Windshield Options

If you can't find a ready-made windshield that meets your needs, you can always make your own. I fabricated one for my Dauntless sidecar. I used 3/16" acrylic (Plexiglas), cut it out with a saber saw, smoothed and rounded off the edges with a portable belt sander, formed it in two places with an electric heat gun (shielding the plastic I did not want to heat with metal plates), and cutting holes with a flat end mill chucked in a drill press.

The whole trick is to NOT crack the plastic while doing all this work. There are special saw blades and drills for cutting acrylic. You can save yourself grief by using them.

It is not that hard to come up with a professional-looking product, although you might waste some material while you learn what works and what doesn't.

One thing you can do to minimize expensive scrap is to model your windshield in thin cardboard first. Once you get the shape right in cardboard it is easy to trace it onto your acrylic.

If you won't have to heat-form the plastic, you can use polycarbonate (Lexan) instead of acrylic. Polycarbonate is much less likely to crack while you're working on it, or if it takes a hit while in service. The bad thing about polycarbonate is it absorbs moisture. Not a problem, except when you try to heat-form it. Then you get steam bubbles inside the plastic, which looks tacky.

It is possible to dry out Lexan before you try to form it. It has to be heated in an oven at about 200F for 8 to 24 hours for that to work.

Whether you use acrylic or polycarbonate you want to take care in mounting your windshield to your car. Using rubber washers under your screws is a very good idea. There needs to be some 'give' in the assembly or you'll end up with stress cracks in the plastic. Again, polycarbonate is less prone to stress cracking than acrylic, but it can still happen. I've seen it.

Ed Bianchi
'87 MW K75C/Daunless "Lady Carol"

A word of caution. If you try heating a sheet of polycarbonate in your kitchen oven you create a serious risk of having a fire! If the plastic gets too hot it will start to soften and sag. If that happens it can hit the heating element (in an electric over) or the bottom of the oven (in a gas oven), overheat and catch fire!

Burning plastic is awful stuff. You really, really don't want to go there. Don't. Really. Don't!

Ed Bianchi

Excellent info, thanks Ed.

I've got a few ideas in my head, but will see what's available for purchase first. I'll be sure to post pics if I end up fabbing something.

Thanks,
Luke

Motorvation Sidecars has had this windshield style for years as an option. This was a popular style in England for sports cars and sidecar rigs since at least the thirties. I think they are called Brooklands Windscreens. We used to use two of them on our MG TD's attached to the lower windshield flange when the windshield was in down position. When the windshield was in upright position they served as
windwings. Veddy British.

L.

Do a Google search for a Brooklands windshield. That is what the pictured one is. Here is a source http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/BROOKLANDS/InvDetail.cfm

Perfect, that's the one...thanks!

Thank you both, that's it!
Luke

I have a Brroklands shield on my Ural but I rarely carry passegers so it is mainly for show. I have had a couple of people who regularly ride in Ural tubs who have ridden Monkey with me and they do say it is better than without a shield but not by much. This is also a real English Brooklands and not the Chinese one you see on the Chang sites.

Pictures are a little dark they are from the parking garage at work with my cell camera but you get the idea.

I have one. The brooklands shield looks cool but unless you are hiding 2 inches behind it, it is worthless as far as any wind protection.

Gustaffson Plastics makes 50 different windshields for sidecars. You can see them here after pressing search.
http://www.bikescreen.com/search.asp?nobox=&scat=&stext=sidecar&stype=&sprice=&pg=&

Gustaffson is where I got the shield for my Friendship II.