free website stats program Acrylic or Lexan windshield? | Harley Davidson Forums

Acrylic or Lexan windshield?

Ozoneman

Ozoneman

Active Member
I have a 6 1/2 inch HD windshield which it Lexan on my Ultra. I'm thinking of changing it to a 10 inch one. HD has the 10 inch Lexan one for about $115 and there is a guy that sells Acrylic 10 inch ones for about $30. Is the Lexan one worth that much more than the Acrylic ones? Will Acrylic be all I really need?
 
After reading this article , I would go with Lexan. My full face helmet got hit right smack on the front shield which what looked like a boulder and barely left a visible scratch.


What's the difference between Lexan® Polycarbonate, High Impact Acrylic, and Acrylic windshield materials?

Lexan® Polycarbonate is the tough stuff for riders that demand the best. Lexan polycarbonate with FMR hardcoat provides unbeatable strength, superior optical quality, and outstanding scratch resistance. Lexan polycarbonate with our exclusive Quantum™ coating provides scratch resistance 10X better than FMR and twice the outdoor (UV) life. Hardcoated Lexan polycarbonate is the OEM motorcycle industry standard and was proudly developed for the motorcycle industry by National Cycle, Inc.

High Impact Acrylic is a step up from regular acrylic. High impact acrylic merges the crystal clarity of acrylic with an impressive impact resistance. A standardized plastic test (IZOD test) compared standard acrylic to high impact acrylic: Standard acrylic breaks at 1.5 foot-pounds, while high impact acrylic can withstand up to 8 foot-pounds. National Cycle uses the best material for each product design and price range.

Acrylic (which includes brand names such as ICI Lucite® and Acrylite®) is good when combined with our No-Hole Ballsocket™ mounting system. Acrylic is known for its crystal clarity that stands the test of time with UV stabilization that prevents yellowing. Many years ago, during the development of the clear fairing, National Cycle found that ordinary drill mounting methods caused stress cracks and eventual breakage with acrylic shields. That’s why we developed and use our patented No-Hole Ballsocket system on all of our acrylic products.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's the difference between FMR coated polycarbonate and Quantum™ coated polycarbonate?

FMR is a special surface coating for polycarbonate developed by General Electric®. This coating gives polycarbonate a level of scratch/abrasion resistance 3X greater than typical acrylic windshields. National Cycle first introduced motorcycle windshields made from FMR coated Lexan® polycarbonate in the 1970s. It soon became the OEM motorcycle industry standard for windshields.

Now a NEW standard has been set. Quantum™ Coated Lexan® Polycarbonate is the industry's absolute best in motorcycle windshield strength and durability. Developed for windshield use by National Cycle, Quantum coating takes motorcycle windshields a quantum leap forward in abrasion resistance and outdoor life. National Cycle applies this crystal clear, hard coating to polycarbonate material. The combined result is the strongest, most abrasion resistant windshield material available worldwide.

How Quantum™ Coating Compares

Abrasion Resistance
• Quantum coated polycarbonate has 30X the abrasion resistance of acrylic (ICI Lucite®)
• 10X the abrasion resistance of FMR coating

Crack Resistance
• Quantum coated polycarbonate is 23X better than acrylic (ICI Lucite®)
• Equal to FMR coated polycarbonate

Impact Resistance
• Quantum coated polycarbonate is 20X better than acrylic (ICI Lucite®)
• Equal to FMR coated polycarbonate

Outdoor (UV) Life
• Quantum coated polycarbonate has 2X the lifespan of FMR coated polycarbonate
 
smitty901 said:
Here we go :)
I vote for the lexan. stronger lighter better in everyway.
If you care for it right it will last a long time.
There are a lot of ideas on how high it should be, I go with the school that say you should be able to just look over it. All the reasons I'm sure will find their way here :)
NEXT
Click to expand...

Oh, has this been brought up before? Sorry if it has and thanks for your input (again?).

How high is your windshield? I am thinking that 10 inches would be just at the level that I could just look over it. I'm 6' 1" sitting on an Ultra with stock seat.
 
So you seen a windshield with a slight grayish hew to it and circular swirl patters at different angles,, Lexan won’t show that nearly as fast or prominent, go for Lexan. As for height, I have a short and tall windscreen, like the looks of the short, but it’s at just the right height to shoot a strong air current just into the top of my helmet and give me the bobble head syndrome, bummer..:54:
 
Yea the install was pretty easy. Remove the 3 phillip screws at the top of the front of the fairing. Gently seperate the front fairing at the top from the old windshield, and slide out. (you might have to pull a little to get it to seperate)

Reinstall new shield being careful not to over tighten the screws. Word of advice, start all 3 screws before tightening them. Good Luck :s
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top