shortening windshield

[DeanR]

What have people found to be the best way to take a couple inches off a windshield ??

[79XS11F]

You can cut it with a jig saw of the right tooth count and then buff with very fine sand paper but I WOULD NOT DO THIS MYSELF. If you split the shield your Sh*t out of luck. If you really want it shortened take it to a plastic shop and have them do it for you. I know about this because I have fabricated lots of plastic items in my aquarium hobby and this stuff can get brittle with age and is unpredictable at best.
Rob

[mason79]

slow but used a hacksaw blade, draw file to shape, and clean up the rough, be careful not to cut too much off, cut a little off at a time buffeting sucks (damhik), and if you change your seat the height or the density of the foam may change your relationship with the top of the shield, so plan for that change.

[Ken Talbot]

Jig saw with a variable speed has worked okay for me. If you run the blade too fast, you get melting, and the kerf will actually seal itself up again behind the blade. Slower blade speed keeps the heat down, and allows the chips to clear the blade rather than melt. Put a couple of strips of wide masking tape down on both sides before you start, and do your layout on the tape. The tape under the saw will prevent the foot of the jigsaw from scratching the plastic.

[TopCatGr58]

I was told to get a reverse/up cutting blade instead of down cutting, and have fairly fine teeth like for cutting metal vs. wood. I was cutting Plexiglass instead of LEXAN, and was still able to do a decent job, nice curved shape for around the headlight and all! Emory cloth can be used to smooth out the edge to a nice smooth finish. Good Luck!
T.C.

[mro]

I wacked one of mine with a sawsall (32 TPI blade) and then used a oribital sander to clean up edge. Took about 15 minuets.
Did not even take it off the bike


mro

[cdpruden]

It's funny, I had just seen this article the other day:
http://motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/re...eld/index.html

I haven't cut mine down at all, though, I like it just the way it is

[Poprock]

shield cutting

a bandsaw with a 12 tpi blade works well also. Masking tape is a great idea. It also helps keep the plastic safe from the table of the saw. A jitterbug sander works better for me than an orbital, being easier to control on the thin edge.