise, but I've concluded that, even if they do what they claim, I'd merely be trading current wind noise for more clearly-heard reflected engine noise. So I haven't bothered. Others' experiences with these things specifically on an airhead RT would be good to hear about. FWIW.

Warm weather

I do most of my riding on my RT. I have an RS which this year now the RT has turned over 200K is going to get the milage put on it. Both fairings the RT especially don't do much for keeping cool in the hottest days.

I guess I need to either get a GS, an S, or a naked /7. LOL. St.

STEVENRANKIN said:

I do most of my riding on my RT. I have an RS which this year now the RT has turned over 200K is going to get the milage put on it. Both fairings the RT especially don't do much for keeping cool in the hottest days.

I guess I need to either get a GS, an S, or a naked /7. LOL. St.

Click to expand...

Or you you could get a newer bike ... Nikasil was a great solution for Airheads, legend having it that the G/S wouldn't have been possible without it. Nikasil dumps way more heat to the driver than the previous iron cylinders (which put the heat in the motor oil) and Oilheads and later bikes got this way better under control. Opinion seems to vary on Wetheads and can't speak from personal experience.

Thanks for the input...

Your replies were most helpful and have definitely cleared up some questions.

Recurve

STEVENRANKIN said:

Just to stick another of my opinions here, If you do buy a new screen be aware that the extra tall or taller the screen is, the more likely it is to fail due to cracking at the mounting screws at some point.

While I cannot say with scientific proof, I believe this is what caused my two Parablellum installations on my bike to crack the dash panel of my bike. The higher screen may have caused more stress on the system which in the case of the Parabellum installation led to flexing causing not the mounting system to break but instead my BMW dash system to break. Discussions with Parabellum were fruitless.

One of the replacement Clearview shields I ordered was taller than the Stock BMW screen, It was in fact the tallest screen Clearview makes. It fractured after several years at the mounting plates in the corners. I had better luck dealing with Clearview.

I currently have a slightly taller than stock screen on my bike and it is doing fine.

My personal belief is the taller screens are more prone to flexing and as such more prone to failure. Again, I have only my unscientific belief.

I am not interested in looking through the windscreen and my choice to go taller than stock was an attempt to reduce noise only. In MY opinion, the extra length does not make any difference. It was not worth the bother to go taller.

If you are so inclined to look through your screen, of course, that is a different situation. St.

Click to expand...

I wonder if the recurve option would add additional stress as well .

The recurve on the Clearview windshields is not very dramatic, and so I tend to doubt that it really adds much leverage to what’s borne by the windshield mounting hardware. I would guess that any additional height/length of the shield (for the taller options) adds considerably more leverage than the recurve, but I have no engineering credential, or measurement data, to support my guess. FWIW, my RT’s dashboard and attachment hardware has held up well for the 7 or 8 years (20K miles), without any maintenance or replacements since it’s installation, apart from regular cleanings & polishings.

khittner said:

The recurve on the Clearview windshields is not very dramatic, and so I tend to doubt that it really adds much leverage to what’s borne by the windshield mounting hardware. I would guess that any additional height/length of the shield (for the taller options) adds considerably more leverage than the recurve, but I have no engineering credential, or measurement data, to support my guess. FWIW, my RT’s dashboard and attachment hardware has held up well for the 7 or 8 years (20K miles), without any maintenance or replacements since it’s installation, apart from regular cleanings & polishings.

Click to expand...

Yeah I ordered the 21” vented recurve today.
Should see it in about a month I guess.

Clearview

I have had good luck with the Clear view screens. Since I went back to the stock mounting system the clear view uses, I have not had any splitting of my dash panel. That only happened with the Parabellum system. To be fair, the problem I had could have been caused by the extra height if the screen. The screen and mounting system did not break, just for some reason my dash split in the middle.

Nope, my having to change the shields is due to stupidity on my part, not the company.

I like having the ability to raise or lower the screen a bit in the hot days. I could not do that with Parablellum.

Sad to say, there is not a lot of choices for replacement screens. St.

Airrangus
Your going to like that vented recurve!
Good Choice!

Update on windscreen?

Any news or updates on what arrived and how you liked it, mounted it, etc? I ask because my 83 R80RT came with three different windshields, all various heights, and seemingly custom built by PO. Looking at options and ideas as Texas heat is over 90F most days...