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Bagger Shield Review

13K views 37 replies 16 participants last post by  bikerbillone 
#1 ·
Ok as promised here is my review of the new Bagger Shield I just purchased last week. If you haven't been following the thread it is
http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293171&highlight=baggershield The website is www.baggershield.com

I also included a couple of pictures of it on my bike, both in the low and the high position. Keep in mind I have the 4" adjustment is all the way up on the gold wing.

First of all the customer service is excellent! I called and asked several questions prior to purchasing the w/s and Spencer at Bagger Sheild was very helpful. Also, I ordered it last Wednesday afternoon and it showed up Friday morning.

Quality - The w/s is very clear and very ridgid. According to Spencer the shields are made of aircraft quality acrylic and there must be something to that becasue the top piece has zero distortion. The workmanship is excellent as the fitup was perfect.

Aesthetics - I love the looks of this shield, especially in the low position. I always wanted to have a low dark shield on my bike, but never wanted to give up the touring comforts. As you can see I am no stranger to aftermarket accessories, but this w/s is far and away the best addition IMO I have added to this bike for enhancing the looks.

Performance (low Position)- I installed the w/s with the low profile hardware option, that requires an allen wrence to tighten and loosen the well nuts that hold the two shields together. Once the allen wrench is in hand I can switch it from low to tall or vise versa in about 40 seconds. I took the bike for a ride through the river valleys this weekend and had it in the low position. For the first time since I owned this bike new, I got to feel the wind in my face on a nice casual ride through the twisties of the Iowa river valleys on a 90 degree day.

Performance (Tall Position)- After a full day of cruising the valleys and as evening was approaching, I was about 100 miles from home and decided to take the freeway back. I pulled over and put the Bagger Shield in the tall position for the ride home. This w/s performs excellent in the tall position. Better then my stock shield which is the same height. When I talled to Spencer at Bagger Shield on the phone he told me this was to be expected. Because of the seperation (3/16" gap) between the two shields, the gap acts as a vent, eliminating the vacuum that is usually behind the w/s. Therefore, the high speed air doesn't want to drop down into the vacuum and cause buffeting. I don't work for NASA, but it sounded good and it does seem to work well.

Overall evaluation- I give this w/s a 9-1/2 out of 10! Nothing is perfect, but the Bagger Shield is unlike anything else on the market that I am aware of and performs as advertised!

 
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#3 ·
Love the looks of the tinted shorty shield, especially seeing that I ride with mine in the lowest position and like to ride with the wind in my face. (maybe I'm part dog....:lol:)
Will be keeping an eye out for future reviews as you put some miles on this shield. Curious as to how it will hold up to bugs and how scratch resistant it is.
 
#4 ·
Love the looks of the tinted shorty shield, especially seeing that I ride with mine in the lowest position and like to ride with the wind in my face. (maybe I'm part dog....:lol:)
Will be keeping an eye out for future reviews as you put some miles on this shield. Curious as to how it will hold up to bugs and how scratch resistant it is.
I have about 500 miles on the shield from this weekend and as you can see by the rest of the bike I hit my share of bugs. The shield cleaned up really nice. One of the questions I had for Spencer before I bought the shield was about bugs pitting the surface like they did on my OEM shield. I guess if you leave the bugs on the shield for any duration the acid will eat throught the hard coating on the poly carbonite shields. This shield is aircraft acrylic so you won't have that problem, the plastic is scratch resistant through the thickness of the shield, so there is no hard coating. Also any scratches you do get can be polished out of the shield with Novus Acrylic polish.
 
#5 ·
I have about 500 miles on the shield from this weekend and as you can see by the rest of the bike I hit my share of bugs. The shield cleaned up really nice. One of the questions I had for Spencer before I bought the shield was about bugs pitting the surface like they did on my OEM shield. I guess if you leave the bugs on the shield for any duration the acid will eat throught the hard coating on the poly carbonite shields. This shield is aircraft acrylic so you won't have that problem, the plastic is scratch resistant through the thickness of the shield, so there is no hard coating. Also any scratches you do get can be polished out of the shield with Novus Acrylic polish.
Thanks Boots
 
#7 ·
Sounds Impressive...one 4 part question...The shield technically has 4 different positions...what are those measurements from the top of the rubber to the top of the shield in each position...TIA...:thumbup:
 
#8 ·
Looks nice, I've been considering a windbender for a while but this looks like a cheaper alternative worth trying out. Thanks for the review.
 
