FLARE Windshield
Klock Werks
$169.95
www.kustombaggers.com
Perhaps, like me, you love your Harley-Davidson bagger but loathe its stock windshield. Number one, the stocker looks donkey. But, worse than that, don’t you really hate looking through one while sailing down the road? I know I do.
The solution, up until now, has been to swap out the OEM screen for a “cut-down” version. They come in various heights and degrees of transparency. Yes, the run-of-the-mill cut-down gives the bike a lower profile, which is ipso facto cooler. But most less-is-more bagger windscreens do little or nothing to improve the function of the bike’s fairing. At worst, they create behind-the-screen turbulence that is annoying as hell.
So it’s about bloody time that some-one came up with something a little more, well, sexy in the way of a cut-down windscreen for Harley-Davidson touring models that also works better. Make that much better. Fittingly, Brian Klock and his Klock Werks FLARE Windshield have filled that bill.
Back when the 2004 Electra Glide Standard that we have lovingly come to know as the Geezer Glide was new—that was well over 70,000 miles ago—we did the usual thing and swapped out the stock windshield for an aftermarket bauble. Then there was another with a groovy design on it, then another that was even shorter still and, hence, “cooler.” All were better than the stocker but that’s about it.
These days, we want to give the old girl a bit of a makeover. So we’ve looked for parts that have the cool factor but also make ’er work better. The FLARE is a 10 on both levels and it fits all Road Glides and any 1986 or newer model with a “batwing” fairing. The FLARE windshields come in heights from 6.5 to 8 inches and in colors black, dark smoke, and tint. The 12-incher comes in tint or clear. (If you’re getting the darker model, make sure you see over the windscreen.)
Brian Klock and his Mitchell, South Dakota, crew are not just one of the most awesome creators of custom baggers, the Werks bagger bikes go hella fast as well. As in AMA- land-speed-record fast. One of Brian’s creations was officially clocked on the Bonneville Salt Flats at 147 mph. No foolin’. Add to that the fact that the Speed Channel’s American Thunder show declared the FLARE windshield the top product at this year’s V-Twin Expo motorcycle industry show, and we’re thinkin’ there might be something to this FLARE thing.
In researching the FLARE windshield before putting one on the Geezer Glide, we checked in with Klock Werks at www.kustombaggers.com, where Brian himself tells you about the new patent-pending, wind-tunnel-tested FLARE’s attributes.
First off, the FLARE’s unique shape and flipped lip with outer hips design do look good in an aerospace-meets-Harley kind of way. But that’s not all. According to Klock Werks, a stock bagger windshield is essentially a kite. That is, it creates up to 35 pounds of uplift. Conversely, the FLARE is de-signed to put 10–15 pounds of down force on the bike’s front end, and move “clean” air (meaning reduced turbulence) over the rider. Let’s weigh the evidence: stock fairing wants to fly me to the moon vs. FLARE pushes the tire more firmly toward terra firma? Duh. Secondly, it looks good. Different, but good.
As to installation, that’s a breeze. Depending on the model, there are three to five screws to remove. We did it in the driveway. It was simply off with the old and on with the new. We decided to add a Harley chrome trim piece for a little extra-added pizzazz. Not a problem. No more up, up, and away for the Geezer Glide’s front end. Which way is Bonneville from here? With the Klock Werks FLARE windscreen, it’s closer than you think.
