Sound frightening doesn't it?!! I swapped a GSA screen for a bed, beer and breakfast from a fellow biker who was passing through on the way to a rally; the screen came from a write-off. I have cut it down just above the top brace using a cutting wheel on a 4" grinder (worked surprisingly well) to make a sort of bikini fairing for the summer. We'll see how well the screen works in practice (I am 6'4"), but it has to be better than no fairing at all... Question: what material is the screen made from - polycarbonate? It has some gravel rash on it and my plan is to smooth down the worst gouges and fill in the holes, and then paint with a semi-matt black... Should look good, sort of Mad Max-ish. So what sort of paint should I use on that screen? Or what should I avoid? TIA viz
Hi,I have spray painted the inside of my gsa screen, right up to the sort of v at the top .also the winglets, I just cleaned it ,and sprayed it, it is shiny on the outside, and it has stayed in good condition, I just touch it up whenever I remove the screen, I obtained some carbon fibre film, to do the job, but the curves at the bottom defeated me.The blacked out screen makes my gps, and monitor for my on board camera stand out, also it is easier on the eyes on long trips, hope this helps.
Post some pics of the black cut down screen! Just today I cut down a GS screen and installed it on my GSA. Not sure if black is the color I want or maybe spray-on tint or ? Curious to see yours... FP
I did that with a standard GS screen and it looks sweet. I went with spray can truck bed liner for just a little texture.
I painted the inside of a 1150GS OEM screen with Krylon Semi Flat Black. It looked and worked great and held up well.
I painted (actually my buddy's body shop did the work) my Adventure winglets on my GS. The clear ones were always cloudy and bug infested and now always look great. I also run the tinted Adventure shield.
I've been contemplating painting the lower section of my GIVI Airflow screen, and ADV winglets. Not just for looks but also, as "beanbandit" said, to see the instruments better and ease on the eyes.
I painted my screen on my K1300S with bumper trim paint . a few thin coats is all you need on the inside , the shield looks great, and it makes reading the gauges easier
I used a can of regular old spray bomb that was on laying in my shop, looks great after 30000 miles so far.
I think he's talking about painting the outside to hide the scratches but most people paint the inside as the paint is protected. I've done the black and a few of the spray tints made for models. Both work great on the inside.
I painted (actually my buddy's body shop did the work) my Adventure winglets on my GS. The clear ones were always cloudy and bug infested and now always look great. I also run the tinted Adventure shield.
Sorry, been away... I think painting the inside looks the best, however due to the damage done to the outside when the previous bike went down the road (not mine, the one the screen belonged to) I am going to need to do some sanding which will wreck the appearance of the screen. So sand, fill and paint the outside with semi-gloss - it should work a treat FYI - have been on a coupla short city rides, tomorrow an extended 300 km ride. From what I can see already the smaller screen allows a lot more air in (great for our summers), a lot less buffeting at the lower speeds - we'll see how that works at higher speeds. The chest from the top of my breastbone down is protected - above is in the airflow. Nice and cooooool! viz
The previous owner of my R1150GSA had a custom cut-down black carbon fiber looking screen made by I think CE Bailys, I can post a pic of it if you want to see it. Gotta dig it out of my garage attic. It is a nice summer screen, not so good for anything but looks.
Depending on how bad the nicks and scratches are, you might be able to buff it out with a polishing compound. Even so, painting the outside should do just fine. On the bike in my avatar, the yellow number plate is painted partially on the windscreen. I used Krylon brand, and also used their primer. Actually, the whole bike is painted with Krylon spray paint. FWIW, the windscreen should probably have a light scuff on it so that the paint adheres to it. I used Scotch brite pads (general purpose #7447) to give it a light haze and then cleaned with alcohol.
If any y'all want to experiment with this without destroying yours, I'm selling a windscreen off an '05 R1200GS over in Flea Market. Linky-dink.
Still working on the screen one of those really long term projects. So far: 240 grit paper to iron out the scratches and gouges, 600 grit to polish it smooth (opaques the screen but that is not going to be a problem). Next plastic paint primer, still deciding on what to do with the final coat - gloss, semi or what viz
