Easy motorcycle windshield

I am the proud owner of a magnificent motorbike, an honda rebel :)  and a spare polycarbonte sheet, so I decided to make a windshield. I think polycarbonate is the only safe material for a windshield.

Soy el orgulloso propietario de una magnifica moto, una honda rebel :) y una lamina de policarbonato de sobra, asi que decidí hacerme un parabrisas. Creo que el policarbonato es el unico material seguro para un parabrisas.

Step 1: Testing with carboard windshield

Before start cutting I made the tests using cardboard.

Antes de empezar a cortar hice las pruebas con cartón.

Comments

[Andsetinn]

Nice project.
Beware that not all clear plastic sheets, that are sold as Polycarbonate plastic, have the same characteristics. (Also note that sometimes Poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA or Plexiglas) is mistakenly sold as Polycarbonate.) Some scratch easily, some break or crack easily, some become foggy/misty or form air bubbles on the inside when heated. You're probably safe, but mention these things to the seller when you buy.
The reason that most original equipment windshields are so expensive is that they use high quality Polycarbonate. For my own projects I prefer the Lexan (tm) type, made by General Electrics, but it is really expensive in thicker sheets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)

[bahi]

Thanks Andsetinn.

The material used in this windshield is 5mm Polycarbonate.

I tried to bend a small piece in the workbench with a hammer, and was almost impossible. So I think, I'll be good.

[guntemar]

Placing rubber washers between the metal washers and the windshield will help relieve wind stress and help prevent premature cracking of the plastic.

[fredellarby]

Good idea and a real $ saver.
I did mine by starting with my original windshield and adding cardboard "wings" until I had the shape and wind deflection that I wanted. Then I found it in plastic
You can get a curved shape by warming the plastic in an oven, then shaping it gently over a pillow, holding it until it cools.

[bahi]

Indeed, I haven't published all the improvements I have done with the windshields, I've found that a smaller, more tilted more curved windshiled
works better specially for gas savings.
I use my knitchen's oven to warm the polycarbonate.

[rimar2000]

Muy buen trabajo, bahi.

Yo tuve en una motoneta Iso 150 cc un parabrisas como este, pero de acrílico, hace como 40 años. Para mantenerlo cristalino le pasaba cada dos o tres días un trapito humedecido con vinagre blanco. Le da una transparencia mucho mejor que el agua sola.

No sé si con el policarbonato será igual, pero podrías hacer la prueba con un trozo de los sobrantes.

Very good job, bahi.

I had an Iso 150 cc scooter with windshield like this, but acrylic, about 40 years ago. To keep it transparent, I used every two or three days a cloth dampened with white vinegar. It gives a transparency much better than water alone.

I don't know if the polycarbonate is the same, but you could do the test with a piece of the leftovers.

[bahi]

Gracias rimar, voy a probar tu consejo porque el agua de mi pueblo es muy dura.
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Thank you rimar, I'm going to check your advice because my village's water is very hard.