#9 ·
Sounds Impressive...one 4 part question...The shield technically has 4 different positions...what are those measurements from the top of the rubber to the top of the shield in each position...TIA...:thumbup:
Actually there are 10 positions. In the low position it starts out at 9.5" from the rubber to the top of the shield then it goes up 4 times in 1" increments (9.5", 10.5", 11.5", 12.5" and 13.5")

In the tall position it starts out at 17" so the 5 positions are: 17", 18", 19", 20" and 21".
 
#10 ·
Not to hijack your thread, but I noticed that you have the Kury Airfoil. I have one also, and it has provided a greatly improved ride for my wife, who is only 5' tall. Many on this forum have claimed the airfoil is useless. I'm wondering what your (actually, your passenger's) experience has been, and how tall your passenger is. I ask about height because I have a theory that height makes all the difference. Shorter passenger benefit; taller ones not so much, or not at all. Apologies, and thanks.
 
#11 ·
Not to hijack your thread, but I noticed that you have the Kury Airfoil. I have one also, and it has provided a greatly improved ride for my wife, who is only 5' tall. Many on this forum have claimed the airfoil is useless. I'm wondering what your (actually, your passenger's) experience has been, and how tall your passenger is. I ask about height because I have a theory that height makes all the difference. Shorter passenger benefit; taller ones not so much, or not at all. Apologies, and thanks.
My wife is 5'-2" and she says she doesn't really notice a difference one way or the other. That's not to say it doesn't work, she just isn't into details. Her answer is "I don't know, it feels like we're on the motorcycle"!
 
#12 ·
My wife is 5'-2" and she says she doesn't really notice a difference one way or the other. That's not to say it doesn't work, she just isn't into details. Her answer is "I don't know, it feels like we're on the motorcycle"!
Tell your wife I think she's a very perceptive woman. ;)

Back to your topic. I'm very intrigued with this new shield, but concerned that even at it's tallest, it's a lot shorter than my 4F + 4, which measures 24". I'm not concerned about me, but I am concerned that the lower shield might bring back the buffeting my wife was experiencing before. It was the airfoil that finally stopped it altogether, but I didn't add that until after I got the + 4 windshield. Any sense on your part if the 3" lower shield is likely to make a big difference?
 
#15 ·
I'll take for a ride tomorrow with and without the airfoil. I'll try and get a straight answer out pf her. She did however think the baggershield did seem to perform better then the stock shield, which is the same height. It might have something to do with the gap between the upper and lower shield(see my review above)
 
#16 ·
I assume you had a vent in your stock shield--?? That should also reduce the vacuum effect, so I'm not sure how the gap alone would improve things. It might be the overall shape/contour. Anyway, I'll be interested in what your wife has to say after the test rides.

I really like the look of the shield, and think I'd also like the lower shield for day rides in good weather. I'm about ready for a new shield of some sort, and this one is definitely in the running. Thanks for bringing to my attention.
 
#17 ·
Question,when your using the windshield it in the low style does the upper piece sit tight against the lower shield? I was wondering if it will scratch over time if there shifting against each other.
 
#18 ·
In the low position how does it compare to the vent in the stock windshield. Curious on how it would be on a hot day?
You get a lot more air. When the low shield is adjusted at the lowest setting it is no taller then the height of the vent, so you get a lot more air. I like it, it makes you feel like your actually on a motorcycle on a hot day.
 
#25 ·
Tell your wife I think she's a very perceptive woman. ;)

Back to your topic. I'm very intrigued with this new shield, but concerned that even at it's tallest, it's a lot shorter than my 4F + 4, which measures 24". I'm not concerned about me, but I am concerned that the lower shield might bring back the buffeting my wife was experiencing before. It was the airfoil that finally stopped it altogether, but I didn't add that until after I got the + 4 windshield. Any sense on your part if the 3" lower shield is likely to make a big difference?
Did a 20 mile test run with my new Baggershield (in the tallest position) and my kuryakan airfoil. My wife said she was getting know buffeting and the ride was very comfortable. Then I remove the airfoil and went on the same 20 mile stretch of highway. She said she really couldn't tell much of a difference it was still very calm and no buffeting. I think I'm just going to leave it off for now. I hope this helps!
 
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